Teachers are less satisfied with their jobs than they have been
in decades, but parent engagement with schools has increased,
according to the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Teachers,
Parents and the Economy, the 28th in an annual series commissioned
by MetLife and conducted by Harris Interactive. The report, based
on a survey of public school teachers, parents and students during
the current school year1, is the first large-scale national survey
to fully reflect the effects of the economy on the teaching
profession.
Teacher job satisfaction has fallen by 15 percentage points
since 2009, the last time the MetLife survey queried teachers on
this topic, from 59 percent to 44 percent responding they are very
satisfied. This rapid decline in job satisfaction is coupled with a
large increase in the number of teachers reporting that they are
likely to leave teaching for another occupation (17 percent in 2009
vs. 29 percent today). Teachers are also more than four times as
likely now than they were five years ago to say that they do not
feel their job is secure (34 percent today vs. 8 percent in 2006,
the last time this question was asked). In addition, 53 percent of
parents and 65 percent of teachers today say that teachers’
salaries are not fair for the work they do.
“The survey’s findings underscore that education is a shared
responsibility, particularly in the face of financial challenges,”
said Dennis White, vice president of corporate contributions for
MetLife. “Economic prosperity will depend on a new generation
well-prepared to learn for a lifetime in order to compete and
collaborate in a global economy. MetLife is proud to add the
valuable data in this report to the pool of information
policymakers and education leaders can draw upon as they make their
decisions.”
The ripple effects from the economic downturn may be a factor in
this declining satisfaction and increasing insecurity. Layoffs of
teachers, staff and parent/community liaisons occurred last year in
the schools of two-thirds (66 percent) of teachers and
three-quarters (76 percent) of teachers have experienced budget
cuts in their schools in the last 12 months.
Teachers say there have been cuts to school budgets, programs,
and services, while at the same time reporting that students and
their families are demonstrating increased needs. Nearly three in
ten (28 percent) teachers indicate that there have been reductions
or eliminations of health or social service programs in their
schools in the past year. In addition, 64 percent of teachers
report an increase in the number of students and families requiring
health and social support services and 35 percent say the number of
students coming to school hungry has increased.
Other education basics have also been affected:
A significant majority of teachers (63 percent) report that the
average class size in their school has increased in the past year
and one-third of teachers (34 percent) indicate that educational
technology and materials have not been kept up to date to meet
student needs at their schools. More than one third (36 percent) of
teachers experienced reductions or eliminations of programs in arts
or music, foreign language, or physical education in the past year.
Reports of these conditions are more likely from teachers in
schools that have also experienced layoffs of classroom teachers in
the past year.
School budget cuts appear to have generated an additional
negative effect:
Teachers and parents of students in schools where budgets have
decreased in the last 12 months are more likely to be pessimistic
(46 percent of teachers; 52 percent of parents) that student
achievement will be better in five years than are teachers and
parents of students in schools where budgets have remained the same
or increased (35 percent of teachers; 28 percent of parents).
The good news — teachers are supported by their
communities:
Amid the disquieting findings in this year’s survey, data
indicates strong support for the teaching profession. Overall, the
survey found that a majority of both teachers (77 percent) and
parents (71 percent) agree that teachers are treated as
professionals by the community, and that teachers’ health insurance
(67 percent of teachers; 63 percent of parents) and retirement (61
percent of teachers; 60 percent of parents) benefits are fair for
the work they do.
There are also data points for policymakers and education
leaders to note as they work to turn negative trends into positive
ones. For example, the survey found that teachers with higher job
satisfaction are more likely to have experienced adequate
opportunities for professional development, time to collaborate
with other teachers and more preparation and support for engaging
parents effectively. They are also likelier to report greater
involvement of parents and their schools in coming together to
improve the learning and success of students.
Parents report that teachers in schools with high parent
engagement also perform better on a range of measures, including
collaboration, responsiveness, sharing information, contacting
parents about learning issues, providing guidance on helping
students succeed, and being flexible to meet with parents at
different times of the day.
And levels of parent engagement have increased:
Levels of engagement between parents and schools have seen
marked improvement over past surveys. Two-thirds of students (64
percent) report that they talk about things that happen at school
with their parents every day, compared to 40 percent who reported
speaking with their parents this frequently in 1988, the first time
the survey asked this question. There was also a threefold increase
in the number of students who report that their parents visit their
school at least once a month – up from 16 percent in 1988 to 46
percent today.
