Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology (2002) / Chapter Skim
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3 From Grad School to Grade School
3 From Grad School to Grade School
Pages 17-25
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From page 17... ...
ARE THEY INTERESTED' The first phase of the project on attracting PhDs to K-12 education was devoted to investigating whether recent PhDs might consider careers in K-12 education and under what conditions they would do so. In carrying out this second phase of the project, the committee relied heavily on the work of the Phase I committee (NRC, 2000a; see Appendix A for the report's executive summary)
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From page 18... ...
Respondents to the survey had typically considered at least four different options in contemplating their careers; 36 percent of them said they had considered secondary school teaching or other secondary education positions. This number is significant, because, according to a special tabulation of data from the 1997 Survey of Earned Doctorates that was conducted for the Phase I report, only 0.8 percent of all PhDs currently work in K-12 educational institutions (NRC, 2000a.
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From page 19... ...
any university faculty do not promote nonacademic careers for PhDs, much less careers in secondary school education. Indeed, graduate students typically aspire to positions in academic science and mathematics similar to those of their mentors, and the socialization process in graduate school strongly reinforces this career path (NRC, 2000a, p.
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From page 20... ...
The item that received the largest number of positive responses, checked affirmatively by 67 percent of the respondents, was the award of a prestigious national fellowship that provides training and placement, and covers living expenses. Some other items that solicited significantly positive responses were the availability of mentors, access to regional or university-based science teaching resource centers, and field opportunities for research that might involve their students.
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From page 21... ...
WHAT DO THEY NEED TO LEARN' Although PhDs have a deep content knowledge in their fields, they are likely to lack the two other ingredients necessary for high-quality teaching: pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. That is, they probably do not have the general skills of a teacher, nor do they know specifically how to teach particular science, mathematics, and technology subjects in ways that enable most of their students to learn.
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And yet our understanding of how people learn provides the conceptual structure for strategies and techniques that teachers use to help children understand science and mathematics. The learning sciences also provide the basis for designing effective assessments of student learning and knowledge (NRC, 2001a)
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Schooling To be effective in the K-12 environment, teachers need to understand the challenges and opportunities facing schools and how the schools respond to them. In particular, they need to have some understanding of district and local school administration; education policy at both the state and federal levels; issues related to special populations; sources of funding for special programs; the influence of parents and policy makers on K-12 education; and liability issues and accountability including student assessment, program assessment, and reporting.
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From page 24... ...
Appendix C describes three such programs: UTeach at the University of Texas at Austin; the midcareer mathematics and science program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and Teach for America, which was begun as a senior thesis project at Princeton University. Although none of these is designed for PhDs in science, mathematics, and engineering, they provide examples of the kinds of courses, orientation, and classroom experience that might be appropriate for people moving from graduate school to K-12 teaching.
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From page 25... ...
Retention strategies for the broad array of professionals in other aspects of the K-12 education system have not been a major policy concern, and there is a paucity of information from which the committee could address retention in these other types of careers.
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