Grand Rapids Business Journal
Potential teachers balk at costly requirements to join the profession. Courtesy iStock
LANSING Are teacher preparation programs driving prospective educators away from the field?
Teacher certification in the state fell 24% between 2013-2017, according to a 2020 survey for the Michigan Education Association.
The study also found that more than one in 10 elementary and secondary educators plan to change careers in the next three years.
Lack of respect, inadequate salaries and overly demanding workloads were cited as a few of the top forces driving them out of the field.
Michigan State University students mirrored similar sentiments in a 2020 survey about the College of Education’s fifth-year internship program. Interns are placed in school districts to gain student teaching experience and earn their certification.
Students petition College of Education to address problems with 5th-year teaching internship
Erickson Hall is home to the MSU College of Education, pictured on Nov. 6, 2017.
Students of the College of Education have created a petition to the College of Education to address their concerns regarding Michigan State’s fifth-year internship program for teaching students which have been heightened during the pandemic.
The petition is asking the College of Education to acknowledge the negative impact of the internship program on students’ mental health and financial situation. The petition was filed after a survey of students in the program showed that 69.5% of students were considering dropping the program or delaying taking it another year with the program in its current state. So far, 105 students have signed the petition.