Research: the number of students of pedagogical specialties in Ukraine increased by 7%

In the 2023-2024 academic year, the number of students of pedagogical specialties in Ukraine increased to 94 thousand, which is 7% more compared to 87.7 thousand in 2022.

This is evidenced by the results of the study «Teachers of Ukraine: personnel potential», which was conducted by the Osvitoria State Educational Institution and the FAMA research agency.

The greatest increase was demonstrated by the specialties of informatics (+63%, or 1.6 thousand students) and technological (+36%, or 1.3 thousand) educational fields

However, educational experts draw attention to the decrease in the average score of entrants to pedagogical specialties: in the 2023-2024 academic year, this indicator was 152 points, which is one of the lowest among other areas of education. The lowest is 146 for Science and Arts entry. Compared to 2018, the average score decreased by 5%.

The survey also investigated the motivation of students to enter pedagogical specialties. It turned out that part of the students chose a specialty due to the availability of a budget place — 15% or by chance — 5%. That 4% of surveyed students indicated that this was the only major they were able to enroll in.

The study consisted of four modules: a desk analysis of open data and statistics on the pedagogical field and demographics, a qualitative module with peer group discussions and in-depth interviews (a total of 39 interviews with educators, students and experts), as well as a quantitative online survey, within which 9,065 questionnaires were collected from teachers (after processing, 2,500 remained) and 451 questionnaires from students of pedagogical specialties (the sample size was 400 people).

It should be noted that more than 40% of teachers are determined to leave the profession by 2030. It is predicted that there will be a shortage of 108,000 teachers, but this number may be much higher.

We will remind that there is a shortage of teachers of various subjects in the Mykolaiv region. Educational institutions are most in need of teachers of chemistry, physics and biology. The number of applicants for physics and mathematics is decreasing every year. A significant factor in the shortage of teachers is the fact that some teachers retire every year, and there are not enough young professionals to replace them.