Fewer High School Students Aspire To Become Teachers

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Young people's interest in the teaching profession continues to drop, according to a study from ACT Inc in which 57% of graduates taking the ACT college exam were asked to identify career interests.

Education Week reports that while numbers were low for teachers, some respondents' answers were population-specific such as elementary or high school and more were interested in becoming principals, support staff members and counselors.

The study also found that those interested in an education major perform lower than average on the ACT and that there's a continuing shortage of male teachers.

Almost three-quarters of students interested in education are female and 95% preferred early-childhood and elementary grades.

These findings point to a need for greater funding for public schools so that becoming a teacher is looked upon as a more positive experience and there are higher salaries for teachers, reflecting the importance of those positions in the lives of kids.