Low Teacher Status and High Turnover Rate in the US and UK: An Exploration of Solving Strategies and Professional Development

英美低教師地位與高離職率：解決策略與專業發展之探詢

10.6388/JES.200606.0121

黃源河(Yuanher Robin Hwang)；張嘉文(Chia-Wen Chang)；郭秋勳(Chu-Hsun Kuo)

教師地位 ； 專業發展 ； 教師素質 ； 師資培育 ； Teacher Status ； Professional Development ； Teacher Quality ； Taiwan

教育科學期刊

6卷1期（2006 / 06 / 01）

121 - 148

英文

教師高離職率的問題引起英美教育當局的高度關注，為提高教師素質，他們設定嚴格的正式教師證書認可門檻，但是嚴格的門檻卻因教師社會地位低落及薪資不高而難以招募到高素質的學生投身教育，且導致教師數量不足，於是又發放緊急或暫時性的教師執照作補救。希望招募高素質教師，最後卻需要發放緊急證照補教，形成教師素質「精神分裂症」式的惡性循環。由於學科素質高的大學生較不會選擇這個職業，而教師卻需要雙專業性（教學技巧與學科能力）的知能，但是英美教師培育卻多著重於教學技巧，忽略學生學科能力之不足，確是不爭的事實。本文目的在描述英美教師社會地位低落與高離職率的現象、並探詢期解決之道與其對教師專業發展的啟示。本研究採文獻探討以蒐集資料並由研究者討論分析之，研究結果則以英文書寫為評論文。文章首先描述英美教師位低落與高離職率的狀況，再分析教學的雙專業性，最後探詢解決之道與其對專業發展的啟示。經由上述評析，本文認為解決之道在：增強教師學科能力、教師經濟地位提升，並配合有效地提昇社會形象，這樣徹底的對教師社經地位的改革效果，可能遠高於目前各項補救措施，因為如果向下沈淪的「瘋狂惡性循環」沒被解構，教師專業發展效果將極其有限。因此，本文主張英美決策者應該在教師的職前教育、初任教師及在職教師的進修訓練中改變教師專業發展焦點，以提升教師素質：第一階段宜著重吸引學科素質高的學生投入教育行列；第二階段宜大幅提高初任教師的「起薪」；第三階段宜對在職教師提供專業訓練課程並塑造「準教授化」的專業化形象。藉由這些策略與方法，英美教師高離職率的問題應可望趨緩，同時教師素質亦可在教師學科能力、形象與薪資的全面提升後獲得一定程度的改善。本文也同時探討此一分析對台灣的啟示。

The problem of high teacher turnover rate caused concerns of educators in the United States and the United Kingdom. In order to solve the problem, some mandated approaches are taking place, such as issuing emergency or temporary licenses to teachers, while setting rigorous accreditation and licensing standards for teachers to be. This may, as a result, in fact create a negative systemic circle to teacher quality, in the teacher recruiting process. This study was incepted as an attempt to describe and to answer the related questions: under the condition of low teacher status and high turnover rate in the United States and the United Kingdom, what might need to be done and what the implications to teachers' professional development might be? The research method is literature analysis along with researchers' discussion, and the article is written in the nature of a commentary piece. The writers described and analyzed the low teacher status and high turnover rate in the US and UK, at first. Then, the duality of teaching profession was narrated. Third, the negative ”schizophrenic cycle” of teacher quality improving was described. Finally, the writers proposed three essential measures for the enhancement of teachers’ socioeconomic status and for the sake of teacher quality. They are as the following: first of all, subject knowledge is to be focused in the pre-service phase; second, to raise teachers' initial compensation to a relatively significant higher level should be considered, in the beginning phase; third, to raise teachers' social image, to a level of quasi-professorship at the in-service phase is argued. By these means, the problem of teachers' low socioeconomic status and high turnover rate might be alleviated, and teacher quality could then be reassured. The writers also discussed about the implications to Taiwan's teacher education.

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