FORT WAYNE Ind. — Colleges across Indiana are reporting drops in the number of education majors this fall as a bleak job situation and changes in how teacher performance is judged dampen enthusiasm for what once was viewed as a noble profession.
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne saw the number of education majors decline 19 percent, dropping from 1,020 last fall to 822 this fall. Ball State University’s Teachers College, a nationally ranked program, saw its undergraduate enrollment drop from 1,491 last year to 1,368 this year or slightly more than 8 percent. Trine University saw an 18 percent drop.
“Because the jobs aren’t there today, they are deciding to pursue other interests,” David Finley, vice president of academic affairs at Trine University in Angola, told The Journal-Gazette (http://bit.ly/ngx5Qe ).
Clayton Whistler, a sophomore at Trine and son of a retired teacher, said he wanted to pursue a career as a high school teacher. But by the time he got to college, he had changed his mind, deciding to become a physical therapist instead.
“The job market was closing,” he said. “And I thought I would change (my major) so I could get a job when I graduate.”
The job market hasn’t been the only deterrent, said professor Michael Slavkin, director of teacher education at Manchester College.
The number of undergraduate education majors at Manchester has decreased 20 percent in the past five years, a drop Slavkin also attributes to the administration of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels.
