The declining number of students in the United States aspiring to be teachers should be a major concern for policymakers. Nationwide, there has been more than one-third decline in the number of students enrolling for teaching prep programs.
The enrollment of teachers has been on the decline in the last eight years. In Oklahoma, there has been an 80 percent drop since 2010 for students enrolling in college and education programs designed to prepare educators for classrooms. The decline has been observed at varying degrees in all states.
340,000 fewer prep teachers in programs nationwide
This has become a crisis for educators because students are not choosing a career in teaching. Growing concerns about the profession have rocked the nation with the rising number of teacher walkouts demanding better pay and working conditions. This might have contributed to the decline in interest for students to study this profession.
Since 2010, the enrollment of student teachers has declined by more than 340,000 teacher preparation programs nationwide. This is one-third decline, as reported by a new analysis from the Center for American Progress.
This decline happened on the back of a recent surge in university admissions nationwide. This is a clear indication that teaching career has lost its former glory and students are now avoiding the profession.
50 percent decline in the number of students enrolled in some
Breaking these numbers by race, the number of blacks and Latino students in Education Prep school declined by 25 percent nationwide. Considering this is one of the least diverse careers in the US, education stakeholders took note of this decline, where white teachers make over 80 percent of staff in schools.
Breaking these numbers by states, Oklahoma, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Illinois, Idaho, Indiana, New Mexico, and Rhode Island all recorded over a 50 percent decline in the number of students enrolled. California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania saw a drop in the number of students being enrolled by more than 10,000. This decline should put policymakers on alert about the declining number of teachers countrywide.
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