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/ http://www.harrispollonline.com/ http://www.hieurope.com/

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