A recent study suggests low average salaries might deter students from entering public service jobs such as teaching, yet interest at Ohio University seems to be as high as ever.
People understand that teachers are role models
and that's why they go into education said Tom Davis, interim dean of the College of Education.
Thirty one percent of four-year, public university students in Ohio would have debt exceeding manageable levels if they took teaching jobs in the state, above the national average of 23.2 percent, according to a recent report from the Public Interest Research Group.
Education enrollment has been stable at OU, Davis said. The main concern is getting teachers from areas of less demand, such as early childhood education, to switch to areas such as math and science.
We focus on that situation during Precollege. We start off giving (incoming students) very specific information about supply and demand. Many of the early education majors don't find teaching jobs and sometimes have to leave Ohio Davis said.
In 2003, the mean full-time salary for OU education majors one year after graduation was $29,914, the lowest of all colleges, according to a survey by OU's Office of Institutional Research. Forty-three percent of 2003 graduates responded to the survey.
This statistic does not faze Ashley Modras, a sophomore special education major. She said money was not a factor when deciding to major in education.
I'm sure the first few years
I will struggle (with money issues)
but I couldn't see myself doing anything else
Modras said. In some ways
the low salary is a deterrent
but I think it takes a very special person to become a teacher
and there aren't very many of us out there.
Still, low salaries aren't a surprise to most education majors, Davis said.
I think most students come into it with their eyes open
he said
The schedule of the school year results in this difference in pay, he said.
Part of what we have to understand (is a teacher's) salary is a 10-month
not 12-month
