After focusing on
"double reduction", why is the qualification examination for primary and secondary school teachers still hot?
Recently, in the second half of 2021, the primary and secondary school teacher qualification examinations (written examinations) were opened in most provinces across the country.
The number of applicants in many places has set a new record in history.
Take Wuhan as an example. In 2019, Wuhan was one of the six test areas in the country where the number of candidates exceeded 100,000, with 104,000 applicants. This time, the number of candidates in Wuhan has reached 129,900.
Just as the "teaching resources" test was in full swing, Ordos, a city in the western inland, offered an annual salary of 600,000 yuan to recruit graduates from Tsinghua University and Peking University as teachers in primary and middle schools.
This news makes topics related to the teacher qualification examination once again become the focus of heated discussion in the society.
The continued increase in the popularity of the qualification examinations for primary and secondary school teachers is nothing new.
According to data released by the Ministry of Education, the number of examinees nationwide reached 5.9 million in the second half of 2019, more than double the number of examinees in the first half of the year. The number of examinees in the whole year was nearly 9 million.
However, in 2020, the sudden epidemic has brought many uncertain factors to the qualification examination for primary and secondary school teachers.
This year, with the promulgation of the "double reduction" policy, out-of-school training institutions that used to have "strong gains" in the job market have also ushered in an adjustment period, and many institutions have experienced the phenomenon of on-the-job teacher transfer.
Many people will have this question: Why is the number of people taking the qualification examination for primary and secondary school teachers still increasing this year?
Is the profession of teacher really popular?
What impact will the craze for teacher qualification examinations have on the teaching profession in my country?
To this end, reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily interviewed many candidates and experts.
Will the "Double Reduction" Policy Cool Down the Teacher Qualification Examination?
In July this year, the central government issued a "double reduction" policy.
In order to truly and effectively reduce the burden of homework and off-campus training for primary and secondary school students, the entire off-campus training industry has ushered in large-scale adjustments.
Many people believe that the adjustment will definitely reduce the enthusiasm of teacher qualification examinations.
Last year, the "Report on Employment of Chinese College Students in 2020" released by Max Corporation showed that the industry with the largest employment proportion of undergraduates in 2019 is the "education industry". Auxiliary institutions".
China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporters have also seen many job fairs for fresh graduates that there is always a "long line" in front of the booths of some well-known off-campus training institutions.
However, after a little understanding of the off-campus training industry, many college students' views have changed.
Tian Xin has just graduated from a 985 college and university. Because of "higher income" and "less restrictions", Tian Xin is preparing to find employment in training institutions. "However, I only found out after entering the education and training institutions. In order to let students in his class I have higher grades, and I have to desperately pursue “harder” when preparing lessons, and I will “roll” students to learn “exceeding standards” in advance. In order to allow more students to continue classes, I still pay I have to dance or perform on the podium from time to time." Tian Xin said, "Even if there is no policy change, I think the prospects of the education and training industry are not optimistic, because this practice violates the laws of education, plus, I don’t like it. Kind of teaching environment and atmosphere."
Tian Xin's feelings coincide with the experts' opinions.
"In the short term, the governance of social training institutions will affect the employment of some teachers in off-campus training institutions to a certain extent." said Professor Zhang Shuang, deputy dean of the School of Education of Capital Normal University, but the policy governs those non-standard off-campus Training institutions, training institutions that respect the laws of education and meet the qualification requirements are still operating as usual.
In addition, students’ diverse and selective learning needs also exist objectively. Therefore, in the long run, training institutions are still an integral part of the education system. They just have to respect common sense and laws, and play a role within the boundaries.
Although under the influence of the "double reduction" policy, many teachers in off-campus training institutions have chosen to leave or transfer jobs, but the impact on the choices of college students facing graduation is not so great.
Tian Xin is a graduate of 2021. "My current or next class of students, very few people give up the teacher qualification exam."
"In fact, the determinant of whether college students take the teacher qualification examination or not depends on their employment status," said Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences.
A fact that cannot be ignored is that according to data released by the Ministry of Education, the total number of college graduates nationwide in 2021 is 9.09 million, plus some unemployed graduates from the past are also seeking jobs.
Under competition, holding one more license means one more "outlet".
Zhang Junyan, a graduate of Renmin University of China, is one of them.
"When I didn't find a job, I was very anxious. I thought I might also take the path of a teacher, so I signed up." Zhang Junyan said that his goal for himself is a public school. "If I am a teacher, then this is what I value. Professional stability and the strong social value of the teacher’s job."
However, being a teacher is just an alternative to Zhang Junyan.
He hopes that during his job search, the more options he has, the better.
The stability of the teaching profession gives college students who are in a period of career anxiety a great sense of stability.
