In what’s being called one of the most in-depth analysis of who goes into teacher training, researchers from Ucas, the body that oversees university admissions in the U.K, found out which parental occupations are most likely to be determinants of children who will enter the profession.

"The findings have been broken down into the 20 largest occupational background groups, and show some surprising results,” said Forbes.

The study found that while children of doctors and lawyers are least likely to enter the teaching profession, children of electricians, police officers, secondary or high school teachers, educational assistance and civil service administrators are most likely. In fact, one in 15 children of parents from these occupations are likely to apply for teacher training.

On the flip side, only one in 30 children of parents who are doctors and lawyers are likely to apply.

When broken down by percentages, electricians and police officers are tied as the biggest determinants of children who grow to be teachers at 6.5 percent. Comparably, only 2.9 percent of children of doctors are likely to do the same. 

While this study samples the population of the U.K., the teaching climate there is not too different from the one in the U.S.

Similar to the U.S., the study found a significant lack of diversity in who becomes teachers. 86 percent of all applicants studied were white.

Other interesting findings from the study, according to Forbes, include what teacher applicants studied prior to pursuing the career. While most teachers studied education, many applicants studied mathematics and linguistics. One out of ten of these majors became teacher applicants after graduating.

Read the full story.

Nicole Gorman, Senior Education World Contributor

7/13/2016