Personnel in compulsory schools in autumn 2009

The number of teachers decreased for the first time since 2004
In the autumn of 2009 there are 7,763 staff members working 7,116 full-time equivalent jobs in compulsory schools in Iceland. Thereof teaching staff is 4,978 in 4,792 full-time equivalent jobs. The number of teaching staff, i.e. headmasters, assistant headmasters, heads of department and teachers decreased by 123 (2.4%) from autumn of 2008 to autumn 2009. At the same time the number of full-time equivalent teaching staff decreased by 224 (4.5%). A total of 431 fewer members of the teaching staff work more than one full-time job. It seems that overtime work has decreased among members of this group since the autumn of 2008. The number of other staff than teaching staff increased by two from the autumn of 2008 and their full-time equivalents increased by eight.

Teacher turnover is lower than in previous years
In October 2009, 15.6% of the teaching staff who were employed in October 2008 had left or taken leave from their job, a total of 797 teachers. The turnover rate is lower than in the past three years. In 2006-2008 the teacher turnover was 17.0-17.2%. Teacher turnover is greatest among part-time teachers.

Fewer males work as compulsory teachers
Never before has the number of male teachers been lower since the beginning of the data collection by Statistics Iceland in the autumn of 1997. In autumn 2009 1,011 males were members of the teaching staff in compulsory schools. Their number was greatest in 2002, when there were 1,110 male teachers. The proportion of male teachers was 26.0% in 1998 but 20.3% in the autumn of 2009. School caretakers are the only occupation with more male than female workers, as in previous years.

The proportion of licensed teachers has never been higher
The proportion of licensed teachers is higher than ever measured in the Statistics Iceland data collection since its start in 1997. During the last ten years the proportion has been 80-87%. In the autumn of 2009, 91.2% of teaching staff held a teaching licence. In the autumn of 2008 776 teachers worked without being licensed but in the autumn of 2009 there were 437 teachers without a teaching licence. The proportion of licensed teachers is highest in the Capital Region. It is highest in Reykjavík where 97.3% of teachers hold a teaching licence. In the Northeast the proportion of licensed teachers has passed 90%, it was measured at 90.4% in the autumn of 2009. The proportion of licenced teachers is lowest in the Westfjords, 74.5%, and in the East, at 77.0%. The proportion of licenced teachers in the Westfjords has increased by almost 6 percentage points since the autumn of 2008 and in the East by more than 10 percentage points.

The average age of teachers is increasing
In the autumn of 2009, 56.8% of headmasters and teachers were 30-49 years old. When looking at 5 year age groups the largest age group is 35-39 years old, with 776 teachers. When comparing with the age distribution of teachers in the previous year the number of teachers under the age of 30 has decreased by 145 while there are 22 more teachers aged 55 and older. The average age of teaching staff is 44.6 years and has increased by 2.2 years in the last 7 years.

Pre-primary schools and compulsory schools operating as one institution
Since new laws on pre-primary schools and compulsory schools were passed in 2008 it has become more common to operate pre-primary schools and compulsory schools together under the management of one headmaster. In the autumn of 2009 this was the case for about a dozen schools. In some places music schools are also a part of the institution. This mode of operation is more common in small communities in the countryside but there are examples found in larger communities as well.

Statistics