Not Just a Warm Body:
Changing Images of the Substitute Teacher.
Ask members of the K-12 school
community how they regard substitute teachers
and, depending on whether the informant is an
educator or a student, you might get some of the
following answers: baby-sitter, fair-game,
stop-gap, object of pity, warm body. The lot of
substitute teachers is generally not a happy one
(Nidds & McGerald, 1994). For the most part,
they tend to be treated as a marginal member of
the education community (Ostapczuk, 1994; Wyld,
1995). Rarely do students, teachers, or
administrators regard substitutes as full
professionals who meet accepted standards of
practice. While often considering themselves to
be effective instructors, substitutes frequently
do not see themselves as professionals (Billman,
1994; Ostapczuk,1994).
Some would say that substitutes
should receive combat pay rather than the modest
compensation typically meted out to them.
Research and anecdotal reports cite classroom
management as the greatest challenge faced by
substitutes (Aceto, 1995; Galvez-Martin, 1997;
Nidds & McGerald, 1994; Ostapczuk, 1994).
Children frequently view the substitute's entry
as a signal to misbehave. Other problems include
incomplete or missing lesson plans;
unfamiliarity with school or district policies;
and the perception by students, parents, and
colleagues that substitutes are merely
babysitters or pinch-hitters--the "warm body
stereotype" (Wyld, 1995, p. 302). Lamentation
can also be heard from employers who commonly
complain that these replacement teachers are not
well-qualified, lacking both pedagogical and
classroom management skills (Ostapczuk, 1994).
Problems typically faced by substitutes or those
who hire them are not new. The same problems
were documented 50 years ago (Ostapczuk, 1994),
and solutions appear to be as elusive as ever.
Findings from a study by St. Michel (1995)
suggest that problems associated with substitute
teacher programs result from nonmanagement more
so than mismanagement. These findings echo a
theme found in Ostapczuk's (1994) review of the
literature on substitutes, which noted the low
priority school districts traditionally place on
substitute teacher development. This Digest
provides an overview of substitute teaching in
K-12 schools. It looks at why substitutes are
needed, factors that attract individuals to the
work, and what school administrators can do to
facilitate good substitute teaching.
WHY DO SCHOOLS UTILIZE
SUBSTITUTES?
American students, over the course of their
K-12 studies, may have replacement teachers
for an estimated 5-10% of their classroom
time (Billman, 1994; Nidds & McGerald, 1994;
Ostapczuk, 1994). Wyld (1995) notes that on
any given school day, up to 10% of the
nation's classrooms have substitute
teachers. Obviously, schools employ
substitutes to replace absent teachers, but
what may not be equally evident are some of
the contemporary factors that produce
teacher absence. Traditionally, teacher
absenteeism has occurred for the same
reasons that employees in other fields are
absent e.g., personal or family illness or
emergency, jury duty, professional
development activities, short-term military
service. Wyld (1995) indicates that teacher
absenteeism, for these and other reasons, is
on the rise. More recently, widespread
school restructuring, school-based
management, and redefinitions of teacher
work that emerged from the school reform
movement of the mid-1980s have involved
classroom teachers in a variety of
nontraditional, noninstructional activities,
such as curriculum design, mentoring novice
and preservice teachers, conducting action
research, and working on collaborative teams
with peers and college faculty. Employing
substitutes is one method of covering the
classes of teachers who participate in such
activities during the school day
(Abdal-Haqq, 1996).
Collective bargaining and
changes in federal or state labor laws may also
result in teachers being eligible for more
personal and sick leave, compelling schools to
find substitutes for more days (Billman, 1994).
In discussing the impact on schools of the
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), signed into
law by President Clinton in 1993, Wyld (1995)
indicates that the most profound administrative
and instructional effects of FMLA will occur in
the role of substitute teachers who replace
teachers taking intermittent or block leave.
