Recruiting and Retaining Teachers in Rural Schools: A Systematic Review of the Literature

ABSTRACT

In this article, we conduct a systematic review of the literature completed over the past 4 decades pertaining to teacher recruitment, retention, and resultant teacher shortages. We focus on research that examines rural settings, per the National Rural Education Association’s identification of the recruitment and retention of teachers in rural schools as a primary research priority. Evidence distilled in this systematic review shows that though this area of scholarship has expanded in recent years, there remains a paucity of policy and program evaluations focused on rural settings, a stark contrast to the depth of urban-focused and location-agnostic scholarship. While research on other geographic settings may provide some level of relevance for rural settings, evidence pertaining to rural schools, particularly that focused on heterogeneous rural contexts, likely would inform rural policy and practice more effectively. We summarize the existing body of research and conclude by considering possibilities for future avenues of actionable scholarship.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Evan Rhinesmith

Evan Rhinesmith is a senior program officer with a family office and an independent researcher. Rhinesmith’s research focuses on educator preparation and labor markets, public opinion research, and postsecondary access and success.

J. Cameron Anglum

J. Cameron Anglum is an assistant professor of education policy and equity at the School of Education at Saint Louis University. In his scholarship, Anglum focuses on P-12 school finance and educator labor markets, concentrating on the equitable distribution of educational resources and policy and program effects witnessed by underserved students, educators, schools, and their communities.

Aaron Park

Aaron Park is a Ph.D. candidate in education policy and equity at the School of Education at Saint Louis University. Park focuses on P-12 school district governance, teacher labor markets, and other education policies that impact underserved students, educators, schools, and their communities.

Abigail Burrola

Abigail Burrola is a doctoral student in education policy and equity at the School of Education at Saint Louis University. Burrola’s previous work has focused on Missouri’s school choice policies and the state’s school accountability system.