SEMINAR 8 February 2012: Herdis Steingrimsdottir, Columbia University

Why did Men leave Teaching in the 1970s - and Where Did They Go?

Abstract

Between 1968 and 1980, the ratio of male college freshmen planning to become a teacher fell from 12.4% to 2.4% and the share of males among those who aspired to teach dropped from 30.6% to 19.7%. While changes in women’s labor supply over this period have been studied extensively, little attention has been paid to shifts in men’s careers. Using nationally representative data on the career plans of college freshmen I find that unrestricted access to the birth control pill bears a negative relation to the likelihood that men plan to teach, while changes in the strength of teacher unions are unrelated to their career plans. Men’s aspirations shift away from teaching towards occupations that are associated with higher average income like accounting and computer programming. These changes in career plans occur predominantly among men of medium and low academic ability.