Elementary/Secondary School Teaching Among Recent College Graduates: 1994 and 2001. Statistical Analysis Report

摘要

New bachelor's degree recipients represent a small but essential component of the U.S. elementary/secondary teacher workforce. In 1999- 2000, nearly all (98 percent) of the approximately 3.4 million K-12 teachers in the United States had earned a bachelor's degree, and of those, about 5 percent had first earned the degree between 1998 and 2000. As increasing numbers of baby-boomer teachers reach retirement age in the coming years (National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) 2003), new college graduates will continue to be an important source of new teachers. Beyond the rate at which new graduates enter teaching, their retention-which is associated with their professional preparation and early teaching experiences (NCTAF 2003)- concerns educators and policymakers who staff the nation's schools. Moreover, it is important to assess interest in teaching among graduates who do not teach immediately following bachelor's degree receipt. The proportion of these graduates who become teachers later in their working lives may strongly affect the effort involved in staffing the nation's schools.