A recent survey showed that nearly half of teachers are currently considering quitting their jobs with about a third of those surveyed saying they might leave the profession entirely.
Data from Teachers Pay Teachers, an online forum for curriculum content for teachers, revealed that 48% of 6,000 teachers surveyed in November said they had considered changing jobs in the past month, an increase from 32% in June, K-12 Dive reported.
The outlet noted that 34% of those teachers surveyed said they considered changing careers in the past month and 11% said they considered taking a leave of absence.
“Ten years ago, the program enrollment for traditional ed [education] programs started to decrease,” Dr. Heather Sparks, director of teacher education at Oklahoma City University, said in an interview that aired on “Varney and Co.” on Monday.
“People are just not valuing the profession anymore,” she added. “These are folks who put in four years and then some, continue to get training even after their degree and yet are paid minimally compared to other professions who have four-year degrees.”
Schools across the U.S. say they are dealing with significant teacher shortages, and some principals are saying the start of the school year has been the most difficult one yet.
Officials are pointing to an array of factors that have converged to create the vacancies in the wake of COVID-19, and experts warn the problem may not be fixed any time soon.