Problems Facing New Teachers

Introduction

There are many problems that are facing our education system but the biggest challenge has been the high attrition of teachers.  It has been estimated that the rate of attrition for new teachers has grown above 50 percent and the financial burden of recruiting and hiring new teachers is overwhelming.  The high turnover of teachers does not only affect the education system but is also taking toll on the students as well. High rate of teacher has been recorded on new teachers who are in the first year of their career. This has been contributed by many factors among them un-matching expectations where new teachers find teaching very demanding, low level of rewards as compared to other professions, lack of support from fellow teachers and superiors, poor teacher-student relations and lack of parental involvement, and many other causes. To reverse the current trend, there is need to set up foundation programs that will orient teachers to their new career, offer more support to new teachers, improve remuneration for new teachers, and other strategies.  High rate of new teacher attrition is an inherent problem in our education system and unless resolved, it is likely to have more devastating effects on the education system.

Problems and solutions facing new teachers

According to Kopkowski (2008), high teacher attrition rate is affecting the education system in various ways. Apart from the financial burden incurred in the continuous recruiting and hiring of new teachers, it is also affecting the students and fellow teachers in schools.  High attrition rate is also setting a bad precedent to the would-be teachers since the career is becoming unattractive threatening the future of the education system. Kopkowski (2008) estimates that in the last 15 years, more than $7 billion have been used in recruiting and hiring of new teachers, a huger amount of money that could have been used in other sectors of education. Jalongo and Heider (2006) reaffirm these claims arguing that many students have been receiving substandard education in different districts due to high rate of teachers’ turnover.  The high rate of teacher attrition is not contributed by a single factor but a multitude of factors.

According to Anhorn (2008) the reasons for high rate of teacher attrition can be summarized as difficult work assignments, lack of resources, isolation and lack of adequate involvement, conflict of roles, reality shock, and poor remuneration. These problems affect new teachers more than they affect teachers who have been in the profession for more than three years.

When new teachers graduate, they have high hopes of climbing up the career ladder. They expect their work to be easier that it has been in school. They expect good remuneration and support from fellow teachers and administration.  Most of all, they expect to the oriented to understand their new students and teaching environment well. However, this is not the case (Sitler, 2007). Once a teacher is hired in a new school, they find that they are on their own. They get little or no support from fellow teachers and administration. They do things their own way which most of the time put them into conflict with students, fellow teachers and administration.  New teachers also find that their friends who they went to school with are doing well in other careers since they are paid more than in teaching profession.  Apart from getting into conflict with fellow teachers and administration, new students also get into conflict with students and they get little support from parents.  Unlike teachers who have been long in the profession, new teachers find it difficult to secure teaching resources and are  not involved in making crucial decision for their classes and  the whole school in general (Cochran and Reese, 2007).  Many feel frustrated and move from teaching career to other   careers which are easier and has good working environment.

According to Duck (2007) the problems facing new teachers are problems inherent in our education system that cannot be ignored. He asserts that the high rate of turnover of new teachers in the teaching professional is a clear indication that all is not well and unless addressed, education standards in the nation will continue to erode.  Duck (2007) therefore propose that   to end the “why new teachers cry” phenomenon, it is important to establish an introductory foundations class which will orient new teachers to the problems they are most likely to experiences in the education system.  Such introduction class will ensure that teachers are imparted with important skills like student teacher relationship, class management skills, and others which are bedrock of dissatisfaction for new teachers.  Such an initiative would give substantial preparation to the teacher to enable them cope with problematic situations when they arise. Research has found out that un-matching expectations between what the teacher is doing to acquire undergraduate degree and what they actually practices in class has been  a major problem for new teachers (Cochran and Reese, 2007). Many assume that it would be practically easier teaching than acquiring their undergraduate degrees but this is not the case since they find classroom more difficult to handle.

Apart from such foundation classes, development of a working support system would also be important to reduce high teacher attrition rate.  Many new teachers lament that their superiors advice time and again that they have to be there for the students and offer any needed assistance (Cochran and Reese, 2007). However, new teachers do not find that support when they need it. Therefore it would be appropriate support system that will ensure that they have an avenue to articulate their difficulties and find necessary support.  According to Anhorn (2008) there is need to develop support systems  that should be made of fellow teachers and administrators who  have gone through the system and therefore understands what new teachers need in order to survive in their career.  The support system should be coupled with education programs that prepare new teachers to face challenges in their first year in school.  The support system should therefore be focused on mentoring, orientation, and inducing new teachers to the new environment.  Support programs would ensure that teachers feel more appreciated and supported in their work and therefore more will remain in their career (Cochran and Reese, 2007).

Lastly, there is need to address other minor problems that are faced by new teachers. For example research has found out that new teachers have higher financial expectations that are not met when they join teaching profession (Sitler, 2007). To address this problem there is need to come up with new salary structures that match teachers pay with that of other professionals. This will reduce the high number of teachers who are leaving teaching profession to pursue careers in other professions

Conclusion

High rate of attrition for new teachers has devastating effects on our education system. It is a affecting the education system in various ways including higher budgetary allocation for recruitment and hiring of new teachers. It also affects student in that they are continuously receiving substandard education. High rate of teacher attrition is caused by several factors including difficult work assignments, lack of resources, isolation and lack of adequate involvement, conflict of roles, reality shock, and poor remuneration. There is no magical formula to overcome this problem but a number of strategies should be employed including introduction foundations to orient new teachers, establishment of support system, increasing remuneration, and other strategies. High rate of turnover among new teachers is an inherent problem that has to be deal with if our education system is to be improved.

Reference:

Anhorn, R. (2008). The profession that eats its young. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, Vol. 74(3): 15-26.

Cochran, L., & Reese, S. (2007). A successful induction into the teaching profession. Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers, Vol. 82(6): 25-27

Duck, L. (2007). Using sounder foundations to help avoid the “why new teachers cry” phenomenon. Clearing House, Vol. 81(1): 29-36

Jalongo, M., & Heider, K. (2006). Editorial teacher attrition: An issue of national concern. Journal  of Early Childhood Education, Vol. 33(6): 379-380

Kopkowski, C. (2008). Why they leave. NEA Today, Vol. 26(7): 21-25

Sitler, H.C. (2007). The lived experience of new teachers or why should I stay in this Profession? Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 87(4), 22.