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From the RAND Blog

See below for the latest commentary from the RAND Education and Labor team. For a complete list of related blog content, see education posts and workforce posts on the RAND Blog.

How COVID-19 Transformed the Jobs Market
The COVID-19 pandemic initially devastated the U.S. economy. It also exposed and exacerbated existing inequities in society. But in as yet unpredictable ways, it may have accelerated profound changes in how labor works today.
Dec 1, 2022
Keeping Teachers of Color in the Classroom Will Take More Than a Pay Raise
All students—but particularly Black and Latinx students—benefit academically and socially from having teachers who are people of color. Policymakers and education leaders can help these teachers stay in the profession by making teaching more financially sustainable and fostering collegial relationships within school communities.
Dec 1, 2022
Taiwan, Putin's Holy War, Mining the Moon: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on why China likely won't attack Taiwan anytime soon, Vladimir Putin's “holy war” in Ukraine, why it's time to make rules for space-mining, and more.
Nov 25, 2022
$Young Afro-Latina mother taking temperature of her child in bed, photo by Vesnaandjic/Getty Images$

Working Moms' Winter Math Is Getting Tougher
Working mothers remain disproportionately responsible for raising children, and no one can work and take care of sick kids at the same time. In the coming months, the tripledemic of COVID, the flu, and RSV will pull a lot of working mothers out of the office for days at a stretch, compounding the obstacles that women already face.
Nov 22, 2022
Green Jobs and Skills Development for Disadvantaged Groups
Many countries have plans to increase green job opportunities. To make sure that everyone can benefit from this promised green transition, it is important to understand how people with low qualifications, and other marginalised groups, might be able to access green jobs.
Nov 8, 2022
How Veterans Fare in the Civilian Labor Market
Around 200,000 service members transition to the civilian labor market every year. They often find it's like falling into another dimension, one where employers don't even speak the same language. More than a decade of RAND research has sought to ease that transition.
Nov 4, 2022
Army Lessons and Organizational Change: Q&A with Dwayne Butler
Before coming to RAND, Dwayne Butler served in the U.S. Army for 20 years. In this interview, he discusses how his military career prepared him for the research he is doing now on organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Oct 28, 2022
Legalizing Cannabis, the Russian Nuclear Threat, Digital Offshoring: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on cannabis legalization, the Russian nuclear threat, the effects of digital offshoring, and more.
Oct 14, 2022
Ways to Help Students Report Threats to Their School
When students or others don't know how to report a threat or aren't willing to do so, important opportunities to protect students may be missed. Schools receive little guidance about how to implement an effective reporting program or how to build a robust reporting culture. A recent research effort helps to fill this gap, highlighting seven key implications for school safety planning.
Sep 29, 2022
Improving Media Literacy in Middle School
Middle schoolers can be savvy users of news and information—when they know where to look. But they're also easy marks for misinformation, disinformation, and trolls. Helping them find their way in today's media landscape is important both for their futures and for the future of democracy.
Sep 6, 2022
How Educators Are Faring in the COVID Era
Teachers and principals are twice as likely as other workers to experience frequent job-related stress. They report higher rates of depression and burnout, and much lower rates of resilience. What can school districts do to better support them?
Aug 25, 2022
Will Teachers Quit? What Surveys Can and Can't Tell Us
There is no single source for reliable current data about teacher and principal turnover or job openings, so it's understandable that journalists rely on survey data to monitor the health of the teacher and principal workforce. But media coverage that focuses only on the connection, or lack thereof, between teachers' intentions to leave and actual turnover stands the risk of minimizing the clearly stated dissatisfaction that educators are expressing.
Aug 11, 2022
In Search of an Equity Lens: A Physician's Journey
Patient health outcomes, communication with providers, and overall patient satisfaction improve when patients and providers share a similar background. Further, diverse work environments may positively impact health care provider job satisfaction. Increasing diversity in health care work settings is a first important step that could help to increase equity and inclusion in these environments.
Aug 11, 2022
Educators' Poor Morale Matters, Even If They Don't Quit. Here's Why
State and district education leaders can take steps now to reduce teacher and principal stress this fall in two ways: Recognize that job-related stress is systemic and that educators closer to the classroom may experience more of it, and talk with teachers and principals about the sources of stress in their job, and what could alleviate them.
Aug 11, 2022
Faculty Leaders Program in Policy Research and Analysis
The Faculty Leaders Program is a professional development program for faculty who work with students or in disciplines underrepresented in public policy. Offered by the Pardee RAND Graduate School, the program awards fellowships to 12–16 selected faculty to participate in the policy analysis summer program.
Aug 5, 2022