This legislation may not alter the total amount
of leave that teachers take, but it is likely to
affect the increments in which both paid and
unpaid intermittent leave is taken and the
length of block leave. FMLA makes it possible
for teachers to take intermittent leave in 1- or
2-hour increments, in contrast to the
traditional pattern of granting leave only in
half-day units. Consequently, principals may be
faced with the challenge of finding substitutes
willing to work for 1 or 2 hours. The complex
provisions of FMLA may also produce longer
teacher absences at the end of semesters,
resulting in more use of long-term substitutes.
For example, if a teacher's block leave occurs 3
to 5 weeks before a semester ends, under certain
circumstances, FMLA allows either the teacher or
the supervising administrator to elect to have
the teacher sit out the rest of that semester
even though he or she is able to return earlier.
Thus, FMLA has implications for the ways in
which administrators utilize substitutes, the
composition of the substitute pool, recruitment,
and compensation.
WHY DO PEOPLE WORK AS
SUBSTITUTES?
Individuals substitute to earn income
(Aceto, 1995; Snyder, 1995), but they are
unlikely to do so in order to become rich. A
1989 study found the average per diem
compensation for substitutes to be $45 to
$55, depending upon locale, ranging from a
high of $118 to a low of $21 (Wyld, 1995). A
primary reason for substituting is to gain
experience and make contacts that may lead
to permanent, full-time teaching positions
(Nidds & McGerald, 1994; Wyld, 1995). Some
administrators only hire as permanent
teachers those who have substitute
experience (Snyder, 1995).
Synder (1995) cites advantages
and disadvantages to substituting, particularly
for preservice teacher education students.
Advantages include: gaining experience,
comparing and contrasting different schools,
networking, learning about job vacancies,
learning about school and district policies, and
having a flexible work schedule. Disadvantages
include: pay scales below what full-time
teachers receive; generally, no fringe benefits;
no organized advocacy representation to improve
working conditions and compensation; less than
cordial reception in some schools; having to
"fly by the seat of your pants" and adapt
quickly to different school conditions and
philosophies; and lack of instructional
continuity (e.g., delivering whole language
literacy instruction today and phonics-based
instruction tomorrow).
Certified and experienced
teachers sometimes opt for substituting because
they prefer the flexibility and lesser time
demands (Wyld, 1995). Wyld also points out that
studies have shown that relatively few
individuals work as substitutes more than a
year, and even fewer make a career of it.
Consequently, the composition of the substitute
pool constantly shifts, necessitating a
continual need to replenish the supply of
qualified individuals.
WHAT CAN SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
DO TO STRUCTURE GOOD SUBSTITUTE TEACHER
PROGRAMS?
Literature on substitutes is not
particularly abundant (Nidds & McGerald,
1994). According to Ostapczuk (1994) and
Galvez-Martin (1997), little of what has
been written has been subjected to the sort
of rigorous statistical evaluation that
might inform and guide substitute teacher
development or utilization. Qualifications
for substitutes vary considerably among
school districts. Credentials may include
teacher certification, criminal background
checks, college transcripts, health
certificates, and evidence of first aid
training (Snyder, 1995). Certification is
not required in most states and districts;
frequently a high school diploma is the sole
academic credential needed (Wyld, 1995).
Wyld (1995) indicates that
school administrators have basically three
sources of experienced substitute teachers. In
intermittent or short-term leave situations,
working principals and other administrators can
fill in. Advantages to using such personnel
include the esprit de corps and boost to teacher
morale that frequently comes from seeing in the
trenches those who are generally removed from
the classroom. A second source of experienced
teachers is former or retired teachers. However,
former teachers who have been conditioned to the
warm body stereotype may not find such a
"demotion" attractive unless appealing
incentives are offered. The third source cited
by Wyld is the current substitute pool. By
employing the better substitutes more
frequently, administrators can provide
opportunities for these promising individuals to
gain additional experience and increase their
capacity to take on the more critical long-term
assignments.
