Education Degrees Decline in Popularity

Education, once the number one major for conferred bachelor’s degrees, has declined in popularity since the 1970s, falling to the number 10 spot in 2020-2021.

The rankings, supplied by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), confirm the struggle many districts have had filling teacher vacancies. Teachers are often underpaid and overworked, making them unlikely to recruit individuals into the profession.

Additionally, the cost of education continues to rise while teacher pay remains stagnant. Additional factors preventing individuals from entering the field include:

• Struggles with student discipline and classroom management
• Polarized political climate

Colin Sharkey, executive director of the Association of American Educators, suggests, “…a campaign to young people stressing what that job is going to be like for them and what it means and what impact they can have.” Experts recommend being encouraging but honest about the challenges of teaching.

For more information, check out The Hill article Declining Education Degrees Compound Problems in the Classroom.