Shortage of teachers – record registrations, small hurdles and new study models – News

Universities of teacher education in the balancing act between combating the shortage of teachers and maintaining teaching quality.

The fall semester is just around the corner and the PH Bern lecture halls will be packed. 825 students begin their training to become teachers. Record levels, writes the PH in a press release.

In addition to the normal basic training, the PH Bern also offers new teaching models: a course of study for people who have a vocational baccalaureate but have not completed the PH’s supplementary examination. The diploma obtained in this way is only valid in the canton of Bern.

Starting next semester, there will also be courses for people who teach without pedagogical training. Both offers are measures against the shortage of teachers.

We welcome it when students also teach at a school.

PH Bern has also improved the conditions for part-time study. 1,500 students at the university are currently working part-time at a school. “Students who also teach at a school gain more insights into practice. That’s good for your studies,” says Rector Martin Schäfer.

The early entry into practice, as well as the new offerings, also raise questions: Is the quality of the teaching assured?

Flexibility has its price

“If you have to combine studying and teaching, compromises are necessary,” says Martin Schäfer and adds, “It’s a very high demand that the quality doesn’t suffer at all.”

The canton takes risks when people who are not pedagogically trained teach.

In addition to part-time students, many people without teaching qualifications also teach. The canton is taking big risks by employing teachers who are not pedagogically trained, said Schäfer.

However, due to the emergency situation with the shortage of teachers, this is necessary. Otherwise no one would teach at all. Everything is being done to ensure that these people complete teacher training in order to keep them in the profession for a long time.

Crash courses are not a replacement for a PH degree

In the long run, the apprenticeship profession is difficult to master without training, says Martin Schäfer. Crash courses cannot replace in-depth training. This is necessary in the medium term.

Silja Rüedi, Vice Rector for Education at PH Zurich, also shares this opinion. People who teach without a teaching diploma rely on support within their school.

Legend:

Mutual support within the school is important for all teachers.

Keystone/Peter Schneider

There is a new procedure in Zurich to bring people who are currently teaching without a diploma into training.

Sur dossier admission procedures as a solution

Anyone who is at least 27 years old, has a job at a primary school and meets other requirements can start studying at the PH even without a high school diploma. As a rule, these people then study part-time.

A similar sur dossier procedure also exists at the teacher training colleges of the Northwestern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences FHNW, for example in Baselland or Aarau. The number of registrations here has doubled compared to the previous year, says Karin Hiltwein, Secretary General of the FHNW.

In Zurich and at the FHNW universities of education, sur dossier students are also checked for their suitability for study and career at the beginning of their studies. At the end they receive the same diploma as regular students.

The large universities of teacher education have very high or even record-high enrollments in all of their degree programs and courses. It remains to be seen whether the additional offerings can alleviate the teacher shortage.