Education as a college major has become an afterthought among students, according to data from the National Center for Educational Statistics.
Students prefer to study business and engineering, according to the latest numbers, CBS News reported.
For decades, one in five students majored in education, supplying a steady stream of teachers to school districts across the country.
Bachelor’s degrees in education have plummeted by almost 50%, a steeper drop than that for English, literature, and foreign language majors. Even visual arts majors have more students.
The drop comes at a time when 150% more students are attending college than compared to 1970, according to CBS.
Schools in all 50 states reported teacher shortages in at least one subject area last year, the Brookings Institution said.
Texas reported teacher shortages for 2023-2024 in special education, computer science, bilingual education, and career and technical education, according to a U.S. Department of Education report.
“In the past, we had many more women who were more inclined to pursue this ‘caring’ education career,” said Nicole Smith, research professor and chief economist at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, told CBS. “They were instructed in some ways to follow this path, but a lot of that has changed.”
According to Smith, students often select their major based on potential earnings.
“People are making decisions on college that have an economic slant to it, in particular in respect to student loans,” Smith told CBS. “The conversation now has to be more about the returns to investment and, ‘How are we going to pay for it?’ and ‘Is it worth it in the long run?’”
More than 70% of Texas teachers have considered leaving their job in the last year, according to a survey by the Charles Butt Foundation, as reported by The Dallas Express. In addition, 93% said they have updated their resumes.
“When I see these statistics about America, I worry,” said Susan Hansen, a dual-language instruction coach with the Leander ISD, according to Community Impact. “I worry that if we don’t build up our public education system with teachers at the heart of it, what will happen to our society?”