Do you have good data on what your students actually do ? Having been on a Postgraduate Teacher Training course and spoken to many who have subsequently become teachers and many who have not, I am aware of three main reasons why graduates of teacher training courses choose not to become teachers:

1.       Their experiences reveal that teaching is simply not for them.

2.       They find that a career in teaching is not as lucrative as other opportunities they may discover.

3.       Teaching is hard work, there are far easier ways to make a living.

 

A good teacher training course ought to be able to encourage students to develop a wide range of skills that are directly transferable to many other professions. Providing recognisable skills qualifications should be very important for teacher training courses. One of the frustrations for many teachers who may decide to change career is that the skills that experienced teachers hone to a high level, are often simply not recognised by other professions. So I suggest that getting bits of paper that show that a qualified teacher has lots of other very useful qualifications, is really valuable.

 

If you have applicants who want to become teachers when they start your courses, they are probably interested in wanting to communicate their enthusiasm for “their” main academic subject. So if you can focus on providing some extra business/ industry recognised training or communication qualifications that might really help. Other possible routes might be to guide students who start the course onto different but related courses- youth work, social work, editing, librarian or human resources (as you suggest) are typical careers that “teacher-type” people often feel that they can do well in.

 

Why do so few manage to get their teaching credentials ? The answer to that might be helpful.

 

Good luck,

James Banks

Principal Examiner and Head of Environmental Science

Sir John Deane’s College (Post 16 education)

Cheshire, England

 

 

As an associate professor of Environmental Education, I am currently teaching for the Departments of Agriculture and Engineering. Also, I am responsible for the teacher-training program. Students can enroll in this program to acquire a teaching credential. But few students in my university actually become a teacher. For example, out of the 200 graduates this spring, 20 students acquired their teaching credentials, but only one of them has decided to become a teacher. Now the university may discontinue this program. Some faculty members have been trying to find out a solution to save it.

As one of the possible solutions, we are considering to redefine this program so that those who decide not to become teachers still can find it useful for their careers. For example, we add a new goal to the teacher-training course: creating leaders for research institutes, companies, or non-profit organizations. We may even grant a special credential to be a human resource specialist.

We are wondering if you have heard about such a program or a similar course in your institution or other schools. Any information is appreciated. 

Shinichi Furihata, Ph.D.

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT)