Second-career teachers

Abstract

Last month we saw that the age distribution for high school physics teachers skewed older than that of all teachers. We also noted that, even though they are older, at least three-fourths of the high school physics teachers indicated that they planned to teach high school for at least six more years. The figure shows the age and years of teaching experience for high school physics teachers. We see that almost 12% of the teachers who are 50 years old or older have five years or fewer of teaching experience. Thus, these are likely second-career teachers. The typical age range for second-career teachers is 33 to 59. However, the younger second-career teachers are more difficult to isolate because the average duration of the previous career is one and one-half to three years. In the December issue, we will look at teaching activities physics teachers use in the classroom, Susan White is Research Manager in the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics; she directs the Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers. If you have any questions, please contact Susan at swhite@aip.org.