For [1]: [2] disputes [1]. It states in [2] that it's the top 20% of _high school_ students on page 17. A very different stat. And [1] doesn't say college graduates, it just says graduates.
For [2] It's strange when I see these stats. Where I live in the US, 60-80% of high school teachers (depending on school) have advanced degrees (masters or higher). And that's also a weird stat to cite. What percentage of teachers with 5 years experience graduated in the bottom third? That would be a more important stat.
> For [2] It's strange when I see these stats. Where I live in the US, 60-80% of high school teachers (depending on school) have advanced degrees (masters or higher). And that's also a weird stat to cite. What percentage of teachers with 5 years experience graduated in the bottom third? That would be a more important stat.
It's worth noting that the market for higher degrees for teachers is maybe not what people unfamiliar with it would expect. Plenty do get "real" higher degrees because they actually want to learn something, but there are strong incentives ($$$) for universities to offer fairly worthless higher degrees marketed toward working teachers, and many of them do.
Around here, at least, it's expected that a teacher will eventually get at least a master's. It's not expected that they'll choose a challenging program, or that they'll come out the other side substantially more knowledgable or capable at their job than they would have been without the course work. A master's from a top university puts you on the same pay scale as the guy or gal who went with State-U's-Cash-Cow-Teacher-Degree-Mill-Correspondence-Program—except that the school probably paid a much higher percentage of their costs than yours.
IME most school teachers with advanced degrees obtain them from pay-for-grade schools. Those degrees are essential for them to either move up the ranks in their programs or bump up their salary (here in GA a master's degree can be a $10k or more pay raise). It creates a strong financial motivation to get the degree, but they don't actually have time or desire to earn it. Same thing in military service (officer's in most branches were required to have graduate degrees by a certain rank, though at times this requirement has been dropped). Also federal civil service, many of my colleagues in a federal government job got their degrees from schools with lame graduate programs (observing their course work it was no harder than 3rd or 4th year undergraduate work at a second tier US university).
Advanced degrees are like bachelor's degrees used to be. Essential for jobs, so everyone's getting one. In 30 years all our children may be doctors just so they can flip burgers.
In 30 years all our children may be doctors just so they can flip burgers
This is a point that is often lost in these discussions. We've worked hard in the West to make higher education a commodity, but we haven't considered the unintended consequences. One of those is that if every millenial kid has an advanced degree, what makes them special snowflakes and differentiates them from the hoi polloi? Grade inflation and degree inflation mean that there's less incentive to get an advanced degree since ROI keeps decreasing while at the same time tuition keeps rising.
I doubt our PhD-holding children will be flipping burgers, though—the robots will do that.
I totally agree with everything you say. Here in Texas a Master's degree gets you about $1000 more a year. And that's still enough motivation to get the degree!
Hmm, I had to look it up once you said your number for TX. I don't think it's as big a raise here in GA at the state level as I was recalling. For a particular county I found, Houston County, the difference is $400/month for a teacher with 10 years of experience with a Master's versus a Bachelor's. A PhD offers almost $1k more than the master's alone. So by the time most teachers have it done they get around a $4k-5k pay raise (the difference increases with each year of experience).
A 20-year teacher with a PhD is making around $75k/year vs $55k for a teacher with only a bachelor's. If they're the sole earner for a household that's a strong incentive to finish up the degree and on the cheap/ease at a degree mill. Even if they're not, that extra $20k (or around $10-12k extra take home) is still more money that can be dumped into any retirement accounts or paying off the house before they retire (if they're financially savvy).
Indeed: [1] does not say and does not mean college graduates. What it appears to mean is that those admitted to Department of Teacher Education in Finnish universities come from the top 10 % of high school graduates. The teachers all take a master's degree.
For [2] It's strange when I see these stats. Where I live in the US, 60-80% of high school teachers (depending on school) have advanced degrees (masters or higher). And that's also a weird stat to cite. What percentage of teachers with 5 years experience graduated in the bottom third? That would be a more important stat.