MSU-led, NSF-Funded Project Aims to Strengthen Rural Educator Pipeline
(photo by Megan Bean / © Mississippi State University) Partnership Middle School English class – MSU secondary education major Lauren Threadgill works with a class of seventh grade students as a student intern in the school.
A $2.4 million National Science Foundation grant supports a Mississippi State University-led project that aims better prepare educators for teaching in rural settings.
Mississippi State University is leading a nationwide project with the goal of better preparing educators for teaching in rural settings.
With $2.4 million in support from the National Science Foundation, the project entitled “Investigating STEM Teacher Preparation and Rural Teacher Persistence and Retention” brings together 14 universities to address workforce challenges in school settings, particularly for STEM teachers in rural areas. The project examines how educator preparation programs impact future STEM teachers’ intentions to teach in rural schools, as well as their retention rates at rural schools once they are in the workforce. Studies have shown that in addition to struggling to recruit teachers, rural schools have the highest rates of teacher attrition, with higher attrition rates occurring in the southern U.S. and in schools that serve low-income and minority students.