Enrollment of Education Majors at Public, Not-For-Profit, and For-Profit Postsecondary Institutions: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This article offers a quantitative analysis of the growth of for-profit provision of teacher education in the United States. Data from all Title-IV-aid-participating institutions from 1996 to 2008 is analyzed to provide a comprehensive overview of the relative changes in enrollments of education majors at public, not-for-profit, and for-profit 4-year-and-above institutions. For-profits enroll a small, but rapidly expanding share of the education majors. Several possible reasons for the large increase in for-profit enrollments are explored and potential implications for teacher preparation are discussed. Concerns about the for-profit provision of teacher education are reviewed in light of this new data.