Why are there not enough teachers?

The sequence of events belongs to a private school in Madrid, but it could be any other school: a few days after the start of the school year, parents receive a notification via the school's app informing them that "Teacher (X) is leaving the Science class," appointing a replacement. But the next day, the teacher does the same thing again because that substitute has also left, and it will happen again with two more resignations. In all cases, the teachers were called in to fill a temporary position at a public school.

The concern is not unique to Spain. UNESCO already warned in a study published last April that there is a shortage of 44 million teachers worldwide and that Europe and North America, despite having low birth rates, face a shortage of nearly five million teachers. The report, prepared in conjunction with the SM Foundation, emphasizes that the problem is not limited to numbers, but also to the ability to attract and retain talent.

Even without precise official figures, Spain is showing clear symptoms: overcrowded classrooms, increasing sick leave, early leaving the profession, and a clear risk that education will lose its ability to compensate for inequalities: “Schools will stop fulfilling that role because they will not be able to reduce social differences. Teachers lack time, and their heavier workload prevents them from personalizing teaching, which will result in a lower quality of life for students in the future,” says Mayte Ortiz, director of the SM Foundation. This, she adds, will ultimately impact society: “Individuals are less educated and have fewer opportunities, and this will have a high economic cost on education systems (with greater spending on training and hiring) and other social challenges.”

The OECD and the Talis Report (2018) add a generational factor that further aggravates the situation: the average age of teachers in Spain is almost 46 years old at the secondary level (with 21% over 55). In just over a decade, the retirement of these professionals could leave the system without sufficient replacements, especially in critical areas such as Mathematics (in 2023, more than 720 positions remained unfilled, according to the European Union Education and Training Monitor), regional languages, or Philosophy, and, most notably, in Vocational Training, where the CC OO (Cultural and Cultural Organization) warns of repeated competitive examinations with vacant positions and empty temporary staff in key specialties such as Computer Systems, Vehicle Electromechanics, Energy Systems, Electricity and Electronics, or Food Industry, to name a few.

Teacher shortages and early school leaving

The lack of job security, uncompetitive salaries compared to other professions available to those with similar qualifications, burnout, and bureaucratic overload, among other factors, have meant that fewer and fewer young people are considering teaching as a future option, an imbalance that threatens to become structural. But there's more: "The [current] workloads and student-student ratios are unaffordable if we want to do our job well, and this forces educators to work hours far in excess of those regulated without any recognition or pay," claims the State Federation of Education (CCOO).

The union also points to the high rate of temporary employment (over 30%) as one of the determining factors in explaining the unattractiveness of the teaching profession for developing a long-term life plan. “Temporary employment, in Spain, is extremely serious, far higher than in other countries. We cannot allow them to lack stability,” Ortiz argues. “These worse working conditions (with fixed-term contracts, now I hire you by the hour, now I move you, then you're unemployed) mean that young people here can't find the flexibility that everyone has been looking for since the pandemic, and that professions like education, hospitality, or healthcare don't have.”

The UNESCO report also noted that the teacher attrition rate has doubled in the last decade, rising from just 4.6% in 2015 to 9% in 2022, and is more pronounced among younger teachers. What are the reasons for this phenomenon? “In Spain, there are significant peculiarities. This has to do, for example, with the constant legislative changes, which negatively impact teachers' lack of time and force them to continually re-prepare their syllabi and schedules; but there's much more to it,” Ortiz points out.

“Teaching has always been much more than imparting knowledge, but right now, the diversity in classrooms is such, and the levels are so different, that teachers would need to have half the number of students they currently have to adapt to their needs. There are increasingly more children who don't speak the language well, or who speak a different language at school than they do at home; or children who start compulsory education with a much lower level and who need adaptations,” argues the head of the SM Foundation. “And it has to do with another aspect, which is that socially we make them responsible for many tasks that aren't solely the school's responsibility. How often do families tell us 'let the school take care of it'? Families should collaborate more with the educational function and delegate less to the schools.” Teachers, she emphasizes, find they lack the support that, in some way, families should offer them, and this leads to greater disillusionment.

Transforming teacher training

Other factors also play a significant role in this dropout. These include the lack of a well-defined teaching career with challenges and incentives, and the significant disconnect between the initial training they receive in college and the real needs encountered in the classroom. Therefore, the CCOO (Cultural and Educational Commission) advocates reviewing the training of future teachers, allowing for more practical training with on-site teaching in educational centers and adequate recognition for those they tutor (in terms of hours and salary). They also advocate "designing a specific secondary education pathway for future educators and promoting the teaching vocation within the university system, integrating it into the various degrees and not just the specific ones."

However, both sides also point to the need to reform access to the profession. "We must be doing something wrong when a very high percentage of people were left out of the last competitive exams," Ortiz wonders aloud. "And then, with x vacancies, we do use those who failed. But if they're not suitable for incorporation into the civil service, they shouldn't be suitable for teaching either. Because it's not just that they use lists of temporary workers; there are also open lists." The CCOO (City of Workers' Commissions) also advocates for a profound change, emphasizing the nature of the tests: "The competitive exams, in general, must be updated and adjusted to a more competency-based model, focused on the pedagogical and teaching abilities of the candidates, with a more planned and formative internship phase, and with the necessary resources."

To address this shortage, Isabel Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid, recently suggested creative solutions such as allowing university students to teach , a plan that would not only require an unlikely legislative change but also faces skepticism from many experts. For Ortiz, without going any further, this can never be the solution to the problems of the teaching profession, since "they lack the necessary didactic training. Knowing mathematics is not the same as teaching it; a good mathematician is not necessarily a good teacher." The CCOO (City of Workers' Commissions) point out that these are "ideas that seek to distance the debate from reality, create meaningless headlines, and fail to truly address an issue that must be addressed with reflection and rigor."

How to reverse the trend?

Turning this situation around requires a comprehensive plan of measures that involves all social actors: society, academia, and political and union leaders. For Ortiz, this should begin by increasing the percentage of Gross Domestic Product allocated to education, which, according to UNESCO, should exceed 6% (but in Spain, it does not reach 5%).

Although salary increases aren't necessarily the most critical issue, they are important. Thus, the CCOO (Working Council of Workers) are calling for the highest possible status within the civil service (A1) for all teaching staff, as well as a significant increase in public employment opportunities that truly reduces the current temporary employment situation. Ortiz points out how many countries offer hiring and retention incentives based on the challenges they face in their work.

“We also need to pay attention to the issue of assessments, which should be a tool for professional development and support educators from the moment they arrive. Mentoring by a senior colleague ensures they know they're not alone and prepares them for what they'll encounter in the classroom,” the expert argues.

Last October, UNESCO, through the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, and the SM Foundation, published a ten-point plan for transforming education with key recommendations that, in addition to the aspects discussed here, advocate measures such as “caring for the comprehensive well-being of teachers,” “creating a collaborative culture in educational communities,” “supporting academic autonomy and freedom,” and “creating a professional development model that attracts, trains, and retains the best teachers.”