Repairing the Teacher Pipeline for People of Color: Three Essays on Minority Teacher Scholarships

Despite near consensus agreement about the importance of increasing the presence of teachers of color in schools, there is limited research on how public policy can solve this problem. Drawing on federal and one university’s teacher education data, this dissertation addresses whether a Minority Teacher Scholarship (MTS) can alter the labor supply of teachers of color. The first essay evaluates whether five states implementing MTS programs increase the proportion of candidates of color earning teacher education bachelor’s degrees. Using event study and difference-in-differences frameworks, I find that implementing states stabilized the share of Black candidates relative to non-implementing states, a result driven by changes in private institutions and states with the greatest financial value awards. In the second essay, I estimate whether teacher candidates of color in the same program are more likely to complete a degree if receiving MTS aid. Using linear probability and propensity score matching models, I find MTS receipt associated positively with bachelor’s and master’s degree completion for individuals who were observably similar on individual characteristics. The third essay investigates whether teacher candidates of color in the same program university respond MTS awards differentially in the labor market. Using linear probability and discrete-time survival analysis models, I find that MTS receipt associated positively with public school teaching employment within two years of graduation, and negatively with exiting teaching in a public school for individuals of color from the same program. The three studies provide suggestive evidence that MTS programs benefit individuals and the largest group of people of color in states implementing MTS programs