Our society has several essential functions, and education is definitely one of them. Education has been present in human lives since the dawn of time and it continues to shape minds until this very day. In the 21st century, we have a strong need for educators who will serve as role models of knowledge, skill and ability. The demand for good teachers is high, so human resources are struggling to keep up with demand and educational policies.
While most subjects when discussing education focus on students, funding, access issues and quality of the curriculum, considerations concerning recruiting, preparation, evaluation and development of staff should also be discussed. Human resources face many challenges, with its role in education being more important than ever. Here are just some of the main challenges HR faces every day when handling people’s education needs and obligations:
Shortage of educators
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the candidate recruitment has been conducted through job fairs, expos and career orientation events in educational institutions. However, during and even after the pandemic, all job fairs and events have been canceled or made virtual, which left HR staff to adapt to the new normal alone. Due to various HR challenges, the education sector is today going through a serious shortage of teachers. Probably the biggest contributor to this shortage of educators is the fact that fewer and fewer people are interested in having a career in education due to complicated curricula, lack of pay, bad working conditions, lack of support, etc.
Retention of educators
Today we live in a very knowledge- and skill-driven economy, so students need to be equipped with great knowledge and engaged throughout their lectures. Students already have amazing resources provided by a tutor in Burwood, supplying pupils with educational videos on demand. Together with comprehensive written materials, homework and quizzes, students usually don’t even need much more. However, sometimes, it’s necessary to have a good in-person educator, and the HR department in education often struggles with the retention of quality teachers. The supply of teachers is dwindling and teachers are quitting the field, threatening students’ academic success.
Quitting and premature retirement of educators negatively affects learning and costs taxpayers a lot of money. According to research, replacing educators costs as much as $20,000 per teacher.
Subpar pay
In today’s competitive labor market, pay is a huge issue that HR in education needs to overcome. If we want teachers to apply for positions and stay for a long time, it’s necessary to update and increase compensation packages. This is a good thing for teachers, staff members and students as well. Naturally, private schools are offering higher pay and better work benefits, even for roles that are more flexible and less demanding. On the other hand, teachers in public schools are getting overworked and have to cover for their colleagues while also fulfilling their regular duties—all that for subpar wages. It’s easy to see why there’s a lack of educators—they are all opting for fields that are less exploitative and better paid.
Advancement requirements
The field of education is constantly changing and teachers need to keep up with the evolution. Teachers are expected to learn new things and improve the students’ progress constantly. It’s necessary to be in constant professional development to keep up, which can be very demanding on the mind and body. Teacher training by the HR department might come across the following problems: inadequate training due to bad planning, random candidate selection, lack of inspection, lack of testing to follow improvement, not organized in-service training, poor training for the sake of promotion, etc.
Communication barriers at work
Educators are just humans, and humans often fail to communicate at work, causing a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding. This is the easiest way for the system to fall apart, and often even the HR department doesn’t know how to solve communication issues. Educators can struggle with sending clear messages and do know what to say and when to say it. One of the biggest obstacles for HR is the fact that many schools are spread across several buildings, even several campuses, and employ thousands of people. It’s necessary for HR to come up with effective communication tactics instead of relying on word-of-mouth.
Too much paperwork
Almost all educational institutions struggle with mountains of paperwork and manual processes, which take a lot of time and energy. HR needs to keep track of fees, administration, admissions, transportation, attendance, and many other parameters. And teachers need to write their name, address, phone number, and contact information and fill out HR forms hundreds of times a year. The introduction of technology can make these HR issues much easier and provide teachers and staff with a faster and less nerve-racking way to do their daily jobs.
HR in the education department is struggling, just like the entire education field. Some countries managed to make education administration easier and provide educators with better pay and benefits, but others still have a lot to go before HR and education staff can have a smooth relationship.
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