Analyses of the Factors Influencing How Long Math and Science Teachers Stay in Teaching

本研究将分析影响数学和科学教师在教学中停留时间的因素。这些因素包括个人人口特征、学科领域专长、工资和学区特征。调查人员将使用一种被称为等待时间模型的方法，这种方法以前在研究教师的职业道路时从未使用过。他们将把这些强大的方法应用于三个纵向数据集，这些数据集来自科罗拉多州、密歇根州和北卡罗来纳州的个别教师的丰富数据。这项研究将强调数学和科学教师与其他教师之间的比较，教授特定科学的教师之间的比较，不同时期（1970年代初与1980年代初）之间的比较，以及国家不同地区之间的比较。研究结果之所以有价值，有两个原因。首先，他们将为有关如何提高教师职业对受过数学和科学训练的大学毕业生的吸引力的政策讨论提供信息。其次，他们应该提供有用的信息，以改进用于预测教师短缺和过剩的教师需求和供给模型。

This research will analyze the factors that influence how long math and science teachers stay in teaching. These factors include personal demographic characteristics, subject area specializations, salaries, and school district characteristics. The investigators will use methodologies, known as waiting time models, that have not been used previously in studying teachers' career paths. They will apply these powerful methodologies to three longitudinal data sets, from rich data on individual teachers in Colorado, Michigan, and North Carolina. The research will emphasize comparisons between math and science teachers and other teachers, between teachers trained to teach particular sciences, between time periods (early 1970's versus early 1980's), and between regions of the country. The results should be valuable for two reasons. First, they will inform policy discussions about how to increase the attractiveness of the teaching profession to college graduates with math and science training. Second, they should provide information useful in improving the teacher demand and supply models used to predict teacher shortages and surpluses.