Two approaches to creating a
dependable cadre of experienced replacement
teachers are hiring permanent, full-time
substitutes and instituting a graduated
substitute payscale. With the first approach,
the substitute is placed on the district payroll
(Nidds& McGerald, 1994; Wyld, 1995). When not
needed to fill in for absent teachers, these
individuals may perform other school work, such
as assisting with curriculum development.
Graduated payscale arrangements offer monetary
incentives to encourage substitutes to work more
and/or take on longer-term assignments. After
meeting a minimum requirement (e.g., 25 days in
a school year), the base per diem pay increases
(Wyld, 1995).
In addition to implementing
policies that increase experience among a core
group of substitutes, administrators may also
increase substitute expertise by offering
inservice training (Nidds & McGerald, 1994;
Ostapczuk, 1994). Separate activities may be
planned, or substitutes may participate in
general staff development. Many schools engaged
in restructuring or other reform initiatives
have found that preservice students who have
extended on-site field work or internships can
be cost-effective, short-term replacements for
teachers who need time for non-instructional
professional work (Abdal-Haqq, 1996).
Ostapczuk (1994) gleaned several
recommendations for structuring good substitute
programs: (1) improve collaboration between the
substitute teacher and school district, (2)
evaluate and provide feedback to substitutes,
(3) improve recruitment procedures, (4) develop
and provide a substitute teacher's handbook on
school rules and policies, (5) clarify the
substitute's role and make expectations clear,
(6) provide specific inservice training on
classroom management, (7) improve the lesson
plans substitutes receive, and (8) appoint a
district substitute coordinator. Additional
recommendations cited by St. Michel (1995)
include: (1) improve employment benefits; (2)
treat substitutes as professionals; and (3)
maintain an up-to-date, comprehensive database
of all substitutes in the district.
There are both practical and
moral reasons to develop sound substitute
teacher programs. Liability is one practical
concern for schools, administrators, and
substitute's themselves. Cotten(1995) points out
that case law holds the substitute, principal,
and school district to the same standard of care
as it does regular teachers, and each is liable
for acts of negligence. As stewards of children
in their care, teachers, administrators, and
districts have a moral obligation, as well as a
statutory and contractual one, to ensure that
the best interests of students guide policy and
practice. Thus, it is only fitting that the
current movement to elevate standards of
practice in schools apply to this traditionally
neglected sector of the education community.
REFERENCES
Abdal-Haqq, I. (1996). Making time for
teacher professional development. ERIC
Digest 95-4. Washington, DC: ERIC
Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher
Education. ED400259 Aceto, J. T. (1995). A
piece of cake. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(6),
490-492. EJ 497 527
Billman, L. W. (1994). Keep subs
afloat. Executive Educator,16(10), 29-31. EJ 490
854
Cotten, D. J. (1995). Liability
of educators for the negligence of others
(substitutes, aides, student teachers, and new
teachers). The Physical Educator, 52(2), 70-77.
EJ 512 839
Galvez-Martin, M. E. (1997,
February). What are the needs of substitute
teaching to be effective? Paper presented at the
annual meeting of the Association of Teacher
Educators, Washington, DC.
Nidds, J. A., & McGerald, J.
(1994). Substitute teachers: Seeking meaningful
instruction in the teacher's absence. Clearing
House, 68(1), 25-26. EJ 494 449
Ostapczuk, E. D. (1994). What
makes effective secondary education substitute
teachers? Literature review. ED 374 075
Snyder, J. (1995). The
alternative of substitute teaching. 1995 ASCUS
Annual, 28-29.
St. Michel. T. (1995). Effective
substitute teachers: Myths, mayhem, or magic?
The practicing administrator's leadership
series. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
[CD-ROM]. Abstract from: Dialog File: ERIC: ED
383 091.
Wyld, D. C. (1995). The FMLA and
the changing demand for substitute teachers.
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