1999 Supply and Demand Ch. 5

5. Summary And Recommendations

The following summary and recommendations represent the researcher's judgments based on experience in working with the data. The researcher hopes these recommendations will facilitate the informed use of the findings. The projected gradual increase over the next ten years in the cohort of educators selecting retirement will increase the employability of those seeking positions in the public schools. This will be offset to some extent by the declining pupil enrollment. In this light, the data in this report afford an opportunity to study carefully the preparation of teachers in Wisconsin. The current large surplus of educators in many subject areas will continue to exist in Wisconsin unless teacher preparation programs continue their effort to control enrollment in those fields with the greatest surplus and provide incentives to attract prospective teachers, especially minorities to the fields of need.

New in this year's study is an analysis of the increased employability of teachers who are initially hired on a part-time basis. The results of this investigation showed that those hired with a part-time assignment do tend to move toward a full-time position. Also the analysis of retirement patterns by small, middle and large districts with separate data on the Milwaukee Public Schools validated the projections of future retirement projections as presented in the 1998 edition of this report.

The licensed educators prepared by the Wisconsin teacher training programs are competent professionals who deserve the opportunity to practice their careers in settings that reflect their earned competency and support their potential contribution to society. The quality of individuals entering the teaching force is, to a large extent, based on competition from other fields. Economic incentives offered by business, computer science, medicine, law, and other professions might limit the number of people with the required abilities and skills entering the field of education. The supply of educators remains, to an extent, a function of the attractiveness of the profession. The problems of the large surplus of teachers in many fields, and the state support of private schools with lower salaries and lack of training standards are strong disincentives to attract competent candidates. Also there is concern that pupils with challenging learning needs would face discrimination when they are not given the same opportunity to participate or they receive instruction from less than qualified teachers. These factors have a more negative impact on the quality of education in Wisconsin than any positive gains seen by the legislative decision to provide funding for select pupils in private schools. Thus it is imperative that all educators be provided every means of support so that the intrinsic value of teaching continues to attract quality individuals while meeting the personnel needs of those areas with a shortfall of personnel.

The perception persists, supported by the national media, that there are good employment opportunities in education. The data in this report and past studies have shown that this is not true for positions in many fields of education in Wisconsin Public Schools. The large reserve pool of teachers that exists in this state will moderate any immediate shortfall that might occur with increased retirements. It is important that the findings of this report be communicated to prospective teachers by disseminating the information about employment opportunities so as to facilitate their career decisions and allow market conditions to help alleviate shortages in certain fields. Students should be encouraged to select fields where shortages exist and be willing to teach in urban areas.

Wisconsin institutions of higher education, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, should develop/design incentives to encourage students to chose teaching fields where shortages of teachers exist and find ways to attract minority students to the profession. It is hoped that the University of Wisconsin System and private colleges and universities will encourage its campuses to expand enrollment and add programs in the areas of shortages referred to in this report.

During the past several years, the information that has been provided in this report has helped to clarify our understanding of the educator supply and demand picture for Wisconsin Public Schools. The researcher believes these diverse inquiries will provide information useful in a variety of contexts to improve the quality of educational opportunities offered for Wisconsin children.

For questions about this information, contact licensing@dpi.wi.gov (608) 266-1027

Last updated on 10/28/2008 1:01:24 PM