Drop in students majoring in education

Here in Nebraska the number of open teaching positions has more than tripled.

It means some that are being hired, aren’t fully qualified.

And it’s a result of the large decrease in college students majoring in education.

The number of kids in k-12 keeps increasing, but at the same time the number of Nebraska college students majoring in education decreased by a third.

The University says there are several reasons for this and part of the problem is parents.

The Interim Dean for the College of Education and Human Sciences says perception plays a big role in this.

“They believe for the most part that teachers are under-paid and they believe the job is under tremendous scrutiny,” said Interim Dean, Beth Doll.

Beth Doll shared a 2018 survey from an education magazine titled, “Teaching: Respect but Dwindling Appeal,” which looked into reasons for the decline.

“The important finding, was that they didn’t want their kids to be a teacher,” said Doll.

54% of parents surveyed nationally say they would not like to see their child teach in a public school.

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