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YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE
Dennis M. Mulcahy
Statistics can be used to reveal or conceal the reality of any given situation. While it may be true that statistics do not lie, the selective use of statistical data can mask the truth and lull an unsuspecting audience into thinking all is well, when in fact serious issues are in need of urgent attention. Education is a prime example where statistics can be used in this manner. Take, for example, the matter of pupil-teacher ratio (PTR). According to Department of Education the official PTR for the province is 13.9 (Education Statistics, 2000-2001). This number is derived by simply dividing the total number of full time students (87,438) by the total number of full time equivalent teachers (6,283). One might be led to believe that this PTR of 13.9 was an indicator in some way of the actual learning and teaching conditions in the province's schools and classrooms. The fact is that there are very few classrooms with just 14 students. My own children, for example, have never been in a class of less than thirty; many of their classes over the years have had more than thirty-five. The statistic is accurate but it does not lead to an understanding of the actual learning environments in our schools. Statistics can also be used to show that there isn't a shortage of teachers. All one has to do is to add up the total number of certified or credentialed teachers and compare that with the total number of available teaching positions and one can "prove" a teacher shortage doesn't exist. However, the reality is somewhat different, especially if you live in a rural community. There is, for example, a very real shortage of math, science, French (core and especially immersion) and special education teachers province wide. With the exception of District Ten (Avalon East), a predominately urban board, all other school boards (predominately rural) are finding it increasingly difficult to find qualified teachers to fill positions in these discipline areas. Dr. Dave Dibbon, of the Faculty of Education, MUN, has produced a comprehensive report on the situation in Newfoundland and Labrador entitled, Teacher Demand, Supply, and Retention (1) (2001). A very interesting section of that report offers some recent comments of district personnel on the problems they are having filling teaching positions in their local schools: District 1: "[T]here are more high school vacancies than there are applicants coming forward." District 2: "There have been no applications for two French positions, and the interviewee felt that the district would have trouble filling even 50% of the four vacant guidance positions. This person noted that the situation has gotten worse." District 5: "The shortage of teachers is becoming more pronounced. There are no new applicants for the positions of special education, and it is "a waste of time" to advertise for educational psychologists and speech pathology units." District 6: "Concerns about getting qualified teachers in the specialty areas of guidance, mathematics, science, and French." District 7: "[S}pecial education was a problem area. They were also experiencing a shortage of applications for high school mathematics, science and technology teachers - "Basically there are no applications", claimed one of the representatives." District 8: "[T]he administrators acknowledged that the demand for teachers in the areas of high school mathematics and science has increased over the past year and they are worried about being able to attract prospective teachers to the area. District 9: "[T]here is a concern that the number of qualified applicants for the specialty positions of special education, chemistry, physics, French and French Immersion is declining rapidly." These comments were made at recent "Job Fair" by school district officials held in May of 2000 at Memorial University. Perhaps the clearest indicator that there is a serious problem that, in the short term at least, is going to intensify, is the fact that even the Avalon East District is starting to notice significant differences in the available applicants for particular situations. If the metropolitan area of St. John's is starting to have difficulty finding qualified teachers, what hope for the more rural and remote areas of the province? Other signs that a teacher shortage exists include the increasing difficulty schools have in finding substitute teachers, the increased reliance on under qualified "emergency supply" individuals to fill teaching positions, and the increased use of teachers teaching outside their areas of specialization. Most recently, the government has rescinded the regulations that prohibited retired teachers from "double dipping:" collecting their pension and being hired for a vacant teaching position. If a school board can demonstrate they cannot find a qualified teacher, they can hire a retired teacher and that teacher can continue to receive their full pension as well as their salary. Attracting and, especially, retaining qualified teachers has always been a challenge for rural schools. The more remote and isolated the community the greater these challenges have been. In the past, new teachers would often begin their careers in small rural schools. For many, this experience was used, intentionally, as a stepping stone to attaining a teaching position in a larger school and/or more urban community. Although most came with the intention of leaving, sometimes they discovered something or someone that enticed them to stay. While this was not ideal, it did provide rural communities, even fairly remote ones, with a steady supply of qualified teachers. This all changed as the current teacher shortage began to develop. As expected, the first signs of the problem manifested itself in those rural districts responsible for the more remote and isolated schools. New teachers, especially those in particular disciplines discovered that they had more options in terms of where to begin their careers. In addition, as the teacher shortage intensified, a domino effect started to occur which saw a migration of many experienced teachers making the move from remote communities to more centralized ones and from rural areas in to more urban ones. As one would expect, it wasn't too long before the supply of substitute teachers also started to diminish and, in rural places, all but disappear. Today, it is difficult, on occasion, finding a substitute even in St. John's. (I was told recently that a principal might have to make up to fifty calls on occasion to find a substitute teacher.) Although rural educators have been ringing the alarm bells on this issue for some time, only when the urban areas began to experience a problem, has the issue of a teacher shortage become a provincial issue. Even now some appear to be in denial. Why has a teacher shortage developed? That is a complex question to try and answer. One part of the answer lies in the fact that there are fewer young people choosing to enter the profession. An indicator of this is the decrease in the number of qualified applicants to teacher education institutions. (A fact that has its own implications for quality of the teacher force in the future.) A second reason lies in the fact that most, if not all veteran teachers are choosing to retire as soon as they qualify for their pension benefits. Some even take an early retirement. A third reason is the alarming high attrition rate for new teachers entering the profession. We lose too many new teachers after only a