Who Teaches Physics in Croatian Elementary Schools?

The shortage of physics teachers is a global and persistent problem, resulting in the employment of nonprofessionals who cannot teach physics in a student-centered, high-quality and effective manner. This situation has implications for the educational policies of governments, universities, and schools. The aim of this study is to identify whether there is a shortage of elementary school physics teachers in Croatia. This type of survey was conducted for the first time in the country. Based on the online survey, we asked elementary school principals how many employees they have working as physics teachers in their schools and the type of education of these teachers. A total of 260 principals responded to the survey, representing 25% of the total population of elementary school principals in Croatia, where physics is taught according to the regular program in the 2020/2021 school year. The respondents did not mention the availability of physics teacher vacancies in their schools. However, they mentioned the engagement of nonprofessional substitute physics teachers accounting for 14% of all physics teaching positions in schools that participated in our study. Among the nonprofessional substitutes, most were from the social-humanities field. Differences in the representation of nonprofessional physics teachers by county were also found, indicating different causes of physics teacher shortages in different geographic areas. The survey results provide a basis for future policy decisions that can lead to better results in resolving the issue of physics teacher shortages in Croatia and beyond.