Today, on Education Week, Andrew Yarrow (Ph.D. History, George Mason University) writes about a compelling and potentially controversial study, "Teaching for a Living: How Teachers See the Profession Today.”
Nearly 900 teachers participated in this nationwide study, responding to more than 100 questions each, and the results are a loud cry to policymakers that it's time to listen to the teachers themselves.
Though you should read the micro-results of the study (e.g. how do teachers rate their principals?), the overall results have been captured into three personas:
- 40% Disheartened
- 23% Idealist
- 37% Contented
DISHEARTENED teachers are more likely to:
• express concerns about working conditions, student behavior, and testing
IDEALIST teachers are more likely to:
• believe their students’ test scores have increased a lot because of their teaching
• say that good teachers can lead all students to learn, even those from poor families or who have uninvolved parents
CONTENTED teachers are more likely to:
• be experienced in their profession
• work in middle- or higher-income schools
• believe their students’ test scores have increased a lot because of their teaching
Whether you are a teacher in the field, a teacher in training, a educational administrator, policy-maker, or parent - this is a must-read study at the tip of today's educational reform movements.
How can we help disheartened teachers? Should we help disheartened teachers? What core events take an idealist and transform her into a disheartened teacher?
Conversely, how can we effectively learn and leverage idealist teachers? Can disheartened teachers transform into idealist teachers?
What happens to students who learn from each of these teaching groups? Are students only empowered to become eager and accomplished learners when they are taught by idealists?
If so, should non-idealist teachers find another line of work?
Read the full article, "State of Mind: America's teaching corp is made up of 3 groups with distinct attitudes about their profession, which has implications for their policymakers."
Credits:
The study was based on a nationwide survey, with more than 100 questions, of nearly 900 teachers. It was jointly conducted by Public Agenda, a New York City-based nonprofit, nonpartisan research and public-engagement organization, and Learning Point Associates, a nonprofit education research and consulting organization based in Naperville, Ill., that provides direct professional services at the federal, state, and local levels.
The work was underwritten by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Joyce Foundation. (Both foundations also provide funding to Editorial Projects in Education, the publisher of Education Week.)