Education salary is increasingly deterring girls
HBO has been growing for years, but the percentage of girls who want to go to education is decreasing. Since the introduction of the loan system in 2015, girls with a HAVO diploma have opted noticeably more often for a field of study in which they earn more than with a teacher training course.
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“Because girls with a HAVO diploma have come to find the salary perspective more important, they are less likely to opt for study programs where that salary is lagging behind,” says Bas Karreman, associate professor of economics at Erasmus University. "It is a development that Canadian researchers noted in 2009 and that we see reflected in our research into the effect of the loan system."
Because higher professional education has grown as a whole, in absolute numbers the lower choice for studies with a less salary perspective is not too bad. "Relatively speaking, however, as a percentage of the total number of girls with a HAVO diploma, jobs with a lower expected salary, such as in education and care, have since been chosen less." Karreman studies the study choice behavior of young people and what this means for their chances on the labor market. The 'girls' effect' since the introduction of the loan system when choosing studies with better salaries was a somewhat unexpected outcome.
Girls have come to regard the salary perspective as more important and are less likely to choose courses where the salary is lagging behind
Catching up
“For women with a HAVO diploma, there is apparently an extra effort to make the salary more important in their choice of study,” says Karreman. "That change is the result of the introduction of the loan system." According to research that Karreman and his colleagues published in the economics magazine ESB last year, the percentage of women who prefer to choose a course with a higher salary perspective has grown from 27 to more than 32 since the introduction of the loan system, an increase of a fifth.
“For a long time there were clear 'women's professions', with traditional choices being made, especially in the higher professional education sector,” says Karreman. “Girls with a VWO diploma already deviated from that more, and now girls with a HAVO diploma are also more often choosing a study program where the level of salary plays a role *In 1990, of all girls who went to higher professional education, more than a quarter opted for PABO or a higher professional education teacher training program for secondary education. Now that is only 14 percent. In research about which he wrote on the Education Next website, the American education economist Eric Hanushek concluded last year that in the United States the underpayment of teachers means that highly educated women are also ignoring education. This trend is also visible in the Netherlands. The loan system delivers an extra blow to interest in the education sector in two ways. Fewer girls with a HAVO diploma choose a job with a lower expected salary, such as in education. In addition, research by ResearchNed commissioned by the Ministry of Education shows that the fear of high student debts prevents MBO students from moving on to the teacher training college. According to the researchers, this financial barrier and not the stricter admission requirements introduced at the same time are the main cause of the lower intake. Everything together is since 1990 girls' interest in teacher training has been halved. Since 2000, a stable share of around 9 percent of all boys who go to higher professional education has opted for teacher training. . "
Does this mean that the loan system, which is already shaky politically, should indeed be overhauled? Karreman: “The public debate about the loan system focuses very much on the cost side. It is about debts that young people incur, the worse options for taking out a mortgage, for example. Of course we have to look at the excesses, but basically the loan system is a fairer system than the old basic grant. Whoever becomes a carpenter does not receive a government subsidy for years to continue learning. In the debate, people forget to look at the income side. ”
Apparently students do: they look where better money can be made. That is an argument for better paying for education and care.
Whoever becomes a carpenter does not receive a government subsidy for years to continue learning
Earning power
“Care is of course important and there now seems to be a lot of support for increasing salaries. But education is also an important area to invest in, because we know one thing for sure: investing in education pays off enormously. It is very simple: if you do not have a diploma, it is difficult to find a job. That makes good education so important for the earning capacity of the Netherlands. ”
According to Karreman, this investment can go in several directions. Salaries, but also countering the workload, improving quality or increasing accessibility ensure that education improves and that more young people obtain a diploma. The corona crisis has also made job security more important in choice of studies, which in turn creates extra appeal, as evidenced by the growth in the number of side entrants.
Investments in education could be a mix of salary improvement and reduction of workload
Karreman: “We see that the quality is decreasing, then all alarm bells should go off for policymakers. Despite all the plans and projects to get more teachers, we have not seen in recent years that interest in education has really picked up. Salary is important for investments, but so is work pressure. Lowering it keeps people enthusiastic. Give them the opportunity to keep up with their profession and to work on innovations. Investments in education could be a mix of salary improvement and lowering the workload. ”
