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[carde]

plus you don't always have to do a masters before a phd

[PAULH]

Qualifications

Respondents to the survey reported a relatively high percentage of MAs�over 57% among all groups. The high percentage of PhDs for the tenured group stands out in comparison with the two other groups. In contrast, the part-time group is noticeable for its comparatively high and low percentages of BAs and PhDs respectively. Although roughly 80% of the part-time instructors possess an MA or above, a sizeable percentage are BA holders (18.5%.). This may be due to the increasing practice of universities ofhiring dispatched instructors, thereby entrusting instructor certifications to language schools. It may also be due simply to universities' failures to observe Education Ministry guidelines regarding employment practices in an effort to cut labor costs by hiring instructors without higher degrees. Tenured (87) 3.4% 57.5% 39.1% Limited (93) 5.4% 70.7% 23.9% Part (150) 18.5% 67.8% 13.7% BA MA PhD Level of education Instructor education level


This is not to say that instructors with BAs are inexperienced; on average, they report having been in tertiary education for 10.5 years and at their universities for 7.4 years, longer in both cases than even the PhD group. Instructors who are currently at the universities have gained as much practical experience in the classroom as anyone might expect. Yet by continuing to hire dispatched holders of BAs over candidates with higher degrees universities sabotage the efforts of educators who spend time and money attempting to improve themselves and the Japanese educational system.

Age of Instructors


Note in the table below that the average age for tenured instructors is 4.3 years above that for all other instructors and 9.6 years above the average age for limited-term instructors. Limited-term instructors, by contrast, are 5.3 years below the average age for all instructors, an indication that universities are making efforts to employ younger, generally less-experienced instructors in this group.



While the youngest age in the tenured instructor group is 34, in the limited-term group it is 26, suggesting also that universities are pushing the lower limits of the age and experience range to fill these semi-permanent positions. The oldest instructor in the tenured group is 67; in the part-time group, 68. Yet in the limited-term group the oldest instructor is only 62, suggesting that universities begin to stop renewing older foreign instructors contracts in this category near the age of 60 likely in order to cut labor costs. On average, universities hire towards the middle and upper age range in the tenured group and toward the lower and middle age range in the limited-term group. Age appears to be less of a factor in the part-time group perhaps since universities generally have no obligations towards these instructors in the way of health, retirement, or pension benefits.


What the above suggests is there are less people with PhDs around than masters degrees, certainly less younger ones and not enough to fill all the teaching positions here. PhD teachers lack relevant experience compared to people who have been working here longer, and what happens in Japan too, is universities ask for higher qualifications than is actually needed for the job. Many japanese faculty do not have phDs, yet they aks for them from foreign teachers, but not Japanese academics who apply. the phD is just another hurdle that teachers have to jump over here. (remember most classes here also are not really research or lecture style, but are conversation classes. Is that what people originally get phDs for?

Another factor is cost, as salaries here are geared to age and experience. A person of 35 will have 7 or 8 years of work experience compared to 15-17 years for a 40 year old. An older teacher is more expensive to hire so the school will look to cut costs where it can. they can save $10-20,000 on salary by hiring a person under 35 or even hire two teachers part time for the price of one.

My feeling is though, that such young PhD grads are thin on the ground, not many people have PhDs in TESOL and Linguistics, and very few spend 10 years at university so they can teach conversational English overseas. A few do, but most PhDs I expect will think about going into academia in their own countries, in their own subjects not TESOL related, rather than land a teaching job in Japan or China (which will pay him far less than it cost to get his degree).

[Stephen Jones]

Moonraven is also correct as regards the UK. In the UK a PhD is three years full time study after a Bachelors. That would make a newly qualified doctor with no gaps in his education 24 years old, though with gap years between school and university becoming the norm in the UK, the youngest PhDs are now likely to be 25 at least.

[Jamchuan]

[JZer]

[JZer]