Teacher supply reaching crisis

Public school teachers are leaving the profession from both ends of the spectrum of age and experience, writes WENDY CURRIE.

Increasingly large numbers of teachers are reaching retirement age, while at the same time an unacceptable number are leaving in their first few years of teaching.

The numbers involved at both these exit points are growing to the point that it's valid to conclude that the supply of teachers is reaching a crisis.

The age profile of teachers in NSW public schools paints a worrying picture. In 2001, 47.5 per cent of primary and 48 per cent of secondary teachers were 45 years and over, while 24.6 per cent of primary and 23.6 per cent of secondary teachers were 50 years and over. All of these figures were above (and some well above) the Australian average for public school teachers. All are considerably in excess of the age profile of the rest of the Australian workforce.

The situation has deteriorated since 2001. In March 2002, 69 per cent of the teaching workforce in NSW public schools was over 40 years old, thus only 31 per cent was in the 20-39 years age bracket.

With the age profile as it is, considerable numbers of teachers will retire over the next few years.

Generally speaking, young people entering the workforce would be expected to take the place of those retiring. This, however, is unlikely to be the case with teaching, for a number of reasons.

The age profile as it stands is so top heavy that there are not enough in the younger age brackets to meet the expected demand for experienced teachers.

New graduates provide the greatest source of new teachers for NSW schools. The media have recently publicised the increasing number of students in undergraduate teaching degrees. What has not been acknowledged is that the figures in 2003 will have only recovered to around the numbers in 1988. This is a slight recovery rather than a vast improvement, and the data shows that it is unlikely to meet impending needs.

Separation rates for NSW government school teachers are increasing. Among primary teachers these rose from 3.1 per cent of the workforce in 1996 to 4.1 per cent in 1999, while for secondary teachers the rise was starker over those years, from 3.6 per cent to 4.7 per cent. These percentages include resignations and retirements. From the data on the age profile of teachers, a faster increase in separation rates can be predicted over the next few years.

What is of greatest concern, however, is the growing number of teachers who resign during their first few years of service. In 2001, approximately 520 teachers resigned from NSW government schools in their first three years of teaching. There are indications that this figure is worsening. It is true that the major areas of concern in terms of current teacher supply are in science, maths and technology, but the discussion above demonstrates that the problem is increasingly becoming a more generalised one. The DET itself has publicly recognised that this issue must be addressed across the whole profession, by all levels of government.

In its submission to the Commonwealth Government's current review of teaching and teacher education, the NSW Department of Education and Training noted that there is: "some evidence that higher rates of government funding are being utilised in some non-government schools to support over-award payments to attract teachers...quality teachers are being attracted away from the government schools to teach in non-government schools. There is clear evidence that a high proportion of teachers in non-government schools commenced teaching in the government system. The government system is acting as a pool for the non-government sector to draw on for recruitment."

So what is needed to ensure that there are enough qualified and experienced teachers to teach the next generation of students in public schools?

Teaching needs to be made more attractive. There are a number of ways of achieving this, but fundamental to any attempts to do so is a fair and reasonable salary. The Federation's claim for a 25 per cent salary increase would go some way towards attracting new entrants into teaching and keeping current teachers in public schools.

Wendy Currie is a Research Officer.

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Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005