Insufficient money and inadequate respect. What obstructs the recruitment of college students to teach in hard-to-staff schools
| Published date | 08 April 2019 |
| Date | 08 April 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-07-2018-0129 |
| Pages | 152-166 |
| Author | Henry Tran,Doug Smith |
| Subject Matter | Education,Administration & policy in education,School administration/policy,Educational administration,Leadership in education |
Insufficient money and
inadequate respect
What obstructs the recruitment of college
students to teach in hard-to-staff schools
Henry Tran
Department of Educational Leadership and Policies, University of South Carolina,
Columbia, South Carolina, USA, and
Doug Smith
University of South Carolina Columbia, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of financial factors on motivating college
students to consider teaching in hard-to-staff rural schools. The role of perceived respectability of the
profession was also explored.
Design/methodology/approach –This work relies on an explana tory sequential mixed- method
design, that surveyed c ollege students across all majors at a reg ional public university, then intervi ewed a
subset of participant s to improve understandin g. Quantitative and qua litative results were co mpared
and synthesized.
Findings –Results from an ordinal logistic regression demonstrate the importance of base salary, retirement
benefits and respondents’view of the respectability of the teaching profession as influential for their
willingness to teach in the rural target school district. These findings were validated by thequalitative results
that found perceptions of respectability had both a joint and separate influence with salaries. Results also
demonstrate that most students were amenable to rural teaching and to lower starting salaries than their
current chosen occupation, provided their individual minimum salary threshold was met (x¼36 percent
above the state average beginning teacher salary).
Originality/value –Few empirical studies exist that examine college student recruitment into rural
hard-to-staff districts via a multimodal narrative. This study addresses this, focusing on college students
across majors to explore both recruitment into the district and into the profession. This work is relevant
considering the financial disinvestment in traditional public education and the de-professionalization of the
teaching profession that has led to the recent season of teacher strikes in the USA.
Keywords Strategic management, Recruitment, Talent management, Rural, Teacher recruitment
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In what is now being referred to as the “season of strikes”(Fay, 2018), 2018 saw a wave of
teacher walkouts across the USA. The bulk of the movement has been concentrated in
traditionally conservative or red states (e.g. Arizona, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kentucky),
characterized by limited collective bargaining presence, low teacher salaries and a state
legislative environment that prioritizes lower taxes for big businesses over education
investments (Tran, 2018). These activities, in states with large rural areas and populations,
have left many principals and district leaders no choice but to shut down their schools
during protests, given the amount of teachers involved.
The demands of these strike efforts in the USA have concentrated on monetary matters
including increasing education spending, educator salaries, healthcare and retirement benefits
(given the rise of healthcare costs and reduction of pension benefits). Many of the striking
states have experienced teacher supply challenges due to lower relative compensation than
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 57 No. 2, 2019
pp. 152-166
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/JEA-07-2018-0129
Received 20 July 2018
Revised 14 November 2018
22 November 2018
22 January 2019
Accepted 24 January 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-8234.htm
Funding for this study was provided by the University of South Carolina’s Center for Educational
Partnerships.
152
JEA
57,2
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