Richard M. Ingersoll

Richard Ingersoll identifies the primary causes of the teacher shortage–poor working conditions, low pay, and management issues–and discusses solutions to improve teacher retention.

Pam Grossman and Richard Ingersoll speak on the potential drawbacks of waiving basic skills tests for teacher preparation programs.

Research from Richard Ingersoll shows that nearly half of teachers nationwide quit within their first five years on the job.

Richard Ingersoll comments on teachers leaving the profession if the economy continues to improve and they continue to feel stress. “Typically we find that employees across the economy tend to quit less during economic downtimes,” he said. “There’s a lot of indications that in fact, during the pandemic, teacher turnover and teacher retirements may have even gone down.”

Richard Ingersoll said that it will take year or two to determine if the pandemic drove teachers to quit the profession. “Everything I have seen on this is anecdotal, or conjecture, or for specific school districts,” he said.

Richard Ingersoll spoke about how schools and school boards are working to meet demands from parents and lawmakers. “All these demands by parents are very understandable, such as lower class size,” said Ingersoll. “Who wouldn’t want their child to be in a class of 18? And, yes, let’s teach Mandarin and, yes, let’s bring back Latin. There are so many demands but very little recognition of the costs.”

Richard Ingersoll said cultural misunderstandings about what it takes to be a good teacher have contributed to low wages for educators. “There was this idea that you don’t have to be that smart. It’s not as complex,” he said. “Or as difficult as being an accountant, working with numbers. Or being a dentist, working with teeth.”

Richard Ingersoll said it’s too early to know if the pandemic will worsen teacher shortages. “Traditionally, employees in general across industries and occupations quit at higher rates in good economic times and at lower rates in bad economic times," he said. "The reason is simple—even if someone dislikes their job, they are loath to quit if there is financial uncertainty, or if there are not other jobs available.” 

Richard Ingersoll weighed in on teacher burnout, which has worsened in recent years. “A lot of it boils down to working conditions,” he said.

Richard Ingersoll discusses the lack of diversity in teaching. “It’s not enough to recruit,” he said. “If we don’t improve retention, I’m not optimistic for closing the gap.”

Richard Ingersoll spoke about the importance of teaching-staff retention. “We have 50 years of research that shows good schools have a sense of community and strong bonds,” he said. “The good schools, it’s not like a factory. It’s more like a family.”

Richard Ingersoll speaks about the teacher pipeline and the need for greater focus on improving teacher retention in K-12 schools.

Richard Ingersoll comments on teacher strikes and walkouts across the U.S., noting the challenges of meeting demands for increased teacher salaries.

Richard Ingersoll discusses reasons why teachers—particularly teachers of color—leave the profession, citing a lack of classroom autonomy and lack of voice into schoolwide decisions.

Richard Ingersoll attributes some of the growth in the teaching force to increased hiring of special education teachers, teachers of English language learners, and math and science teachers.

Richard Ingersoll’s findings—that students perform better on state tests when teachers have a leadership role in decision making in their school—are cited in this article that explores hybrid roles for teachers as leaders of other teachers.

Richard Ingersoll shares his research about how the inclusion of teachers in decision-making has a positive impact on student performance.

Richard Ingersoll discusses that far from shortage, the growth in the teaching force has actually surpassed student growth.

Richard Ingersoll’s research is cited in this story of a young Philadelphia man who is beginning his career in teaching.

Richard Ingersoll is cited for his research putting the cost of teacher attrition nationally at approximately $2.2 billion a year.

Richard Ingersoll comments on the importance of retaining teachers of color and the need to improve working conditions in schools where resources are scarce.

Richard Ingersoll talks about the difficulty of closing the gap between the numbers of minority students and minority teachers.

Richard Ingersoll is quoted about teacher retention and minority teacher recruitment.

According to Richard Ingersoll, shortages are more about the failure to retain veteran teachers.  

“The solution is to improve the job,” says Richard Ingersoll.

"National data confirm that math and science positions are the toughest teaching jobs to fill," says Richard Ingersoll.

Employee turnover is expensive. When it comes to the teacher workforce, Richard Ingersoll offers solutions.