Teachers' Job Satisfaction Rises to Highest Level in 20 Years, Says Harris Poll
March 12 2004 - 11:35AM
PR Newswire (US)
Teachers' Job Satisfaction Rises to Highest Level in 20 Years, Says
Harris Poll ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Harris
Interactive has measured the satisfaction of public teachers nine
times over the last twenty years. In our most recent survey the
proportion of public school teachers who reported that they were
"very satisfied" with "teaching as a career" rose to 57%, the
highest level we have ever recorded. This high level of
satisfaction compares with low points of 40% in 1984 and 1987, and
the lowest point of 33% in 1986. In our two most recent surveys, we
had found 54% (in 1995) and 52% (in 2001) who were very satisfied
with their choice of career. These are the results of the latest of
the annual MetLife Surveys of the American Teacher, which Harris
Interactive(R) has conducted since 1984. This survey was conducted
among 1,017 public school teachers between May 14 and September 22,
2003. Comparing Job Satisfaction with Prestige It is interesting to
compare the trend on job satisfaction with another trend, which
shows the percentage of adults who regard teachers as having "very
great prestige." On the two occasions we asked this question before
the 1990s, we found that only 29% (in 1977) and 28% (in 1982) of
the publicthought that teachers had very great prestige. By 1992
this had risen thirteen points to 41%, and by 1998 it had risen to
53%, where it remained, more or less, until 2002, when it dropped
slightly to 47%. Last year it stood at 49%. Over the long haul,
there has been a clear relationship between job satisfaction and
prestige, as they both rose from lower levels in, and before, the
1980s to higher levels in the 1990s. However, this relationship is
not very strong. Between 2001 and 2003, teachers' job satisfaction
rose five points while their prestige, in the eyes of the public,
slipped five points. Commenting on these findings, Sibyl Jacobson,
the president of MetLife Foundation, noted, "We are pleased to see
that teachers are increasingly satisfied with their jobs, and that
the public has raised its esteem of the profession. It is no
surprise that there is a connection between these two issues. This
finding has implications for efforts to retain qualified teachers
and recruit new teachers to the profession. Teachers need to be
heard and respected in order to be effective in the classroom."
TABLE 1 TEACHERS' JOB SATISFACTION AND PRESTIGE SINCE 1977 Base: a)
Percentages of public school teachers who say they were "very
satisfied" with "teaching as a career." b) Percentages of all
adults who believed that teachers have "very great prestige." Year
Very Satisfied with Teaching Seen as Having Very as a Career Great
Prestige* % % 1977 - 29 1982 - 28 1984 40 - 1985 44 - 1986 33 -
1987 40 - 1988 50 - 1989 44 - 1992 - 41 1995 54 - 1997 - 49 1998 -
53 1999 - - 2000 - 53 2001 52 54 2002 - 47 2003 57 49 * Source: The
Harris Poll #57 (2003) Prestigious Professions. Methodology Harris
Interactive conducted the survey between May 14 and September 22,
2003 with nationally representative samples of 800 public school
principals of grades K-12, 1,017 public school teachers of grades
K-12, 1,107 parents of public school students in grades K-12, and
2,901 public school students in grades 3-12. Teachers and
principals were interviewed online or by telephone. Parent and
child interviews were conducted online. Data were weighted to
reflect the total U.S. populations of principals, teachers, parents
and students, respectively, and margin of error varies based on
sample size and method used. These statements conform to the
principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
About Harris Interactive(R) Harris Interactive
(http://www.harrisinteractive.com/) is a worldwide market research
and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll(R), and for
pioneering the Internetmethod to conduct scientifically accurate
market research. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, U.S.A.,
Harris Interactive combines proprietary methodologies and
technology with expertise in predictive, custom and strategic
research. The Company conducts international research through
wholly owned subsidiaries -- London-based HI Europe
(http://www.hieurope.com/) and Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan
-- as well as through the Harris Interactive Global Network of
local market- and opinion- research firms, and various U.S.
offices. EOE M/F/D/V To become a member of the Harris Poll
Online(SM) and be invited to participate in future online surveys,
visit http://www.harrispollonline.com/. Press Contact: Nancy Wong
Harris Interactive 585-214-7316 DATASOURCE: Harris Interactive
CONTACT: Nancy Wong of Harris Interactive, +1-585-214-7316, Web
site: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/
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