Preschool teachers make less than animal trainers; the average salary, at $27,450, is not much higher than the federal poverty level. While this is not news to those in the early education field, an entry in the “Economix” blog the other day has an interesting discussion about why.
The story jumps off the New York Times kindergarten column that went viral a couple of weeks ago, pointing out that early childhood work is a “girly” job, which means it’s a job held mostly by women who are mostly underpaid. And yet research shows that the work can be very valuable for the productivity of the larger society.
Nancy Folbre, the author of the post, seems to suggest that part of the problem is that women tend to be more interested in doing work that is meaningful and fulfilling, rather than work that pays well. (She also writes that “sometimes women don’t choose girly jobs, but end up in them because they face discrimination or harassment in other jobs.”)
As federal government and states push for higher quality early education, which means attracting effective teachers, is relying on the good intentions of women who want to do work that makes a difference even if the wages are low going to be enough to get the job done?