Attracting Science and Mathematics Ph.D.s to Secondary School Education (2000) / Chapter Skim
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From page 53... ...
In this chapter, we summarize our findings and discuss the pros and cons of the various incentives that survey respondents found attractive as a way of providing guidance to all of those interested in this important issue. FINDINGS Interest in Secondary Teaching Based on our survey results, there appears to be sufficient interest by a reasonable number of Ph.D.s in secondary school teaching for the NRC to continue to investigate whether to develop and how to implement a program to attract Ph.D.s to secondary school teaching positions.
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From page 54... ...
Challenges Given our survey results, a key question that a project designed to attract Ph.D.s to secondary school teaching must address is why, if up to 36 percent of science and mathematics Ph.D.s have considered secondary teaching careers, are less than ~ percent currently employed by K-12 educational institutions? Some of the answers to this question are that Ph.D.s have many negative perceptions about secondary school education that prevent them from considering secondary school teaching positions.
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From page 55... ...
All survey respondents recognized that salaries for positions in secondary school teaching were lower than for other career options. However, the average starting salary for teachers anticipated by graduate students and Ph.D.s in our survey $37,400 is at the high end of the range of starting salaries offered to Ph.D.s by school districts nationwide.
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From page 56... ...
Results from both the focus group and survey indicated that graduate students and recent Ph.D.s often perceive little value in education courses and see teacher certification as a barrier to pursuing a teaching careers. However, these barriers could potentially be overcome by designing a program of courses in educational pedagogy tailored to the needs of Ph.D.s.
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From page 57... ...
We also found through our survey that many Ph.D.s seek the option of having continued involvement in science and, potentially, taking a leadership role in science and mathematics education. Having funded summer research opportunities and funded attendance at professional meetings during the school year is appealing to graduate students and recent Ph.D.s who have considered secondary school careers.
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From page 58... ...
Selection of Ph.D.s for Teaching Positions The committee recognized that the identification and selection of science and mathematics Ph.D.s for secondary school teaching is a critical step in the process of implementing demonstrations. The selection process should identify individuals who have strong knowledge of their subject matter, a demonstrated interest in secondary school science and mathematics education, and personal characteristics appropriate to the secondary school education environment.
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From page 59... ...
Such an evaluation should focus on whether the programs in fact demonstrate that attracting Ph.D.s to secondary school teaching is a feasible, cost-effective, and worthwhile activity. A cross-site evaluation of the state demonstration programs, including their means for recruiting, placing, and supporting Ph.D.s, would highlight strategies for attracting Ph.D.s to secondary school education that 59
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From page 60... ...
~7 We strongly suggest that any program designed to attract Ph.D.s to secondary school teaching have a pedagogical component but, as a practical matter, it is not likely to be attractive to our target group of already highly educated individuals unless it can be accomplished in a fairly compressed manner. We found that 44 percent of our survey respondents and more than two-thirds of the respondents who had previously considered teaching careers indicated that they would consider a teaching position if they could receive teacher certification by taking an intensive summer course in education.
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From page 61... ...
The committee overseeing the second phase of this project should work with states and school districts to determine whether the development of such science teaching resource centers would be a feasible component of state demonstration programs. We believe that they would be useful as one means for attracting Ph.D.s to secondary school teaching and also for improving the quality of science and mathematics education generally.
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From page 62... ...
National Fellowship Program National Fellowship Program. Through our survey we found that two-thirds of our respondents and almost 90 percent of respondents who had previously considered secondary school careers would consider taking a position as a secondary school teacher if they were awarded a fellowship that provicled training, placement, and special opportunities for networking with peers, and covered living expenses during the training period.
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From page 63... ...
Opportunities for Ph.D.s in secondary school education to network with others in similar positions would allow them to share ideas in curnculum development, how to present material in classrooms, and other secondary school education issues. Connections with the Larger Scientific Community State demonstration programs should provide opportunities for interactions between Ph.D.
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