Can Early Exposure to the Teaching Profession Increase Teacher Supply and Diversity? New Evidence on the Teacher Pipeline

Danielle Sanderson Edwards and Matthew Kraft

No 35776, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We examine whether early exposure to the teaching career has the potential to expand the size and diversity of new teacher supply. Exploiting the staggered expansion of high school education courses across Texas, we find little evidence that these courses increased new teacher supply or diversity despite course takers being substantially more diverse than the teacher workforce. High school education course takers who become teachers are similarly effective and more likely to be retained than their peers. Most course takers drop out of the teacher pipeline prior to college enrollment where racial gaps in 4-year college going serve as major barriers. Our findings suggest that early exposure without support to increase college going is unlikely to increase teacher supply or diversity.

JEL-codes: I21 J21 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-09
Note: ED
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