Calling All Future Educators: Investigating the Influence of a Teacher Recruitment Event

ABSTRACT

There is a critical, nation-wide teacher shortage. Exacerbating this shortage is declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs that serve as a pipeline to the profession. To help address this shortage, school districts and teacher preparation programs across the country are implementing a variety of strategies to recruit high school students to consider pursuing a career as a PreK-12 teacher. While such initiatives are growing in number, little research has been conducted to guide and inform these initiatives, and little is known about the extent to which they are successful. In response, the researchers used a single-case study design involving survey and interview data collected from high school student participants to investigate the influence of a two-day recruitment event on participant knowledge about and attitudes toward becoming a teacher. Results confirmed that well-planned recruitment events can have a positive influence on participant knowledge of the teaching profession and attitudes toward becoming a teacher and offered multiple recommendations to guide and inform future recruitment initiatives.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher recruitment
• knowledge
• attitudes
• recommendations
• case study

Disclosure Statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of North Carolina.

Notes on contributors

Scott Kissau

Scott P. Kissau is a Professor and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education in the Cato College of Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His primary research interests relate to foreign language teacher preparation.

Teresa Petty

Teresa M. Petty is a Professor and Senior Associate Dean for the Cato College of Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research interests include teacher preparation, online teaching/learning and National Board Certification.

Jason Giersch

Jason Giersch is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Administration and Associate Director of the Public Policy PhD Program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He conducts research on education policy.

Nicholas Gathings

Nicholas Gathings is a doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction program in the Cato College of Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.