1998 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 eleven years in the cohort of educators selecting retirement will increase the employability of those seeking positions in the public schools. In this light, the data in this report represent an opportunity to carefully study 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 to the fields of need. The data in this report indicate that three of the state supported schools are showing success in preparing teachers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. These and other campuses should be encouraged to continue efforts to recruit minority teachers.

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 proportion of education positions only offering part-time employment, 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 full-time 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.

New is a supplement from the University of Wisconsin System Administration which presents information from the University System Placement Offices. The employment projections of these data present a higher employability figure because included as employed in education are the part-time positions counted as head-count, non-public and private school employment, substitute teachers, teacher aides, and those employed in out-of-state positions.

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. It is hoped that the University of Wisconsin System will encourage its campuses to expand enrollment and add programs in the areas of shortages referred to in this report.

Over the past several years, the information 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 12:59:50 PM