Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 22, 1990 TAG: 9003222155
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Medium
Enrollment in the nation's teaching programs rose by 61 percent between 1985 and 1989 and the figure would have been higher had all those who applied been accepted, according to an unpublished study by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
"As someone who makes his living teaching people to be teachers, I'm ecstatic!" said Gary Galluzzo, an associate professor at Western Kentucky University and co-chair of the study.
And there's more good news. While the perennially popular social studies have held steady, the interest in teacher-poor subjects such as math and science appear to be keeping pace.
But the progress is not all positive. Researchers said total enrollments may have skyrocketed, but most elementary and secondary school teachers are still white and female.
Minority participation in schools of education exceeds 15 percent in only six states, while 33 states had public-school minority enrollments of 20 percent or more, according to the survey, which was presented in Chicago last month at the association's annual meeting.
"The enrollment thing is fine and all well, but the fact that they don't have any minorities is really a huge headache," said Mary Dilworth, director of research and information for the Washington, D.C.-based association.
Explanations for the overall surge vary but the numbers come as no surprise to admissions officers, who said they have seen a gradual but constant increase in enrollment each of the last five years.
The average number of education-degree candidates enrolled at 90 U.S. colleges and universities surveyed randomly went from 520 to 835 between 1985-88, the study said.
Administrators at teaching programs around the nation attributed improved enrollment largely to the exposure through the mid-1980s of serious problems in the U.S. education system.
"It's impossible to pick up an article about teachers without seeing the word `shortage' and people seem to be picking this up," Galluzzo said. "People who always wanted to be teachers and who were told there were no jobs are now returning to get their credential."
Pragmatic incentives have also spurred potential teaching degree candidates. Salaries have risen, and encouraging educational reforms have slowly taken root, education researchers said.
"The news went out that teachers were needed and states were working for better salaries and conditions," said Dilworth. "In the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was the same situation: We were told there was a shortage of teachers and by 1982 we'd peaked out."
Carly Moreno, director of admissions at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, said interest in teaching had been spurred by demand and discussion. But she said some applicants also were looking for alternatives to seeking fortunes on Wall Street.
"I think this group knows they're not in it for the money, but for their idealism," said Moreno, who received 200 applications in 1989 compared with 40 five years ago. "They have anxiety about the world and want to contribute in a positive way."
But some administrators said candidates weren't necessarily coming to education for reasons of pure altruism.
"My theory is that most of them have been coming for economic security, in one measure or another," said L.Y. Hollis, director of the University of Houston's education center.
"The notion that the citizens of this country have elevated teaching to a position of respect and dignity is sheer fantasy," he said. "God, mother, country and working with kids is all cool, but not if you don't have money to pay the rent."
by CNB