ESSEN. Too many potential teachers are lost on the path from starting their studies to starting their careers. The current teacher funnel of the donor association refers to this. According to this, four out of ten prospective teachers decide on a different career during their studies. However, there are significant regional differences.
Nationwide, 40 percent of prospective teachers leave their studies early. Symbolic photo: Shutterstock/KNasyrov
On average, 47,400 people nationwide enroll in teacher training courses every year. But only 28,000 complete their traineeship. This means that 41 percent of students decide to give up on their studies during the course of their studies – particularly often at the beginning.
A look at the individual federal states shows that they are affected to different extents by the loss of students: between the beginning and end of studies it is higher in the east, but regionally it is also substantial in the west. The situation in Berlin is particularly dramatic. The shrinkage rate here is 64 percent. This means that two out of three students drop out of their teacher training course or move to another federal state. In North Rhine-Westphalia this applies to every second person.
Saxony-Anhalt loses students particularly between the middle and end of their studies
Seven federal states lose more than one in five students between the middle and end of their studies: These include Bavaria, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia. With a loss of one third, Saxony-Anhalt stands out as particularly negative. Given the timing, the donors’ association describes the loss as worrying. Compared to the start of your studies, the decision to study should actually be “more solid” at this point.
While the loss of students in teacher training courses largely corresponds to a drop out of this course, in the traineeship it is mainly due to a move to another federal state, explains the Stifterverband. In Berlin, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Hamburg the loss rate is particularly high at more than 20 percent. Nationwide, five percent of prospective teachers drop out of their traineeship entirely.
Donors’ association calls for reforms
“The federal states’ teacher funnels make it clear for the first time when potential teachers who we so urgently need are lost. Universities can now make data-based decisions. “You must now do everything in your power to ensure that students who start studying to become teachers complete them successfully,” says Bettina Jorzik, program manager for university teaching, teacher training and diversity in the Stifterverband. “This can work by strengthening the quality of training and the connection between theory and practice.” According to the Stifterverband, better coordination between studies and traineeship could also be promising. However, further data is required in order to find out the exact causes of the student loss and to be able to make well-founded adjustments.
However, Jorzik emphasizes that even more attractive teacher training that inspires more people for the profession cannot eliminate the current teacher shortage. The Stifterverband therefore recommends that lateral entry – which has already become established as the norm – be recognized as a regular third route into the teaching profession. “Provided that there are accompanying qualification programs, a minimum qualification before going to school and also quality controls.” News4teachers
Too many dropouts: Federal state is turning teacher training inside out