few years of service. What is disturbing about this is that these young people have chosen education as their preferred profession; they should be the foundation for the future of the system. Yet, as one American researcher notes, 30% of new teachers leave the profession within five years of entering it. There are several contributing factors to this overall situation. One is the comparatively low salaries offered to teachers in general. Salaries have not kept pace with other occupations. Hence, university graduates, in mathematics and science, in particular, can often make significantly more money in other fields. This is compounded in this province by the fact that our salary scales are among the lowest in the country. This results in our losing many of recent graduates to other places. Other provinces and other countries have been actively recruiting Faculty of Education graduates for some time. They are impressed with the quality of our new minted teachers; and our graduates are attracted to the high salary scales as well as other inducements. A second factor is working conditions. Teachers are finding their working conditions increasingly intolerable and a source of tremendous stress. An indication of this can be seen in the results of a number of recent research studies that report a majority of teachers would chose an improvement in working conditions over an increase in salary as a way to make their jobs more satisfying. This fact alone speaks volumes about the conditions of our children's current learning environments A final factor is the low esteem teachers are generally accorded in our society and by their employers. Teachers do not feel that their work is valued, their many contributions to the school and community acknowledged, or their knowledge and experienced recognized. Their professional expertise and understanding are rarely consulted and their informed views carry little weight with educational leaders and decision makers. Many are extremely frustrated by being denied the opportunity to take part in public discourse on important education matters. Ironically, those who have the most knowledge of what works and what doesn't in the schools and classroom are denied a public education voice. This silencing of the teachers is not in the interest of quality public education and ultimately the common good of all. Is it any wonder, that, as Dave Dibbon reports, 50% of veteran teachers in this province would not recommend teaching as a profession to young people. Reversing the Tide If we are going to reverse the trend of an increasing teacher shortage and ensure all students, regardless of where they live, have access to fully qualified, dedicated professional teachers a number of changes have to happen. First and foremost, we have to start valuing the teachers we currently have in the system. These are experienced and qualified professionals. We need to value them as people and respect their knowledge and expertise. Acknowledge their many contributions to the education and development of our children. We have to listen to what they have to say about their working environment; remember their working environment is our children's learning environment. Take seriously their concerns about teaching and learning matters; they know from direct experience what is working and what is not. We have to pay teachers a competitive wage. A society can make no greater investment in its future than in education and the key to effective system is qualified teachers. If we want our children taught by the best and brightest, as they should be, we have to be willing to offer attractive financial incentives to prospective candidates We have to provide new teachers with much more support as they begin their careers. Incredibly, many schools still follow the traditional practice of assigning new teachers the most challenging teaching assignments. They are then left, in many instances, to sink or swim on their own with little guidance or advice as to how to proceed. Yes, there are some "natural born" teachers. However, most new teachers would greatly benefit from the mentoring and guidance of a caring and dedicated veteran teacher. Given the complexities of today's classroom and ever increasing demands placed on schools, this initiative needs more than the traditional lip-service often given to such ideas. The teachers currently in the system, both veterans and rookies, are our front line recruiters for the next generation of teachers. Unless they start recommending teaching as a viable profession, the current shortage will only worsen. In this province teaching has often been a family vocation, with young people following their parents, older siblings and other relatives into the classroom. Many of us know of families with three and four generations of teachers. We also know of families where four or five siblings have all entered the profession. That is not happening to the same degree any more. To deal with specific shortages in some subject areas and the increasing difficulty of getting teachers to go to the more remote schools, some direct and immediate actions are required. At a time when so many students are graduating with very high levels of debt, financial incentives could be used to induce math and science candidates, as well as other needed discipline areas, to enter the teaching profession and to take positions in rural schools. In return for a commitment of time to be spent in a rural school, some proportion of a student loan could be forgiven. Apparently, we have a surplus (at the moment) of English and Social Studies teachers and to some degree primary and elementary teachers. Some of these teachers may be interested in returning to school and obtaining additional qualifications in those areas where there is a shortage. Providing them with some form of financial support in return for a commitment to teach in an area where there is a need might be another way of responding to the current situation. An interesting long term solution for rural schools and communities is the notion of "growing your own" teachers. The suggestion here is to try and identify potential rural teachers from among students attending rural high schools. These would be young people who have the academic potential but who also have an attachment to rural values and life styles. Such individuals could be offered various forms of financial assistance to attend university with the commitment to return to a rural community to teach. As noted earlier, because the situation was not anticipated, districts have been forced to hire under-qualified "emergency supply" teachers and retired teachers as temporary or stop gap solutions to the shortage of teachers. This is hardly an ideal situation and it is unfair to the students now in school. These temporary responses may give the education system time to deal with the problem. However, for the students in school now, these temporary solutions are the permanent condition of their schooling. They don't get another chance. So while the system will survive and recover, the education of individual students may be compromised. The recent Ministerial Panel on Education commented: "Teachers…exert a more significant influence on educational quality than does any other aspect of schooling" (Supporting Learning, 2001, p. 50). Perhaps the important lesson to be learned from the present predicament is not to take our teachers for granted. To do so is to put educational quality at risk. 1. This report can accessed at Dave's web page: http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~ddibbon/ |