Document Type
Report
Publication Date
3-2023
Abstract
Teachers are the strongest school-based determinant of student success. Yet at the start of the 2022-23 school year, across the state of Connecticut, over 1,200 certified staff member positions were vacant. The educator shortage was particularly acute in upper-level math and science, special education, and bilingual education.
Despite growing demand for educators in those subject areas, the number of pre-service educators pursuing those endorsements has generally remained constant or decreased between 2015-2021, suggesting that absent meaningful change, shortages will persist.
Educators, administrators, and policymakers hypothesize that the state’s current educator preparation and certification process contributes to the state’s twin challenges of addressing its educator shortage and diversifying its educator workforce. This study explores that hypothesis, investigating the qualitative effects of the state’s current educator preparation and certification processes on aspiring and current educators and on education leaders seeking to deploy their staff to best meet student needs.
Recommended Citation
Madeleine Sims, Elizabeth Chu, Scheherazade Salimi, Delaney Lawson, Zoe Mitrofanis, Ivy Moore & Julia Skwarczyński,
Connecticut Educator Insights on Building a More Effective, Diverse Educator Workforce,
(2023).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/public_research_leadership/9
Included in
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Law Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons