Transcript Out-of-Field Teaching in Iowa's Middle School Family and Consumer Sciences Programs

Out-of-Field Teaching in Iowa’s Middle School Family and Consumer Sciences Programs
Gretchen A. Mosher, Cheryl O. Hausafus, and Margaret C. Torrie
Iowa State University
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Respondents were split into three groups:
those with a major in FCS education, those
with a minor in FCS education, and those
with neither a major or minor in FCS
education. The group with neither a major
or minor in FCS education are classified as
out-of-field teachers.
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Percentage of Teachers
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Options for Filling Vacant Teaching Positions
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FCS in
The population for this study consisted of all
middle school FCS teachers in Iowa’s
public schools. An electronic list of the 395
public middle schools was provided by the
Iowa Department of Education for the 20012002. Questionnaires were mailed to 252
middle school FCS educators at 241 middle
schools. In all, 176 usable questionnaires
were returned, resulting in a 72% response
rate.
The final research question addressing the
future likelihood of out-of-field teaching in
Iowa’s middle school FCS programs can be
partially answered with the data collected.
Figure 1 displays the frequency of responses
to the question asking teachers what tools the
administration in their district would employ if
they could not fill a teaching vacancy. The top
two options given would result in higher rates
of out-of-field teaching.
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The data from this project also showed no
connection between school characteristics and
the rates of out-of-field teaching in middle
school FCS programs. This contradicts the
literature which states that teacher shortages
are responsible for out-of-field teaching and
that school size is a predictor of out-of-field
teaching.
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The questionnaire was developed using the
research questions. The instrument
consisted of seven sections. These seven
sections included: family and consumer
sciences programs at the middle schools,
educational backgrounds of the teachers,
teaching assignments, college preparation,
school district characteristics, teaching
history and future plans, and teacher
demographics.
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Based on the data collected from this study,
Iowa currently has an out-of-field teaching rate
of less than 10% in middle school FCS
programs. Although the F-test and the Tukey
method identified several variables which
differed between the three groups of teachers
(major, minor, and neither), one cannot
conclude with any degree of certainty that
these factors cause higher rates of out-of-field
teaching in Iowa’s middle school FCS
programs.
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In Iowa, an endorsement in family and
consumer sciences is not required to teach
at the middle school level in the field (Iowa
Board of Educational Examiners, 2002). No
data is kept in Iowa about the educational
background or preparation of middle school
teachers who lead family and consumer
sciences classes. To gather the data
needed to meet the objectives of this study,
a mailed questionnaire was used as the
survey instrument.
Shift Fa
Based on these reasons, the goals of this
study were to answer three questions about
out-of-field teaching in Iowa’s middle school
family and consumer sciences classes. 1. Is
out-of-field teaching occurring in Iowa’s
middle school FCS programs, and if so,
what factors contribute to higher rates of
out-of-field teaching? 2. What effects do
school characteristics have on rates of outof-field teaching in Iowa’s FCS middle
school programs? 3. How likely are Iowa’s
middle school FCS programs to experience
higher levels of out-of-field teaching in the
future?
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Iowa’s middle school family and consumer
sciences (FCS) programs were targeted for
this study for several reasons. First, no
data was being collected through the state
department of education to describe FCS
teacher preparation at the middle school
level. Based on current literature, middle
school students are almost twice as likely to
have an out-of-field teacher. Students who
attend smaller schools, schools in lower
income areas, and those students who are
low-achieving all have a higher chance of
having an out-of-field teacher. Iowa has
many small and low income schools where
FCS teachers are working with lowerachieving students. Teacher shortages add
to this problem.
Findings
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Out-of-field teaching is a common
phenomenon in the K-12 education system
in the United States. This alarming situation
provided impetus for President Bush’s No
Child Left Behind (NCLB) initiative, setting a
goal that by the end of the 2005-2006
school year, every state should have a wellprepared teacher in every classroom
(United States Department of Education,
n.d.). Out-of-field teaching is the practice of
teaching in a subject or subjects for which
the instructor has little training or education
or has neither a college major or minor in
the field they are teaching (Ingersoll,1999).
Procedure
Percentage of Teachers
Purpose of Study
Others in School District Who Could Teach
Middle School FCS
The descriptive statistics illustrated another
interesting trend. Sixty percent of teachers
reported they knew of no one within the
district who could replace them if they
resigned or retired; however, 40% teachers
could identify a possible replacement within
their school district. The data from this
question are shown in Figure 2.
Based, on the information gathered, the
possibility of an increase in out-of-field
teaching in Iowa’s middle school FCS
programs seems almost certain.
Implications
This study illustrates two points regarding
Iowa’s middle school FCS programs. First,
it presently appears as though most of
Iowa’s middle school FCS teachers are
certified in FCS. This is good news for now,
but from the information given by teachers
about their administrations’ perceived
willingness to shift faculty schedules and
hire teachers without the correct
endorsement, out-of-field teaching in Iowa
may increase in the future.
In addition, many teachers are certified in
FCS, but reported teaching in other areas.
Using FCS teachers in other areas is not a
wise use of the already small number.
To assist in meeting the demand for FCS
teachers, current teachers should continue
to promote FCS education to secondary
students as a challenging and rewarding
career.