Reversing a trend, teachers hired during the Great Recession may be sticking around longer than those hired a few years before the downturn, according to new data.
The information is part of an update of an earlier project identifying seven trends in the composition of the teaching force that was led by University of Pennsylvania researcher Richard Ingersoll. In general, the numbers show that the teaching profession is simultaneously growing older as baby boomers enter their 60s; younger and less stable as retention rates fall; more female; and more racially and ethnically diverse.
The updated data, from the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, show that in 2007-08, the “mode” of teachers’ experience levels or the most common figure was just one year. By 2011-12, it was five years, which suggests that teachers hired during the lean recession times are staying longer.
