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This study examines between-country differences in the degree to which teachers’ working conditions, salaries, and societal evaluations about desirable job characteristics are associated with students’ teaching career expectations. Three-level hierarchical generalized linear models are employed to analyze cross-national data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Results reveal that teacher salaries and societal evaluations about the importance of job responsibility and respect are positively associated with teaching career expectations, while working hours are negatively associated with teaching career expectations. Analyses further reveal that the association between salaries and career expectations and societal evaluations and career expectations differ among students with different mathematics skills. We conclude by discussing policy initiatives that can encourage students with strong quantitative abilities to consider a career in teaching.

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A B S T R A C TThis study examines associations between features of national education systems and the gender gap in STEM-related occupational expectations across 49 countries. Using data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the study finds no association between uniformity of curricula at the national level (standardization) and the gender gap in STEM occupational expectations; in contrast, the availability of more school types at the secondary level (stratification) is associated with a larger gender gap in STEM occupational expectations. In addition, this positive association between stratified systems and the gender gap in STEM occupational expectations is stronger for top-performers than for low-performers.

Despite popular conceptions of the "gap year" as a time of personal enrichment, the incidence of delay between high school and college is greatest among students from socioeconomically disadvantaged families, suggesting other motivations. This article examines two explanations for socioeconomic inequalities in rates of delay: disparities in high school course-taking and family formation. Students from disadvantaged families more often become parents before college and less often engage in rigorous science coursework. These factors (along with family background, educational expectations, and other kinds of high school preparation) account for nearly one-fifth of the unconditional socioeconomic gap in the "gap year."