SALARIES, EXPERIENCE, AND TRAINING OF CHEMISTRY

---

SALARIES, EXPERIENCE, AND TRAINING OF CHEMISTRY TEACHERS IN OHIO HIGH SCHOOLS*

Method and Purpose of the Investigation The present paper is an attempt to show what data are available in answer to the following questions. (1) In what schools are our teachers being prepared? (2) What training do they have? (3) What initial salaries do they receive? (4) What are the prospects for the future of a new teacher? The data used were secured from the principals' reports filed in the office of the state director of education. No attempt was made to obtain complete figures from the county schools whose reports were incomplete, but personal letters were sent to the eighteen principals of city or village high schools for which complete information was lacking. All but three replied. 'The following tables therefore represent summarized information concerning 290 out of 302 teachers in county high schools and 188 teachers in city and village high schools. Preparation of the Teachers In Table I is shown the distribution of the highest degrees held by the teachers. Eighty-four of the county TABLE I teachers had taken summer Couniy Cily Told school work after receiving the 7 0 None 133 67 200 degrees listed above. A.B. B.S. 132 70 202 Table I1 shows the subjects M.A. or M.S. 26 45 71 studied as major subjects in Ph.D. 0 5 college. The above data show that in TABLE I1 the smaller schools the teachers Co~niy Cil~ Tolo1 must be hired to teach a variety Science 75 30 105 of subjects, only one of which can 45 102 147 Chemistry Mathematics 38 12 50 be the specialty, while in the larger Biology 21 7 28 schools teachers are usually hired History 21 1 22 to teach the subject of major inEducation 18 5 23 terest. This tabulation necessaEnglish 17 5 22 10 0 10 rily includes all who taught chemAgriculture Physics 7 11 18 istry during the year 1928-29, Scattering 43 11 54 although most of them were teach-

* Presented hefore the Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society at the Atlanta meeting. April 7-11, 1930. 1928

VOL. 7, No. 8

SALARIES, ETC., OF CHEMISTRY TEACHERS

1929

ing from one to seven other subjects in addition (2). For many, chemistry was of but incidental interest. It is unfortunate, but not a t present capable of remedy, that but thirty per cent of all the Ohio chemistry teachers majored in chemistry in college. Table I11 shows the schools from which the county teachers were graduated. Reports on the city teachers failed to include this information. TABLE 111 Source of Collegiate Preparation Ohio Collcgrs

Undrrgrodvorc Groduorc

Ohio State Univ. Ohio Northern Univ. Miami Ohio University Wilmington Otterhein Muskingum Wooster Defiance Ohio Wesleyan Wittenherg Bowling Green Heidelberg Bluffton Kent our of s l o l r Collcgcr

Manchester, Indiana Franklin, Indiana Michigan Indiana Adrian Chicago Columbia Southern California West Virginia Wisconsin

31 24 21 21 18 13 12 11 11 9 9 8 8

7 7

61 0 2 0 3 0

3 1 0 0

2 2 0 0 7

Ohio Collcges

Undevnaduole Graduale

Mount Union 7 Ashland 6 Hiram 5 Kenyon 5 Antioch 3 Capitol 3 Denkon 3 Rio Grande 3 Oberlin 2 Western College 2 Akron 1 Cincinnati 1 Toledo 1 Baldwin-Wallace, Findlay, Lima. etta, one each

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 1 Mari-

Out of Slnlc CoNegcr

Asbury, Ball Teachers' College, Berea, Bethany, Cornell, Fletcher, Goshen, Huntington, Illinois College, Kirksville, Missouri, Lake Forest, Lebanon, Marion, Olivet, Purdue, Rochester, Stetson. Syracuse, Thiel, Illinois, Westminster, one each undergraduate, and Milton, Illinois, and Colorado, one each graduate.

Summarized, the undergraduate work was done in schools of the following types. ohi0 0% I Most of the graduate and sumState univ. 31 6 mer school work was done in the State teachers' con. 15 8 state university. Generally speakLarge endowed univ. 0 3 ing, the smaller denominational Small denam. college 210 20 colleges of the state seemed to supply the demand in the temtory immediately surrounding them.

