- Year 2024
- NSF Noyce Award # 1660615, 2151061, 1950209
- First Name John
- Last Name Pecore
- Registration Faculty/Administrator/Other
- Discipline STEM Education (general)
- Role Principal Investigator (PI)
- Presenters
John L. Pecore, Kwame Owusu-Daaku, Josiah Tawiah, Aletheia Zambesi, Melissa K. Demetrikopoulos
Need
Teacher attrition is an ongoing problem that plagues American education, especially for new hires (Boe, Cook, &Sunderland, 2008). An estimated 40 to 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession after five years (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2014). This issue is especially prevalent in low-economic schools. The University of West Florida Teach Program (UWF-Teach) provides a pathway to address the shortage of middle and high school science and math teachers in high-need districts. Students are able to explore their teaching interests and become certified teachers while pursuing a STEM major through UWF-Teach.
Research Questions
What factors contribute to STEM majors becoming grades 6-12 classroom teachers in high need LEAs?
Approach
To address the shortage of middle and high school science and math teachers, recruitment of students begins with freshmen STEM majors in introductory STEM classes. STEM majors were introduced to UWF-Teach and were asked about their interest in teaching in high need LEAs as well the level of support for teaching as a career from family, friends, faculty and others.
Outcomes
The results demonstrate 93% of students in introductory STEM classes gained a better understanding of UWF-Teach as a result of the presentation. A large number of students expressed an interest in teaching with 30% of the students indicating they are interested in teaching in a STEM field and 29% indicating they are interested in teaching students with circumstances of poverty. Furthermore, 20% of students in introductory STEM classes indicated they are interested in teaching high school and 12% were interested in teaching middle school. These numbers may be related to concerns about challenging teaching environments since 70% of the students reported student classroom behavior makes them hesitant to be a teacher. A majority of the students (72%) indicated people in their life are supportive of teaching with 60% indicating their science and math faculty are supportive but only 46% reported their academic advisors are supportive. Individuals outside of academia were less supportive with 52% of students reporting their parents were supportive but only 33% reporting their significant other was supportive. It is possible this low level of support by a significant other is related to the belief that teachers are not paid very well since only 18% of the students reported teachers receive fair pay and benefits.
Broader Impacts
While the percentages of STEM majors in introductory STEM classes who are interested in teaching are not high, the number of students they represent is quite large. If even a fraction of these students followed through on this interest and became teachers, they would easily meet the needs for high quality STEM teachers at high-need LEA’s. Further effort needs to address how to turn an interest in teaching into making teaching a career choice.
