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The STEM teacher workforce in the United States has faced a host of pressing challenges, including teacher shortages, pervasive job dissatisfaction, and high turnover, problems largely attributable to working conditions within schools and districts. These problems have been exacerbated in high-needs districts with fewer resources and more students from low-income communities. Since social network research has shown that workplace relationships are vital for retention, this study investigates the demographic and relational antecedents to what we dub ties of retention. We explore how demographic and relational properties affect the likelihood that teachers have “retention-friendly” networks, characterized by connections important for retention. Our analysis of data from a sample of 120 STEM teachers across five geographic regions identifies key demographics (i.e., site, gender, career changer, and prior teaching experience) and relational properties (network size, positive affect, and perceptions of bridging) associated with ties of retention. We discuss the implications of our findings for the STEM teacher workforce and for teacher education programs.
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This content will become publicly available on January 22, 2026
STEM Teacher Characteristics and Mobility: Longitudinal Evidence From the American Midwest, 2010 Through 2023
ABSTRACT This study examines the demographics, qualifications, and turnover of STEM teachers in Kansas and Missouri—two contiguous, predominantly rural states in the Midwestern region of the United States. The existing literature lacks detailed insights regarding U.S. STEM teachers, especially with recent economic and social changes over the COVID‐19 pandemic, and there is particularly limited evidence regarding STEM teachers in the U.S. Midwest. Utilizing large‐scale administrative longitudinal data, we filled part of this gap by documenting the characteristics and turnover patterns of STEM teachers in Kansas and Missouri over a 13‐year period, from 2010 through 2023. Our analysis shows declining trends among young and early‐career STEM teachers, STEM certification, and rising STEM teacher turnover, especially post‐COVID‐19. We found particularly high turnover rates in urban schools and schools with the highest shares of students of color and poverty. We also found numerous factors of STEM teacher turnover, including salary and employment in schools serving high percentages of minoritized and low‐income students, as well as differential turnover patterns among school geographical circumstances. This work is the first comprehensive examination of STEM teachers in Kansas and Missouri. We offer insights into the teacher workforce of the traditionally overlooked U.S. Midwest. Our results suggest important policy implications for sustaining a diverse and qualified STEM teacher workforce in the U.S. amid post‐COVID‐19 social changes, thereby informing decision making at state and national levels that aim to foster equitable access to high‐quality STEM education among students in diverse contexts, while contributing to the U.S.'s long‐term economic growth, sustainability, and the world's advancement of STEM education.
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- PAR ID:
- 10567545
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Research in Science Teaching
- ISSN:
- 0022-4308
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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