Date of Award

5-1-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching, Leadership & Professional Practice

First Advisor

Julie Robinson

Abstract

There has been a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teacher shortage in K-12 schools across the United States (Klassen et al., 2021; Luft et al., 2005). To help provide a possible solution to the nationwide STEM teacher shortage, this study investigated the factors that influence STEM majors to change careers from STEM disciplines to teaching. In the current study, six American STEM teachers who have switched careers from the STEM profession to the teaching field were interviewed to find out the factors that led them to change careers; and how schools of education could use these factors in creating recruiting and retention strategies to attract undergraduate STEM majors to STEM teacher education programs. The study explored how Realistic Job Previews (RJPs) intervention could be used in teacher recruitment process. The researcher employed a qualitative multiple case study to conduct the investigation. Semi-structured interviews and surveys were used to collect the data. The study employed the interest development theory (Hidi & Renninger, 2006) and self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997) as lenses to better understand the factors that led the six STEM teachers to change careers. The findings from the study revealed six factors: passion for science, passion for teaching STEM, prior teaching experience, time for family, STEM professors vs. education professors, and financial aid. The current study adds to the thin body of literature in this area of research, where studies on recruiting STEM majors into teacher education programs are sparse (Coon, 2020).

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