Fewer New Zealand teachers

In Japan, teachers are automatically given respect (Facts and Details, 2014). Them choosing to have become teachers and having done the training (which - granted - is pretty full on; Facts and Details, 2014) grants them mastery. Perhaps we might say that becoming a teacher in Japan imbues teachers with mana. But in New Zealand, teaching appears to have lost much of its status. Apparently, only 55% of New Zealand teachers surveyed reported that teaching was their first career choice (Radio New Zealand, 2019), with many people taking up teaching as a career of last resort, only after first working elsewhere "as a second or third career" (Dooney, 2017). 

But perhaps teaching is something that we should come to later in life? We need quality educators in our schools, and mid-career transitioners possess the skills, confidence and "crystallized intelligence" (Salthouse, 2010, as cited in Inkson et al., 2015 p. 102) which could be channelled into a second or third career as a teacher. The average age for a New Zealand teacher is 44 (Radio New Zealand, 2019), where, following the season theory stages (Levinson et al., 1978), we enter a midlife transition where we re-evaluate our life structure and life goals (Inkson et al., 2015). For many in this stage, work life balance and wellbeing may outweigh promotion and pay, with teaching being perceived as a viable balance option.

Australia already seems to be aware of the potential of the mid-career transition group and is offering targeted training (Dadvand et al., 2021). Should mid-career transitioners become the norm in Aotearoa schools, their wisdom and life experiences will be beneficial to our young people. The next challenge will be for the education system to offer conditions that both attract and retain mid-career transitioners.

However, like nursing, Australian salaries are much more competitive than New Zealand's. A starting teacher in New Zealand can expect a salary around $57,000 (Careers New Zealand, 2021). The equivalent Australian role pays approximately $81,338 (Talent, 2022). When you add the pressures and overwork which teachers experience in New Zealand, it is easier to see why burnout and turnover is increasing (Kitchin, 2023). And that teachers in New Zealand may well disappear across the Tasman.

With an ageing teaching work force also set to enter the disengagement cycle (Super 1957) in the next 10-15 years, there is no shortage of teaching jobs for those looking to transition into teaching (Education Counts 2023), but there are also fewer people volunteering to take up the roles (Gerritsen, 2023), with applications only at a fifth of what they were prior to Covid-19. Teachers are also showing an increased level of dissatisfaction with workloads (Alansari et al., 2022, p. 42)

This is becoming a wicked problem.

Sam

References:

Alansari, M., Wylie, C., Hipkins, R., Overbye, S., Tuifagalele, R., & Watson, S. R. C. (2022). Secondary Teachers' Perspectives from NZCER's 2021 National Survey of Secondary Schools. NZCER, Rangahau Mātauranga o Aotearoa. https://www.nzcer.org.nz/system/files/NZCER%20National%20Survey%20Report%202021.pdf 

Bruce, B. (2017). Who Owns New Zealand Now? [documentary film]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/233433126

CDANZ. (2021). Village of 100 people: 2021 survey [infographic]. Career Development Association of New Zealand.

Careers New Zealand. (2021, March 2). Secondary School Teacher - About the job. https://www.careers.govt.nz/jobs-database/education-and-social-sciences/education/secondary-school-teacher/about-the-job

Dadvand, B., Dawborn-Gundlach, M., van Driel, J., & Speldewinde, C. (2021). Career-changers: Keeping them in the teaching profession. The University of Melbourne.

Dooney, S. (2017, May 18). Secondary schools facing a 'perfect storm' as teacher shortage deepens. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/92733482/secondary-schools-facing-a-perfect-storm-as-teacher-shortage-deepens

Education Counts (2023). Teacher Numbers. https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/teacher-numbers

Facts and Details. (2014). Teachers in Japan. https://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat23/sub150/item831.html

Gerritsen, J. (2023, May 5). Secondary Principals report ‘unprecedented shortages’ of teacher across New Zealand. RNZ https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/secondary-principals-report-unprecedented-shortages-of-teachers-across-new-zealand/XNU6HN7G3JEXRI5QRDOZPCVYTY/

Inkson, K., Dries, N., & Arnold, J. (2015). Understanding Careers (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.

Kitchin, T. (2023, June 20). What life is like for high school teachers in New Zealand amid ongoing industrial action. Radio New Zealand. https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018894967/what-it-s-like-to-be-a-high-school-teacher-in-new-zealand

Levinson, D. J. with Darrow, C., Klein, E., Levinson, M. & McKee, B. (1978). The Seasons of a Mans Life. Knopf.

Palmer, S. (23 August 2018). How much are New Zealand's MPs really worth?. NewsHub. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/08/how-much-are-new-zealand-s-mps-really-worth.html

Radio New Zealand. (2019, June 20). Teaching as first-choice job: Kiwis below OECD average. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/392468/teaching-as-first-choice-job-kiwis-below-oecd-average

Talent. (2022). Secondary Teacher Salary in Australia - Average Salary. https://au.talent.com/salary?job=secondary+teacher#:~:text=How%20much%20does%20a%20Secondary%20teacher%20make%20in%20Australia%3F&text=The%20average%20secondary%20teacher%20salary%20in%20Australia%20is%20%2489%2C593%20per

TeachNZ. (2023). Teachers' salaries. https://www.teachnz.govt.nz/sector-snapshot/teachers-salaries/