Is Europe running out of chemistry teachers?

Last year, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) wrote to the UK Parliament with a pressing concern. The society’s latest research had found that 30% of the country’s state secondary schools do not have enough chemistry teachers. In addition, the number of students entering chemistry undergraduate courses had been declining year after year. A vicious circle was developing: fewer chemistry graduates meant fewer chemistry teachers to inspire future generations of scientists. If the government didn’t address the lack of teachers, the RSC argued, young people could be kept from pursuing a career in chemistry. Teacher shortages are a known problem in the UK, where poor recruitment and retention rates have plagued schools for more than a decade. Increasingly, the teacher drought is spreading to the continent, affecting countries like Sweden and Germany. A recent European Commission report found teacher shortages in almost all countries in the European Union. Across all