UvA professor: Lousy housing market drives teachers out of Amsterdam
Because elementary school teachers cannot find a roof over their heads in Amsterdam, they are leaving the city. As a result, the teacher shortage is getting even worse, conclude researchers from the University of Amsterdam and elsewhere. “The distressed Amsterdam housing market brings them too little perspective.”
The housing market position of elementary school teachers has deteriorated greatly over the past decade. This increasingly leads to their departure from Amsterdam as well as from the Amsterdam labor market. The teacher shortage in the capital has now risen to almost 20 percent. This in turn has consequences for the quality of education and equality of opportunity in the city, write researchers from the UvA and HvA in a joint research report. Folia posed five questions to Professor of Population Dynamics and Spatial Developments Dorien Manting, who was involved in the research.
Why is it so important for teachers to live in the city?
“Interviews with PD-degree students and teachers revealed that the housing market is an important factor in the choices they make during their careers. Figures also show that one-third of the group of teachers who leave the Amsterdam housing market find jobs elsewhere within two years. The distressed Amsterdam housing market brings them too little perspective. It's logical for them to leave the city, but it increases the shortages in Amsterdam.”
“The well-being of the teachers who stay in the city (due to an excessive workload), of students (too little guidance), and ultimately future generations also suffer from the shortages. It also creates inequality in a city like Amsterdam. In fact, the shortages are greatest in schools where good teaching can make the most difference. So it is also important to improve the housing market position for this crucial professional group and make working in Amsterdam attractive again.”
Why does this research focus only on teachers and not on other crucial professions such as care workers and police officers as well?
“We also looked at healthcare and the police. It shows that there is a big difference between their income and that of teachers. Research shows that police officers generally have slightly higher household incomes. We also see that this group has easier access to, for example, the home-buying market. Those with lower household incomes, such as nurses, are more likely to participate in the social rental sector. The household income of primary school teachers is slightly higher than that of nurses. As a result, they fall just between two sectors: they have less access to both the social rental and owner-occupied sectors, so they are more likely to look for housing elsewhere.”
What is the city of Amsterdam already doing to address the teacher shortage?
“The city is putting a lot of effort into supporting teachers by promoting lateral entry or by giving parking permits to schools. There is also, of course, the new collective bargaining agreement for primary education with better working conditions. So work is being done on many fronts to improve the position of teachers. But it is apparently not yet enough.”
“Although the city also has a priority scheme for teachers in the social housing sector, it appears to be of little help. Many teachers are not yet entitled to social housing and besides, the waiting lists are so long that by the time those who do qualify get bumped up, they are already earning too much. Plus, available housing is often too small for teachers with young families. So the match between supply and demand among teachers is also complicated.”
Don’t priority schemes in social housing disadvantage other groups, such as low-income families?
“That is indeed a big dilemma. The moment you give priority to these groups, you obviously can't give priority to other groups, given the current tightness in the housing market. Ultimately, it’s a political choice. There are already many priority schemes such as for emergency applicants, like people going through a divorce or people with physical disabilities. But at some point, the well dries up. With this study, we are just showing that if you want to make the work climate more favorable for teachers and reduce shortages, you can do it through the housing market.”
Where do you think the solution lies?
“In the short term, we could improve the housing situation for teachers by extending temporary housing contracts for entry-level teachers or offering family housing more often. But ultimately, of course, it's about the housing shortage in Amsterdam. There are all sorts of obstacles causing construction to stagnate; a solution must be found first. Efforts must also be made to improve regional transportation because, of course, you can never offer everyone a place to live in Amsterdam. So we must make sure that the connection to the region is sufficient to make it more attractive to work in Amsterdam—and to live elsewhere.”