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION

1930

AUGUST,1930

Factors Governing Teaching Salaries The effects of many of the factors which control the salary paid a teacher obviously cannot be gaged in a study of this kind. But two render themselves capable of any extended study: (1) teaching experience TABLE 1V Experience and Salaries COUNTY HIGASCHOO~S 1 ym,

Salary

Numbn

$1100 1200 1300 1400

1 6 10 9

< W.,I

51300 1400 1500 1600 1700 2000 2100

5 years

Solory

Number

Snlory

Numbn

$1200 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 2300

1 1 4 5 2 3 3 4 1 1

$1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 2000 2200 2300 2400

1 4 2 2 2 4 4 1 1 2

8 yews Solrmy N u m b n

9 yrnrr Salorr Number

$1200 1300 1400 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 3000

51400 1500 1700 1800 1900 2800

1 1 1 2 2

1 2 2 1 4 1 1 1

3 ycorr Solory Number

2 YCOll

Solory Number

1 1 3 1 1

1

2 6 6 4 2 1

$1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000

1

2 1 11 3 5 3 3 2 1

6 ycors Solar? N u m b n

7 ycor." Snlor9 Number

$1400 1500 1600 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2800

$1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 21W 2200 2300 2500 2fioo 2700

3 6 3 3 4 4 1 2 1

10 y e w s

Solory

Nxmbn

$1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 3000

2 1

1 1 4 1 3 1 1

2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 1

11-15 yrors Slrlory N u m b n

51400 1600 17MI 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 2500 2700 2800

1 1 1 5 4 1 4 2 1 4 2

1 2

SALARIES, ETC., OF CHEMISTRY TEACHERS

VOL. 7, NO. 8

TABLE XV

(cant.) 21 07 m a c years Solory Numb0

16-20 ycors

Salary

$1400 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400

I year

Solory

Numbar

$1500 1800

3 1

2 years Salary Number

$1300 1400 1600 1700

1 2 2 3

6 years

Nvmbrr

$14W 1500 1600 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400

2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

3 ycorr Solory N u m b n

$1300 1400 1500 1600 1800

1 2 3 3 2

7 yeor$ Num6n

Solaw

Nunbn

Solnry

$1400 1500 16W 1800 1900 2000 2100 22W 2800

3 6 3 3 4 4 1 2 1

$1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2300

2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 3

2500

1

2600 2700

1 1

10 Yeall

11-15 yrorr

Solory

Numbn

Salary

$1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000

2 1 1 1 4 1 3

$1400 1600 1700 1800 1900

mo 2100

Numbar

1 1 1 5 4 1 4

4 years Solary N u m b n

$1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 2000 2200 2300 2400

x

Solory

1 3 2 4 2 1 1

1

5 yean

Salary

Number

$1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2100 2300 2600

1 1 1 3 2 1

1 1

1

years Nunbw

$1200 1300 1400 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 3000

1 2 2 4 1 1 1 3

1

1 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 4 1 1 1

16-20 w o n

Solnrv

Nunbcr

$1400 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2300

2 1 1 1 1 1 1

9 yews

Solnry

$1400 1500 1700 1800 1900 2800

Nmmbw

1 1 3 1 1

1

21 0. mom years Salary Number

$1400 1500 1600 2000 2100 2200 2300

1 2 2 4 1 1 1

1932

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION

TABLE IV 10 years Soiory Number

2100 3000

1 1

(conl.)

