Attracting Science and Mathematics Ph.D.s to Secondary School Education

The National Research Council conducted a study to identify a set of incentives that state governments and local school districts can use to attract Ph.D. scientists and mathematicians to secondary school teaching positions. This project investigated the career ambitions of Ph.D.s in the physical and life sciences through focus groups and a national survey to determine the kinds of work conditions and compensation packages that would induce them to take positions teaching physics, chemistry, biology, and various electives in public high schools or positions developing secondary school science and mathematics curricula. The study conducted interviews with Ph.D.s who are already teaching in secondary schools to ascertain information from their experiences, with local school district administrators to assess what they are realistically willing to offer Ph.D. scientists to attract them, and with higher education administrators to explore programmatic changes they would need to institute to provide Ph.D.s with skills tailored to secondary school teaching. These investigations led to this report which describes the incentives local school districts could use in establishing pilot programs in this area.

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