Just 40% of teachers in Wales deliver the subject of their degree

Mar 8 2008 by Abbie Wightwick, Western Mail

FOUR out of 10 school teachers in Wales do not have a degree in the core subjects they teach, a new survey reveals.

In science, maths, English and Welsh 40% of teachers are qualified in different subjects.

One in five Welsh language teachers and one in six English teachers do not have degrees in their subject, the General Teaching Council for Wales research shows.

Assembly Shadow Education spokesman Alun Cairns described the figures as “alarming” and Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Kirsty Williams said children should be taught by those knowledgeable in their subject.

“They deserve better than being taught by a teacher who is just one page ahead of the test because there is a shortage of specialist teachers,” she said.

But the National Union of Teachers Cymru said it was “not essential’’ for a subject to be taught by teachers with a degree in that field.

And Phil Dixon, director of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers Cymru, said, “Teaching is a skill as well as having a body of knowledge, it is the discipline of being able to teach well that’s more important. All young teachers coming into the sector have a degree and we are glad it is becoming a degree-only profession.

“We would like to see more funding being made available by the Welsh Assembly Government for professional development for teachers while in their jobs.”

His views were echoed by NASUWT spokesman, Geraint Davies, who said, “It’s the quality of teaching that’s important not whether someone has a degree in the subject they teach. Often in smaller schools, especially in Wales, teachers will be asked to teach a number of subjects.”

The union’s education officer, Dr Heledd Hayes, said the figures exposed “the best of a bad job” and higher rates of subject qualified teachers would up standards.

It is the first time a definitive study of teacher qualifications in Wales has been made, the GTCW said. Findings took six years to complete but are still not 100% accurate, the GTCW, the body tasked with upholding standards in the profession admitted.

Haydn Llewellyn, GTCW deputy chief executive, said, “We still have around 10% of teachers for whom we do not know the current subjects being taught and we have around 25% of secondary schools for whom we do not hold details of their teachers’ training subjects.

“Encouragingly, what today’s data has also shown is that there is a large proportion of teachers specially trained in their subject areas in the lower age range of the profession – 20 to 35.’’

Dr Hayes said, “It’s making the best of a bad job. It would be nice to get specifically qualified teachers in all subjects. But, it would be very difficult to get this. We think there’s a mismatch and we would like to see a closer match.”

She added, “It is a problem getting teachers qualified in Welsh to teach subjects in Welsh or Welsh as a second language.’’

Mr Cairns, Conservative spokesman on education and young people, said, “To consider that large numbers of teachers are not trained in their subject to degree level is alarming. They are making their best efforts but it’s no substitute for having the expertise of years of study.”