Friday, December 1, 2006

Study: Trends in the teaching profession

The children of baby boomers, like their parents in the 1970s, are having a huge impact on the teaching profession, according to a new study in Education Matters, Statistics Canada's online source of facts and analysis on education.

These "echo babies" are attending universities in large numbers, leaving behind empty seats in elementary, and soon, secondary school classrooms. Meanwhile, the ranks of university professors experienced much faster employment growth than that of elementary and secondary teachers between 1999 and 2005.

While the teaching profession adapts to demographic shifts in the student population, it is also experiencing changes from within.

University professors are generally older than the average worker and many are fast approaching retirement age. Rather than retiring completely, however, more are continuing on a part-time or contractual basis.

Indeed, college and university professors 55 and older are a fast growing segment of the part-time faculty, influencing a change in the composition of this group.

Using data from the Labour Force Survey, this article profiles university and college professors and elementary and secondary teachers from 1999 to 2005.

Over the seven-year period, the number of educators grew from 457,000 to 502,000. In 2005, close to three-quarters were teachers in elementary and secondary schools, while the remaining 15% were college teachers and 12% university professors.

Demographic shifts explain some of the recent trends in teacher employment. The school-aged population aged 5 to 18 declined by 1% between 1999 and 2005, while the postsecondary population aged 19 to 24 rose 9%. In 2005, about 28% of individuals aged 20 to 29 attended university, up from 25% in 1999. As a result, employment increased 30% among university professors during this period, three times the 9% gain among elementary and secondary teachers.

The average age of educators in 2005 was 45, compared with 42 for workers in the general population. Among university professors, 59% were aged 45 or over in 2005, whereas 59% of elementary and secondary teachers were under 45.

Previous research has shown that the number of part-time university professors has been increasing. In the past they tended to be younger with lower educational qualifications than their full-time colleagues.

Now, however, a small but growing number of part-timers are older professors with many years of tenure. College and university professors aged 55 and older represented 26% of part-time faculty in 2005, double the proportion of 13% in 1999.

The study also found that women have increased their presence in nearly all levels of teaching. By 2005, they accounted for more than one-third (35%) of full-time university professors, up from 29% in 1999.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3701.

The study "Trends in the teaching profession" is now available online in the December 2006 issue of Education Matters: Insights on Education, Learning and Training in Canada, Vol. 3, no. 4 (81-004-XIE, free). From the Publications module of our website, under Free Internet publications, choose Education, then Education Matters. This issue also presents another feature article entitled "Education questions on the 2006 Census of Population: New questions for a new century".

For more information about the article "Education questions on the 2006 Census of Population: New questions for a new century", contact Client Services (toll-free 1-800-307-3382 or 613-951-7608; fax: 613-951-9040; TTY: 1-800-363-7629; educationstats@statcan.ca), Culture, Tourism and Centre for Education Statistics Division.

For more information about the article "Trends in the teaching profession", or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Jane Lin (613-951-9691; jane.lin@statcan.ca), International Trade Division.

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