Many college students will join the army of "teaching resources" exams.
"In addition, in recent years, all levels of the country have successively issued important documents on education reform, especially the reforms that emphasize the construction of the teaching team, which has released very positive signals and attracted outstanding talents to the teaching team. At the same time, the teaching profession Social status is indeed constantly improving, especially in the recent two years of the new crown pneumonia epidemic situation, stable careers have become more attractive, the country attaches great importance to social status, there is room for career development." Zhang Shuang said, these factors have increased The possibility of young people choosing to take the "teaching resources" exam.
Will there be more good teachers if there are more people doing textual research?
Behind the craze for "teaching resources" examinations is the expectation of the entire society for high-quality teachers and high-quality education.
In recent years, the country has also been attaching importance to the construction of the teaching staff and the improvement of teachers' professional ability. In January 2018, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Opinions on Comprehensively Deepening the Reform of Teaching Staff in the New Era", which clearly stated that the admission of teachers in primary and secondary schools should be improved. In addition to the recruitment system, new teachers must obtain teacher qualifications; in the "Opinions on Deepening Education and Teaching Reform and Comprehensively Improving the Quality of Compulsory Education" issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council in June 2019, it once again emphasized the need for strict teacher qualification admission system.
Some experts pointed out that the "teaching resources" test is the "entry gate", which is to select and attract more outstanding talents to the teaching team from the entrance.
When more and more young college students take the "teaching resources" test, does it mean that more and more excellent teachers will emerge in the future?
"The continuous increase in the number of teachers participating in the teacher qualification examination will inevitably form the basic ecology of selecting the best among the best, and it will definitely help improve the quality of teachers." Zhang Shuang said.
Some experts believe that although teacher qualification examinations have continued to heat up in recent years, there are still not enough people with teacher qualification certificates in our country.
"In the past few years, the increase has basically been in large and medium-sized cities, counties or villages below the county level, and there are still too few people with teacher qualification certificates, even'a carrot and a hole.'" Chu Zhaohui said that in Japan, they have a teacher qualification certificate. The ratio of staff to on-the-job teachers is 8:1.
The logic behind the expert's opinion is: the more people who have teacher qualifications, the more choices the school has, and the quality of teachers is guaranteed.
However, for the profession of teachers, what kind of talents are outstanding talents?
What kind of person can be a good teacher?
In recent years, many local primary and secondary schools have offered attractively high salaries, attracting graduates from prestigious schools to teach, and in some places there has even been a situation where "half of the interviews for middle school teachers are PhDs".
Several experts interviewed by the reporter held a positive attitude towards this phenomenon.
"The teaching profession deserves the entry of the best talents, and the profession of elementary and secondary school teachers should not have an academic ceiling." Zhang Shuang said that high-educated talents entering elementary and middle schools are not for underachievers. In addition to being a place for educating people, elementary and middle schools are also a gathering of many hot and difficult issues. Local areas need to be studied and cracked. This is the inevitable way to fundamentally change the quality of the teaching staff. Only when more and more outstanding talents enter the teaching staff can it be possible to cultivate better young people.
However, some experts worry that "only academic qualifications" and "only famous schools" will appear in the recruitment of teachers.
Rui, who graduated with a master's degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong last year, applied for a job at a public elementary school in Shenzhen.
In fact, Rui has never had the idea of being a teacher. Her ideal is to be a media worker.
Since I haven't found the unit I like, I start to think of another way out.
One of Rui's classmates was studying at Beijing Normal University. At the time, this classmate was preparing to apply for a school in Shenzhen. “I learned about it and found out that primary and secondary schools can also pay such a high salary.” Rui said.
During the application process, Rui found that the basic configuration that can pass the school's "resume pass" is this: 985/6 subordinate normal undergraduates + masters/doctors from better schools. "As long as the academic level is high, it is better than the resume. One level, but those with poor academic qualifications don't even have the qualifications to take the exam." Rui said.
There is a consensus among experts: graduates from prestigious schools, masters, and doctoral identities cannot be directly equated with "famous teachers." If you want to become a famous teacher, you need to experience in the practice of education and teaching.
Chu Zhaohui believes that whether a person can become a good teacher still needs to return to the "entry side". This "entry side" refers to whether the person really likes the profession of teachers from the heart, is really willing to join the teaching team, and is willing to fight for the cause of education. Aspiration, "the number of people who have been tested, what kind of education they have, etc. are all external factors. Only when people we attract have the ambition and ambition to be teachers, can they continue to improve themselves, change themselves, and improve themselves. This is the most important factor in improving the quality of teachers."
(At the request of the interviewer, all students in the text are pseudonyms)
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Fan Weichen and intern Su Jingjing Source: China Youth Daily