Richard M. Ingersoll

Eight Penn GSE faculty feature prominently in the rankings, which celebrate the most influential education researchers in the nation.

Richard Ingersoll notes that nearly half of teachers leave the profession within the first five years, contributing to ongoing retention challenges.

Richard Ingersoll discusses the issue of teacher turnover within school districts, and how it negatively impacts hiring.

Richard Ingersoll highlights the complexities and uncertainties in evaluating teacher shortages, pointing out high attrition rates and a significant reserve pool of former teachers, while questioning whether shortages stem from low supply or poor retention.

Richard Ingersoll highlights the critical need for qualified teachers and suggests reducing teacher turnover by offering support, decision-making input, and mentorship programs for new teachers to address shortages while underscoring the importance of adequate compensation and respect.

Richard Ingersoll identifies a critical issue in education: the mismatch between the growing number of STEM classes and the declining preparation of teachers for these subjects. He notes the shift towards less experienced teachers, contributing to a "revolving door" phenomenon in schools, which impacts teacher retention and student learning.

Ingersoll provides critical insights into the evolving nature of teacher preparation across the U.S. in Education Week.

Richard Ingersoll suggests the main issue in teacher supply is not the quantity produced but the high rate of teachers leaving the profession before retirement.

A new year means a new version of the RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, with the 2024 edition announced yesterday by Education Week. Nine researchers from the University of Pennsylvania made the annual 200-member list, which was created by Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) to gauge the public impact of ed scholars’ contributions.

New study attributes high turnover to job dissatisfaction.

Richard Ingersoll concerns about the underrepresentation of male teachers in elementary school, and emphasizes the need for a more balanced gender mix among educators.

Richard Ingersoll says giving educators more authority at their workplace makes them feel like respected professionals; teachers need to be given a lot of discretion.

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.

Richard Ingersoll discusses teachers leaving the profession and how he arrived at his statistic that nearly half of educators quit within the first five years in a video interview.

Eight University of Pennsylvania-affiliated researchers are ranked in the top 200 nationwide – and all eight are associated with Penn GSE.

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

How bad is the teacher shortage? The answer depends on where you live, according to an article in the New York Times. Jacey Fortin and Eliza Fawcett spoke with experts and educators from across the country, including Richard Ingersoll.

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

#PennGSEExperts Pam Grossman and Richard M. Ingersoll were interviewed for a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article about the looming crisis. Between 30 and 50 percent of new teachers now leave the profession after their first five years.

Richard Ingersoll expressed concern about lowering the bar for teachers. “Remote sometimes might be much more preferable to getting some substitute in there who’s basically babysitting,” he said.

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.”

"There might be a whole lot of pent up frustration and the retiring, quitting can go up dramatically starting this summer." — Richard Ingersoll

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 the pandemic’s impact on the teaching workforce and suggested that the economy’s recovery could increase teacher turnover and retirements.

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 that admission standards for elementary teaching programs are already low, certainly compared to other professions such as medicine and law. The solution presented to address shortages in the national teacher workforce has been to “widen the gate and lower the bar,” but lowering academic standards “any further doesn’t make much sense,” Ingersoll said.

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 explained how it was decided that women would teach in public schools 150 years ago. “The argument was, ‘Look, women will learn to be better mothers by practicing on other people’s children,’” he said. “Proponents made the case it was a win-win.”

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.”

“Even if you don’t like your job, if there aren’t other options out there, you’re going to be loath to leave. There aren’t a lot of options out there,” said Richard Ingersoll.

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’s research points out that the overall teaching profession is getting younger.

Six researchers from Penn GSE have made Education Week’s 2020 Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings list.