WHAT HAPPENS TO GRADUATE EDUCATION GRADUATES?

Abstract

Educational systems are being asked to provide more effective pragrams and more competent teachers. One result of this phenomenon has been an increasing demand for individuals with postgraduate training in Education. Such credentials are often seen as a prerequisite for securing teaching positions. However, an American researcher, Ivan Berg, argues that level of education is positively related to frequency of job turnover. He presents data indicating that both elementary and secondary teachers are more likely to change jobs within the schools as they acquire further training and higher degrees; that teachers with M.A. degrees are more likely to express a desire for other teaching jobs or for positions out of Education entirely. Berg contends that teachers at both the elementary and secondary level are less likely to stay in teaching as they receive advanced academic training. He does not, however, indicate the number of teachers who leave the classroom, nor does he specify the nature of the positions taken by those individuals who have. If teacher turnover is positively related to educational achievement, as Berg suggests, then the advisability of postgraduate training for teachers is open to question.

The purpose of the present study was twofold: first, to examine the career course of postgraduate recipients of M.A. thesis degrees in Education and second, to explore further the nature of teacher turnover.