Greetings!
Last month we highlighted the first of the three reports in
the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Collaborating for Student Success.
"Part 1: Effective Teaching and Leadership" discussed findings around
collaboration levels within schools and across demographics, with one of the
key messages being that a majority of educators believe greater collaboration
would have a positive impact on student achievement.
This month, we are writing about "Part 3: Teaching as a
Career." The third report, which offers an overview of recent changes within the
teaching career, is highlighted below.
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For Part 3 of the survey, "Teaching as a Career," MetLife
researchers looked at "collaboration in the context of major changes that are
re-defining the profession." Specifically, the report discusses teaching career
paths - including entry paths into teaching - and teacher satisfaction. Below
are some major findings, grouped by category.
Entry-Paths to Teaching: - "One-third of teachers (35%) report that they
had a career outside of education before they became a classroom teacher."
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It is more common for career changers to work in
secondary schools and schools with high proportions of low-income students.
Teaching Career Paths: "More than half of teachers (56%) and half of
principals (49%) say that some teachers in their school combine part-time
classroom teaching with other roles in their school or district, and nearly
four in ten teachers (37%) say they are interested in such a hybrid role."
"Hybrid teaching roles are particularly
appealing to new teachers (46%) and those who are less than very satisfied with
their current career (42%)."
Teacher Satisfaction: "Highly satisfied teachers have a stronger
belief in the success of their students, are more confident in their own
ability to help their students succeed and have more support for and experience
with collaboration in schools."
While 65% of teachers with more than 20 years of
experience are highly satisfied with teaching as a career, only 55% of teachers
with 6-20 years of experience are highly satisfied; 58% of teachers with five
or fewer years of experience are highly satisfied.
"Nearly two in ten teachers (17%) today say they
are very or fairly likely to leave the profession to go into a different
occupation within the next five years."
Read the full report (MetLife Survey of the American
Teacher: Collaborating for Success Part 3, 2010) to learn more about the changing
nature of teaching career paths and the role of collaboration in teacher
satisfaction.
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