Secondary mathematics teacher recruitment: an overview of the landscape across the four nations of the UK

All four nations of the UK now have shortages of teachers of secondary mathematics. The shortages are embedded in different contexts given that education, including teacher education, in the UK is a devolved policy area. The full report, commissioned by the Joint Mathematics Council of the UK, draws on both published sources and empirical work using a survey of teachers and trainee teachers and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders. It explores the following areas: the differences and similarities between Initial Teacher Education landscape in each nation; recruitment to secondary mathematics ITE; choosing to become a teacher; financial incentives; and barriers and enablers for trainee teachers. Individual nations are found to have different characteristics and distinct approaches to ITE. The reasons behind difficulties in recruiting new trainee secondary mathematics teachers are found to be complex, and there are no straightforward solutions to the problems. It is therefore not possible to identify pros and cons for each; it is more that different contexts lead to both different and similar challenges. The report further finds that many of the reasons people do not apply for ITE for secondary mathematics teaching are related to long-standing issues with the teaching profession more widely and are common across all four nations.