Education Commons^™

Recruiting The Next Generationof Teachers: Conversations With High School Sophomores, Barnett Berry, Christine Mccormick, Tom Buxton

Christine McCormick

A report is given of a survey of 170 sophomores enrolled in advanced English classes and 205 sophomores enrolled in regular English classes. The students were questioned about their career expectations, their perceptions of teaching as a career, and current incentives for entry into the teaching profession. Findings indicated that only a small percentage of the students were interested in becoming teachers. Most students reported being discouraged from teaching by their own teachers and by parents who are teachers. Even for those students who possess altruistic career orientations, teaching was an unattractive career choice given the occupation's poor working conditions. …