"The measure of a Life is its Service."
With the demand for teachers expected to increase, almost one-half (44 percent) of Texas teachers surveyed recently say they are seriously considering leaving the profession.
This is the result of the latest "Texas Teachers, Moonlighting and Morale" study conducted by researchers at Sam Houston State University. In the first such study, conducted in 1980, three out of eight (38 percent) said they were seriously considering getting out of teaching.
The study was begun by David L. Henderson, professor of education, who is now retired. It has been conducted every two years, and has now been taken over by professors Daphne Johnson, Marilyn Rice and Samuel Sullivan and student Abigail Beard.
The survey was conducted in February and sent to a random sample of 700 of the 70,000 members of the Texas State Teachers Association. A total of 177 usable surveys (27 percent) were returned.
"While the demand for new teachers is expected to increase, the projected supply of new teachers is not expected to be sufficient to meet the demand," the researchers wrote in their 2008 report. "Shortages are expected in such fields as special education, foreign languages, bilingual education, mathematics, physical science, physics, and gifted/talented."
As evidenced by the number of teachers who hold second jobs, poor pay is a concern. But poor working conditions are even more of a problem, they say.
Asked why they are considering leaving the profession, 42 percent of the teachers responding cited poor working conditions, with poor pay given by exactly half (21 percent) of that number. Two years ago 36 percent said poor pay was their biggest complaint, which was exactly equal to poor working conditions.
The average annual salary of teachers surveyed in 2008 was $47,545. Having an extra job brought in another $8,288, according to the survey. For the population as a whole, about 5 percent of all U. S. workers hold second jobs, according to the report, which is less than a third (17 percent) of teachers who do so.
"Moonlighting adversely affects teacher recruitment, job stress and teacher efficiency," the report stated. "Changes such as better salaries, merit play and productive summer employment are suggested."
The demand for more teachers and growing numbers of teachers who are either retiring or leaving because of poor working conditions or poor pay are detrimental to quality education, the authors wrote.
"Alternative teacher certification programs are springing up and growing like the proverbial weeds," the report stated.
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SHSU Media Contacts: Frank Krystyniak
April 24, 2008
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Larry Hoover and Phillip Lyons, both professors in criminal justice, were quoted in a Dallas Morning News story about a series of random roadway shootings in the Garland, Mesquite, Richardson and Plano areas.
Larry Hoover, professor of criminal justice, and Brian Lawton, assistant professor of criminal justice, were both quoted in a Houston Chronicle story on increases in the rate of burglary crimes in Houston.
Sam Houston State University has been receiving international publicity this summer through several interviews with Enrique Mallén, professor of foreign languages and director of the Online Picasso Project. Media have included El Pais, Spain's top newspaper, NRM Comunicaciones, a radio station in Mexico with the second largest audience there, and El Liberal, a major newspaper in Argentina.
Tuesday, July 8
"The measure of a Life is its Service."