Why do people train to teach but then not teach? New research challenges assumptions
- 7th May 2026
- Jenni French
A new study funded by Gatsby and conducted by Dr Sam Sims and Clare Routledge at the UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO) has provided new insights into one of the most persistent challenges facing the education system: why so many trainee teachers never enter the classroom.
The research explores a longstanding puzzle in England’s teacher pipeline. Around a quarter of people who qualify as teachers do not go on to teach in a state school the following year, more than double the attrition rate for first-year teachers already in the profession.
The study followed 409 trainee teachers through the final stages of their training and into the following academic year. Researchers tested two commonly cited explanations for why trainees do not enter teaching: that they have job preferences unsuited to the profession, or that they experience “reality shock” during training and decide teaching is not what they expected. The report’s findings challenge both assumptions.
Researchers found little evidence that those who chose not to enter teaching had different job preferences from those who did. Preferences around salary, workload, flexibility and social impact were strikingly similar across both groups.
The study also found that while trainees experienced both positive and negative shocks during training, these did not predict whether they ultimately entered teaching. Trainees reported negative experiences around workload, lesson planning and administrative tasks, but positive experiences relating to mentor support and relationships with pupils.
For some trainees, decisions not to enter teaching appeared linked instead to personal circumstances outside the control of schools or policymakers, including illness, bereavement and visa issues.
Jenni French, Head of STEM in Schools at Gatsby, said: “Gatsby funded this research to understand why one in four trainee teachers never make it into the classroom. The findings challenge some of the assumptions that have shaped thinking in this area and suggest the picture is more complex than often thought. If we want to strengthen the teaching pipeline, we need a much better understanding of why so many qualified teachers are leaving the profession before they even begin.”
