Teaching Trends

The teaching profession has undergone a number of changes in recent years. Changes such as a decline in the ratio of students to teachers at the elementary and secondary school level, the creation of new alternatives to public schools such as charter and pilot schools and the increasing use of adjunct professors at the college level have all brought about new trends in teaching jobs.
More and more people have entered the teaching profession over the years, resulting in a decrease of the student to teacher ratio in the public school system. One factor is that changing state and federal requirements often force school districts to hire more teachers. For example, when new state laws or federal regulations require all students to take new classes, school districts have to hire teachers trained in those subjects so they can meet the guidelines. Federal legislation requiring schools to offer special education programs has also resulted in large increases in the number of special education teachers over the last two decades.
Teaching at the post-secondary level has changed dramatically in the past few decades, as many colleges and universities now rely heavily on the use of part-time adjunct professors rather than full-time tenure track professors. Adjunct professors are generally paid a set fee for each course they teach, and most do not receive benefits. Because of the need to teach several classes to earn a living, many adjunct professors are working far more than 40 hours per week despite being technically part-time workers. The trend toward relying on adjunct professors is expected to continue."