Understanding Education Workforce Demographics and Career Trends

1. Who Will Your Colleagues Be? Brittany Foster, Wynter Payne, and Nicole Ward

2. Gender Majority of teachers are female Only 25% of teachers are male Most female teachers found at elementary level Most men found in math and social studies

3. Age • Teaching population is aging • Average age is 43 • Most older teachers are in high-demand areas, especially math and science • Average teacher has more than 15 years experience • 47% have master’s degrees or higher

4. Race and Ethnicity • Majority (87%) of teachers are white • Largest group of minority teachers are African American (8%) or Hispanic (4%) • Number of minority teachers is declining, while the number or minority students is rising

5. New Teachers • Newly graduated teachers are more likely to be female, White, and younger. • In the 1990s, as the demand for teachers increased, the profession saw more delayed entrants and reentrant teachers. • There is a small increase in a new type of teacher. • Older, about 30 • Male • Enter teacher education programs immediately after graduating from the college in other areas

6. What Happens to New Teachers? • Many new teachers leave teaching eventually. • 15% leave after their first year • 15% after second year • 10% after third year • Reasons: • Better jobs or other careers—39% • Dissatisfaction with teaching as their career—29% (75% dissatisfaction listed low salaries) • School staffing actions (layoffs, terminations, etc.)—19%

7. Continued • A Public Agenda survey: • 2/3 of new teachers “get a lot of satisfaction from teaching” • ¾ “view teaching as a lifelong choice” • ¾ considered themselves “seriously underpaid” • Given a choice of better pay or better working conditions, these teachers chose better working conditions