Teaching must be made more attractive as a profession to tackle shortages

Teaching needs to be made more attractive to a wider pool of graduates to tackle shortages in the profession, according to new international research comparing 18 countries.

The worldwide comparison led by Durham University, UK, shows that the level of pay relative to other graduate professions, lack of resources and poor student behaviour all play a part in recruitment and retention issues.

Popular quick-fix strategies used across the world to attract and retain teachers, such as bursaries, scholarships and performance-related pay, do not work, according to the research.

The study found that much more emphasis must be put into targeting those with the potential to be teachers but who may currently not be interested, as opposed to merely offering current teachers more of what they want.

This should include raising the profile and prestige of the profession, increasing pay, and providing schools with better resources. These measures could also help with retention of teachers.

The study, by academics at Durham, Birmingham and Warwick universities, is published in Research Papers in Education.

The researchers analysed data from 18 countries across the world on areas such as teachers’ pay, working conditions, and teaching practices. These factors were considered in the context of wider educational policy, cultural factors and economic conditions. This included how countries plan for teacher supply, location of schools, legal status of teachers, how valued teachers are and salaries of graduates in other professions.

Research has shown that 35 out of 43 education systems in Europe have a shortage of teachers despite years of investment in recruiting and retaining teachers. International organisations, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have called for this issue to be addressed urgently.

Lead author, Professor Stephen Gorard, from the School of Education at Durham University, said: “The shortage of teachers is a major problem for many countries despite years of investment in recruiting and retaining teachers. Our findings suggest that there are some key factors governments should focus on which include pay, resources and student behaviour.

“It’s also important to look beyond those who are already planning to enter the profession or are currently working as teachers and make the job more attractive to graduates overall.”

In England, the situation is particularly serious for secondary schools because the pupil population has grown, and recruitment to initial teacher training has failed to meet its intake targets for several consecutive years. Teachers in England also have more teaching hours than in many other countries which the study shows can impact on recruitment and retention.

The study found that only 25 per cent of teachers in England think that they are valued by society and only 10 per cent feel they are valued by policymakers. The study shows that countries, such as England, France and Japan, where teachers are less valued are significantly more affected by teacher shortages.

In countries like Singapore, South Korea and Finland, teachers are more appreciated by the government and the public, and these countries do not generally report major issues with teacher supply.

Professor Gorard added: “Our analysis showed that it’s more effective for recruitment and retention to increase teachers’ pay rather than use funding for temporary incentives or bonuses which have been shown not to work. Funding could also be used to increase classroom resources which would be a cheaper solution than providing temporary measures.

“One priority area to tackle is the abuse and intimidation of teachers by students, as policymakers could implement policy and changes in practice without the need for a major financial commitment.”

In this study, the researchers used a new approach to pinpoint which wider factors also play a role in countries suffering from teacher shortages or not, which has not been done before. It shows that teacher shortages are influenced by population density, the general employment level of graduates and the pay of graduates who are not in teaching in any given country.

Dame Alison Peacock, CEO of the Chartered College of Teaching said: “Teaching is the most wonderful and influential profession. Unfortunately, teacher shortages are worsening in this country and internationally, and I firmly believe that the growing lack of trust in and respect for our profession is at the heart of our recruitment and retention crisis. When so few teachers feel valued by society or by policymakers, it's hardly surprising that those who could teach don't see it as an attractive career choice. 

“This new research highlights an important piece of the puzzle that so far has often been neglected in government initiatives and one that we believe is core - the need to raise the status of the teaching profession, empowering professionalism through addressing teacher pay and working hours, reducing disrespectful behaviour, and finding creative new ways to support professional development. The evidence here should underpin conversations between policymakers, academics and the profession, in order to create sustainable change.”