Again, from Dubner at Freakonomics Blog:
I have long heard the argument that one reason for the decline in teacher quality in U.S. schools (if in fact there has been such a decline) was the feminist movement. The argument goes like this: until the mid-1960’s or so, teaching was one of the few career paths wide open to women; as feminism opened up opportunities for women in other fields, many bright women followed those opportunities; the remaining pool of female teachers since then is therefore of lesser quality.
Like I said, I had long heard that argument, but couldn’t find any research on the subject. But thanks to Richard Morin’s always-excellent “Unconventional Wisdom” WashPost column (2nd item), here’s a new paper by Marigee Bacolod at Cal-Irvine, making that very argument.
Bacolod’s solution? Raise teacher salaries, of course.