>”The teacher shortage is the number one problem. It is the root of all other issues,” Koen Pelleriaux, head of the Flemish Community’s education network (GO!), confirms to The Brussels Times. He acknowledges the slipping standards, highlighted in the most recent OECD assessment (PISA).
>Pelleriaux believes that teacher training should improve, with specific teaching degrees for educators. Specialised training would also make new recruits more invested in the job, hopefully reducing the “exodus” of teachers who quit after just a few years. “And it isn’t just about teacher training in the general sense, we need to make sure that they are fit for their subject,” Pelleriaux stresses, giving the example of maths classes being taught by a chemistry teacher – a situation many schools will be familiar with.
>Likewise in the French system, there is a lack of expertise. One in five primary schools has teachers who don’t hold a Bachelor’s degree in elementary teaching. Glatigny has already proposed a four-year teaching degree, with larger salaries for staff who are more qualified. The better trained the teachers, the better the level of education they can provide.
Selphis on
Maybe give starting teachers at least a minimum level of job security? Most (ex-)teachers I know started off with temporary contracts for years. Often staying in the same school right up until the point where they had to be given tenure or whatever precedes that where schools can’t just not employ that person.
Imagine a young teacher starting out in life, wanting to start a family and buy a house. Good luck getting a mortgage when you have to tell the bank you don’t know if you’re going to have an income in a few months… No wonder so many give up and look for another career.
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>What can be done?
>”The teacher shortage is the number one problem. It is the root of all other issues,” Koen Pelleriaux, head of the Flemish Community’s education network (GO!), confirms to The Brussels Times. He acknowledges the slipping standards, highlighted in the most recent OECD assessment (PISA).
>Pelleriaux believes that teacher training should improve, with specific teaching degrees for educators. Specialised training would also make new recruits more invested in the job, hopefully reducing the “exodus” of teachers who quit after just a few years. “And it isn’t just about teacher training in the general sense, we need to make sure that they are fit for their subject,” Pelleriaux stresses, giving the example of maths classes being taught by a chemistry teacher – a situation many schools will be familiar with.
>Likewise in the French system, there is a lack of expertise. One in five primary schools has teachers who don’t hold a Bachelor’s degree in elementary teaching. Glatigny has already proposed a four-year teaching degree, with larger salaries for staff who are more qualified. The better trained the teachers, the better the level of education they can provide.
Maybe give starting teachers at least a minimum level of job security? Most (ex-)teachers I know started off with temporary contracts for years. Often staying in the same school right up until the point where they had to be given tenure or whatever precedes that where schools can’t just not employ that person.
Imagine a young teacher starting out in life, wanting to start a family and buy a house. Good luck getting a mortgage when you have to tell the bank you don’t know if you’re going to have an income in a few months… No wonder so many give up and look for another career.