Teacher Labor Market Trends: Insights from Tennessee and Kentucky

Abstract

Education leaders were concerned about looming teacher shortages prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the pandemic, coupled with legislation related to teaching and school safety concerns, has heightened these worries. This study uses statewide educator data from Kentucky and Tennessee to better understand how the teacher workforce may have changed over the past seven years. We focus on changes to teacher demographics and preparation backgrounds, retention and commitment to teaching, and early career teacher experiences. We find that the teacher workforce has not experienced dramatic changes in terms of composition, but that pathways to entry have been expanded, which is likely necessary given potential increases in teacher turnover. While Tennessee and Kentucky have many similar trends like unchanging teacher populations, we find differences in retention patterns.

Suggested Citation

Booker, L., Ellison, A., Keillor, S., & Powell, R. (2024). Teacher labor market trends: Insights from Tennessee and Kentucky. (Tennessee Education Research Alliance Working Paper No. 2024-02).