11-15 yemr Salary Number

2200

2300

Aucusr. 1930

16-20 yaors

Salary

2 1

Numbrr

21 years .Folorg Number

2400

1

2400

3

2800

2

25W

1

and (2) size of the school system. In the following tables and figures, data are given concerning the salaries paid teachers of varying experience. A rough measure of the effect of the size of the school system is to be h a d by comparing county with city high schools. In Table I V are tab~ 4 ~ l , A . l , l l , l , ~ L ulated the years' teach3 ing experience, salaries, 2 and numbers of teachers 1 receiving each salary. 1,11111 lluo 2500 3000 Salaries. Allsalarieswererounded FIGUREl.-Cou~Tu SALARIES VERSUS YEARS OF off to the nearest hunEXPERIENCE dred dollars. In Figures 1 and 2 these data are represented graphically. The line AB connects the median salaries for each group. It will be noted that in each case the minimum remains close to the left e d.~ eof the chart, some teachers apparently remaining a t approximately the same salaries for their entire careers. ,,,, The maximum, on the 11-15 10 other hand, increases a as the experience in3 creases, gradually in 3 the case of county 2 teachers, and much I more rapidly in the Isno 2000 2500 3000 3500 Salaries. case of city teachers. T~~ median also inFIGURECI CITY SALARIES VERSUS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE creases much more rapidly for the latter than for the former. These same data are plotted in a slightly different manner in Figure 3. Here are shown maximum, median, and minimum salaries against years

iU A ?,

*

VOL. 7, No. 8

SALARIES, ETC., OF CHEMISTRY TEACHERS

1933

of experience for the two groups. The dotted lines represent county teachers, and the solid lines city teachers. It is interesting that the maximum for county teachers remains above or near that for those in the cities until the ten-year mark is passed. These data and curves, however, do not in themselves show the entire picture. I n the next two figures are shown the number of individuals in each group accord in^ t o salary or experience. Curve A in each represents city teachers, B cimty, and C totals. If experience were the only factor controlling salaries, these two curves should be parallel. The marked divergence in the right half shows that there are many teachers of long experience, but only a few with high salaries. The inference is, of course, that experience alone will not insure salary increases. In the previous study mentioned above @), the distribution of experience teaching chemistry was tabulated. In this study, total years of teaching experience was the basis. It is interesting that these two curves differ greatly. For those concerning whom the writer had data listing both items a comparison was made. Of the county teachers, 33 had been teaching chemistry during all their teaching experi. ence, while 128 had not. FIGURE3.-M~xmnm. MEDIAN,AND MINIMUM SALARIES VERSUS YEARSOP EXPERIENCE Twenty of the thirty-three -City ---- County were engaged in their first year of teaching. Of the city teachers, 32 belonged in the first class, while 76 had been teaching many more years than they had been teaching chemistry. Discussion of Results The question now arises, what are the prospects facing a student con-

1934

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION

AUGUST, 1930

sidering the teaching of high-school chemistry as a profession. Dr. Anderson (1) has answered that the beginning salary will be fairly low. The data given above indicate that in general the salary will rise, as experience is gained, more rapidly if a position is secured in a city system. At the outset the maximum and minimum salaries are very close together, but as time goes on they differ widely. This represents the working of the effects of ability, personality, professional activity, size of the school, etc., which cannot be measured quantitatively. The outlook would seem

Years.

Salaries.

5.-DISTRIBUTIONOF SALARIES FIGWEE4.-D1smI~uTloN O@EXPERIENCE FIGURE ACity B---- County CTotal ACity B---- County CTotal t o be, therefore, that some few, probably individuals of exceptional ability or good fortune, can look forward t o advancement to relatively high salaries, while mediocrity in general is penalized by little or no salary increase. Much has been said indicating that the teaching profession is underpaid. The writer wishes to let these data speak for themselves. Some chemistry teachers in Ohio are very well paid. Others are not paid an amount commensurate with their investment in time and money. The medians seem to run along a fairly satisfactory level. There are wide

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SALARIES, ETC., OF CHEMISTRY TEACHERS

1935

variations in the amount and character of the training of the teachers, and also similarly wide variations in the stipends. The writer feels that the chances are that in general ability receives its reward, although nothing in these data will either prove or disprove this opinion. Literature Cited and S~usss, "Salaries of Inexperienced Teachen," Educ. Research ( 1 ) ANDBRSON BulL., 8,289 (1929). "The Status of Chemistry and the Chemistry Teacher in the (2) E. W. P~BLAN, Ohio High Schools," J. CHEM. E~uc., 6,2198 (Dec., 1929).