Challenges & Opportunities for STEM Teachers in Rural Schools: A Case Study

This project is a single ongoing case study that focuses on the teaching experiences of two early-career math teachers working in rural schools and the factors that influenced their decision to work in these environments (Yin, 2014). Both teachers are graduates of Clarkson University's STEM Up NY program, a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program designed to strengthen STEM teaching and to learn in high-need schools. This project is part of a larger, 14-partner Noyce research collaboration focusing on STEM teacher persistence, retention, and recruitment (TPR2) in rural schools. TPR2 addresses the national shortage of STEM teachers in rural communities, which is critical for future student success. This larger project seeks to identify programmatic features of STEM teacher preparation programs that aid in rural STEM teachers' recruitment, retention, and persistence.