U.S. schools hire underqualified teachers as vacancies rise: research

NEW YORK, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Many U.S. states lowered job requirements as there were more than 36,500 teacher vacancies in 37 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. for the 2021-2022 school year, and the shortages have grown 35 percent to more than 49,000 vacancies so far, The Washington Post on Thursday cited a Kansas State University research.

"Teacher shortages are worsening in several states, and it was not a pandemic aberration. Instead, it seems to be part of a worrisome trend: Teachers are leaving the classroom at higher rates, and the pool of candidates is not big enough to replace them," said the report.

"Schools increasingly relied on instructors with fewer qualifications," it noted. "They include everyone from credentialed educators who are teaching out of their area of expertise to people with no credentials and, in some cases, no college education," and "underqualified teachers turn over more quickly than those who have been trained."

Those without teacher training often lack good classroom management skills, such as the ability to refocus a class after a disruption. Those skills are becoming even more important as misbehavior in school is on rise, and it can be a self-reinforcing problem, according to the report.