These numbers echo what parents report. Fewer parents now than
25 years ago believe that there is widespread parental
disengagement with their children’s school and education in
general. Since the first time the survey series addressed this
issue in 1987, there were significant declines in the proportion of
teachers and parents reporting that most or many parents take too
little interest in their children’s education, fail to motivate
their children so they want to learn, or leave their children alone
too much after school.
Virtually all teachers (91 percent) and eight in ten parents (80
percent) believe that their schools help all parents understand
what they can do at home to support student success, and 83 percent
of students agree that their teachers and parents work together to
help them succeed. The survey also found that teachers with high
job satisfaction are more likely than those with lower job
satisfaction to agree that their schools help parents better
understand what they can do to help children learn (95 percent vs.
87 percent).
Other findings in the survey include:
Teacher job satisfaction:
- Teachers with high job satisfaction are
more likely than those with lower job satisfaction to have
experienced adequate opportunities for professional development (86
percent vs. 72 percent).
- Teachers with high job satisfaction are
less likely than those with lower job satisfaction to have
experienced decreased time to collaborate with other teachers (27
percent vs. 44 percent).
- Teachers with high job satisfaction are
more likely than those with lower job satisfaction to rate the
following people as excellent or good in preparing and supporting
them to engage parents effectively: the principal at their school
(90 percent vs. 72 percent); other teachers at their school (91
percent vs. 85 percent); and parents at their school (73 percent
vs. 55 percent).
Budget and other school-related cuts:
- Teachers in schools that have
experienced layoffs of classroom teachers in the past year are more
likely than those in schools without teacher layoffs to also report
that in the past year, average class sizes have increased (77
percent vs. 50 percent), educational technology and learning
materials have not been kept up to date to meet student needs (43
percent vs. 27 percent), school facilities have not been kept in
clean or good condition (31 percent vs. 13 percent), and that their
school has experienced reductions or eliminations of programs in
arts or music (34 percent vs. 14 percent), foreign language (25
percent vs. 11 percent), or physical education (21 percent vs. 4
percent).
Parent and community engagement:
- Since the survey first examined this
issue in 1987, teachers and parents report a decrease in the belief
that most or many parents take too little interest in their
children’s education (teachers: 35 percent vs. 48 percent; parents:
47 percent vs. 52 percent) fail to motivate their children to learn
in school (teachers: 35 percent vs. 53 percent; parents: 42 percent
vs. 52 percent) or leave their children alone too much after school
(teachers: 42 percent vs. 62 percent; parents: 44 percent vs. 59
percent).
- Parents of students in schools with
high parent engagement are more likely than those with low
engagement to rate their child’s teachers as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’
on a range of measures, including: being responsive to their
requests for information (98 percent vs. 57 percent), contacting
them if their child is having academic or social problems (97
percent vs. 50 percent), providing guidance on what they can do to
help their child succeed (96 percent vs. 41 percent), and being
flexible to meet with them at different times of day or different
locations (91 percent vs. 47 percent).
About the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Teachers,
Parents and the Economy
The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Teachers, Parents
and the Economy was conducted by Harris Interactive and is the
twenty-eighth in a series sponsored annually by MetLife since 1984
to give voice to those closest to the classroom. This MetLife
survey examines the views of teachers, parents and students about
the teaching profession, parent and community engagement, and
effects of the current economy on families and schools. The results
are based on a survey conducted among 1,001 U.S. public school
teachers of grades K through 12 by telephone, online among 1,086
U.S. parents/guardians of public school students in grades K
through 12 and 947 U.S. public school students in grades 3 through
12 between October 14 and November 10, 2011. The data were weighted
to key demographic variables to align with the national population
of the respective groups. No estimates of theoretical sampling
error can be calculated. Full methodology is included in the report
and available online at www.metlife.com/teachersurvey.
About MetLife
MetLife is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and
employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in over 50
countries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds
leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin
America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. MetLife
Foundation places strong emphasis on preparing young people and
draws on the findings of the annual MetLife Survey of the American
Teacher to inform its grant making. For more information about
MetLife, please visit the company’s website at www.metlife.com.
Additional information about MetLife Foundation is available at
www.metlife.org.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world’s leading custom market
research firms, leveraging research, technology and business acumen
to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known
widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research
methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of
industries and serves clients in over 215 countries and
territories. For more information, please visit
www.harrisinteractive.com.
1 The survey was conducted by telephone among 1,001 public
school teachers, and online among 1,086 parents and 947 students in
October and November, 2011
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