To teach or not to teach : a qualitative case study on why children of teachers did not choose teaching as a career.

Children of teachers follow their parents into the profession at lower rates than those whose parents come from professions that are perceived to be more prestigious such as physicians, lawyers, and engineers. Teaching often suffers from a lack of prestige, low pay, potential danger, lack of autonomy, and other factors that contribute to negative public perceptions of the profession. Compared to other, more highly sought-after career options, students tend to receive less encouragement to pursue a career as a teacher. With such factors, and more, plaguing the profession, it is not surprising that there exists a relatively high teacher turnover rate and fewer people entering the profession. There was a significant decline in students enrolling in education degrees and in college graduates with a bachelor's degree in education over the past decade. The teaching turnover rate, combined with fewer college graduates with education degrees contribute to the current teacher shortage. This study explored why five children of teachers did not choose to become a teacher like their parents. The participants included two incoming college freshmen, two current freshmen, and one college junior at a small, private, American university in Europe. All of them had at least one parent who was or is a teacher. The participants believed that teaching was too stressful and did not pay well enough for them to consider pursuing the profession. After watching their parents struggle with challenges associated with teaching, all five students stated they would only consider teaching as a backup career. They decided that their professional interests were outside of teaching, even if they did not know what specific career they would potentially pursue at the time of this study. Several of their parents also actively discouraged the students from becoming teachers. Further research is necessary to continue contextualizing the early career decisions of teachers' children and why they might not become teachers like their parents. Such research that focuses on why individuals do not become teachers will guide future researchers and policymakers in creating positive developments in teacher recruitment programs.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Herbert, Harry, 1988-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Ray, Brandi R.

• Teacher.
• Career choice.
• College major selection.
• Parental influence on career choice.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/12795

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/12795