Localised teacher recruitment through grow-your-own

How do we get more great teachers into the classrooms that need them most? “Grow-your-own” (GYO) programs, which recruit future teachers from the communities they’ll one day serve, are a popular answer, but hard evidence on whether they actually work has been scarce.

David Blazar presents new research evaluating Maryland’s Teacher Academy CTE program, which embedded teacher training into public high schools. Using the program’s staggered rollout as a natural experiment, the study tracks students over a decade to ask: did exposure make them more likely to become teachers and what kind?

The findings are striking. Treated students were 45% more likely to enter the profession. Effects were largest for Black girls, who were 82% more likely to become teachers. But where they ended up teaching reveals something important: unlike their White peers, Black girls moved toward districts with more Black teachers and higher salaries, suggesting that GYO programs alone may not achieve the localisation goals advocates prize.

The research also pushes back on a common concern: rather than steering students away from better-paying careers, the program raised wages, especially for Black women.

This event will be particularly useful to researchers and policy makers.

Related links

• Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO)
• CEPEO Seminar Series
• Department of Learning and Leadership

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Lucy Pope for UCL IOE.