TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) — Indiana is seeing a decrease in the number of students who want to become teachers.

Students entering teacher preparation and education majors has dropped a third nationwide, this is according to the Center for American Progress.

Indiana has seen a more than 50% decrease in enrollment. Purdue University's College of Education has seen a 27% drop in enrollment between 2010 and 2018.

Nancy Marchand-Martella, the Dean of the College of Education, isn't disheartened by the numbers. She said the university not giving up on the education field.

“You know, who knows what kids can go and do once they graduate?” Marchand-Martella said. “So we're dedicated, we're making changes, we want to ensure that we're as cutting edge as possible.”

Purdue looks to attract students to teaching by promising successful training for the field they'll be going into.

“We're looking at increasing our student teaching up to a full year, because we want to ensure that our teachers get the best possible training.” Marchand-Martella said.

Students will also begin field work when they're freshman to better prepare themselves.

Superintendent of Lafayette School Corporation, Les Huddle, said he understands why students have had a lack of interest in becoming teachers. Huddle said he has hope for future educators. He said the positives of teaching will outweigh the negatives.

“There are days where you see the kids gain the skills, the "a-ha" moments, the excitement, and it's all worth it,” said Huddle.