Shortages of Math and Science Teachers and the Feminization of Teachers: A Common Reason

Two concerns in US education are shortages of qualified math and science teachers and the feminization of teaching. I draw on the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 to identify a common reason for the two phenomena. Controlling for self-selection by a propensity score matching estimator and the Heckit, I find that the rigid pay structure for teachers, rather than the pay level, appears to generate both problems. Specifically, the returns to math skills in non-teaching are twice as high as those in teaching. The higher returns to math skills in non-teaching attract individuals with high math skills to the non-teaching sector (shortages of qualified math and science teachers). An earnings gap, potentially from discrimination, occurs against women in non-teaching. Along with this earnings gap, the lower average math skills of women than those of men provide women with an incentive to teach (the feminization of teaching). These findings imply that if teachers are paid commensurate with their math skills, individuals with high math skills would be attracted to teaching. The majority of them are expected to be men considering their current advantage over women in math.