The United States is experiencing a shortage of teachers, and the issue is amplified among those who serve vulnerable student populations (see for example Brunsting et al., 2023). In response, many states have created lateral pathways including provisional licensure routes for individuals to enter the classroom before completing teacher preparation (Nguyen et al., 2024). However, 74 per cent of Tennessee’s school leaders recently reported dissatisfaction with applicant pools for positions, an increase from 56 per cent in 2021 (Tennessee Department of Education, 2024). Furthermore, recent studies have raised alarm by reporting negative impacts of underprepared teachers (see for example Backes et al., 2024). Such policies are akin to trying to ‘fill a leaky bucket’. In this blog post I explain how the teacher shortage is actually a two-pronged issue, fuelled by both a need for recruiting new teachers and preventing the attrition of existing educators.

‘Teacher turnover results in both economic losses for schools and educational losses for students.’

Teacher turnover results in both economic losses for schools and educational losses for students (see for example Ingersoll & Tran, 2023) and a recent state survey revealed that 20 per cent of teachers reported planning to leave in 2024 (Tennessee Department of Education, 2024). Thirty per cent of respondents to a 2022 membership survey of the Professional Educators of Tennessee ranked employee wellbeing among the top three most urgent needs, and 92.3 per cent reported teacher workload as the most challenging issue in schools (ranking first overall). This matches trends found in large-scale national surveys where teachers report worse wellbeing than other occupations, and those reporting poor wellbeing were more likely to leave (Doan et al., 2023). Furthermore, only slightly more than half of teachers indicated that existing supports for wellbeing and/or mental health were adequate, demonstrating a dire need for workload support to prevent attrition and stop the ‘leaks’.

‘The current policy trajectory of the majority government both in Tennessee and at the federal level is unlikely to either stop the “leaks” of teachers leaving the profession or “fill the bucket” with quality personnel.’

Beyond Tennessee, the situation is compounded by the recent administrative change in the United States, which has increased uncertainty. President Trump, along with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have begun this term with a blitzkreig of executive orders and personnel actions meant to critically disrupt many longstanding federal institutions. At the time of writing, this has included effectively eliminating the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, which conducted research to provide scientific evidence on education practices. It has also included the cancellation of existing education grants and programmes, such as Supporting Effective Educator Development – which supported the implementation of evidence-based practices to increase the number of highly effective educators – and Teacher Quality Partnership – which funded professional development for teachers in high-need schools, meaningful induction programmes and evidence-based reforms in preparation programmes. Another executive order supports privatising education with public funds via block grants and vouchers. As a ‘red state’ (Republican-controlled) where Trump captured more than 64 per cent of votes, it is expected that similar actions will continue at the state level in Tennessee. For instance, a statewide voucher intiative was signed by the Governor on 12 February, despite public outcry and similar intiatives recently failing at public vote in other Republican-controlled states (such as Kentucky).

While these recent actions show that much of the future of American education remains uncertain, the current policy trajectory of the majority government both in Tennessee and at the federal level is unlikely to either stop the ‘leaks’ of teachers leaving the profession or ‘fill the bucket’ with quality personnel. There remains a demonstrable need for policies geared at attracting talented individuals to the profession, cultivating robust preparation programmes and induction support and creating intiatives to retain veteran teachers.

References

Backes, B., Cowan, J., Goldhaber, D., & Theobald, R. (2024). Four years of pandemic-era emergency licenses: Retention and effectiveness of emergency-licensed Massachusetts teachers over time. Economics of Education Review, 101(1). 102562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102562

Brunsting, N. C., Stark, K., Bettini, E., Lane, K. L., Royer, D. J., Common, E. A., & L. Rock, M. (2023). Self-efficacy, burnout, and intent to leave for teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 49(2), 75–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/01987429231201566

Doan, S., Steiner, E. D., Pandey, R., & Woo, A. (2023). Teacher well-being and intentions to leave: Findings from the 2023 State of the American Teacher Survey. RAND. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-8.html

Ingersoll, R. M., & Tran, H. (2023). Teacher shortages and turnover in rural schools in the US: An organizational analysis. Educational Administration Quarterly, 59(2), 396–431. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X231159922  

Nguyen, T. D., Lam, C. B., & Bruno, P. (2024). What do we know about the extent of teacher shortages nationwide? A systematic examination of reports of US teacher shortages. Aera Open, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584241276512

Tennessee Department of Education. (2024). Tennessee Educator Survey: 2024 overview. https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/rpt-crd/TDOE_EducatorSurvey_2024-compressed.pdf