For those who worry that the many challenges facing today’s teachers will drive them from the profession, take heart. Teachers are more satisfied with their jobs now than at any time in the past 25 years, according to the latest survey of teacher attitudes 
conducted by MetLife.
In fact, the majority of teachers expressed satisfaction with a whole host of indicators linked to job satisfaction, including their pay, the recognition they get for their work, and the belief that they are respected by society as a whole.
As one might expect, different groups of teachers expressed different levels of satisfaction, and some genuine dissatisfaction was evident. In general, teachers in high-poverty urban environments were less optimistic about their careers than their suburban counterparts, and secondary teachers were less satisfied than elementary teachers. But while there are noteworthy differences, the overall results should not be overlooked: For the length of time MetLife has done the survey, this is the most satisfaction teachers have expressed about their jobs.
The first MetLife Survey of the American Teacher was conducted in 1984, just after the publication of A Nation at Risk by the National Commission on Excellence in Education, which sounded the initial alarm on the state of education in the U.S. MetLife’s goal was to give teachers and others closest to the classroom a voice in education reform. The survey was the first to give teachers the chance to express their opinions regarding career satisfaction.
Now, on the survey’s 25th anniversary, it has uncovered the most positive results to date. According to the report, “Over 25 years, teacher career satisfaction has increased significantly, from 40 percent who were very satisfied in 1984, to 62 percent in 2008.”
Interviewers contacted a nationally representative sample of 1,000 public school teachers from grades K-12 by telephone to conduct the survey.
Elementary teachers expressed the strongest level of job satisfaction, with 65 percent indicating that they are “very satisfied.” A more modest 56 percent of secondary school teachers put themselves in the “very satisfied” category. Another 28 percent of elementary teachers and 38 percent of secondary teachers responded that they were “somewhat satisfied.” In contrast, a mere 7 percent of elementary teachers and 6 percent of secondary teachers described themselves as somewhat or very dissatisfied with their teaching career. Suburban teachers are more satisfied on the whole (96 percent) than urban teachers (91 percent) and rural teachers (94 percent).
Since the start of the survey, one factor affecting teacher job satisfaction has been consistent: teachers’ passion for teaching, a critical factor in teacher retention. In 1984, 78 percent of teachers strongly agreed that they love to teach. The 2008 results are much the same, with 82 percent in agreement. The survey showed that elementary and secondary teachers are equally likely to love to teach, as are new and highly experienced teachers.
The increase in overall career satisfaction appears to be fueled in part by increased satisfaction in a host of other areas:
Satisfaction with salary is not universal across all groups of teachers. Minority teachers are less likely than white teachers to agree that they can earn a decent salary (68 versus 58 percent). Teachers’ experience levels also appear to affect their perception of salary issues. Teachers with more than five years of experience are more likely to agree that they can earn a decent salary.
A recent Harris Poll appears to corroborate the increased level of respect that teachers’ feel. In that poll, the public’s view of the prestige of teachers showed the largest increase of any of the professions included in 29 years of polling. Those who view teachers as having “very great” prestige rose from 29 percent in 1977 to 52 percent in August 2008. And while teachers’ perceived prestige was on the rise, the prestige of other professions (lawyers, scientists, business executives, doctors, and athletes) has fallen.
Veteran teachers are more likely than new teachers to strongly agree that they get appropriate recognition (54 versus 39 percent). Also, elementary teachers are more likely than secondary teachers to strongly agree that they are recognized for their work (51 versus 41 percent). Nineteen percent of secondary teachers disagree that they are usually recognized for good performance.
Another important indication of job satisfaction is the willingness of teachers to recommend teaching as a career because it shows how optimistic they are for the future of the profession. In 1984, just 45 percent of teachers would have recommended teaching as a career. Today, 75 percent of teachers would. Interestingly, teachers with the most experience (21 years or more) are the least likely to recommend a teaching career (69 percent).
In the wake of years of education reforms, teachers’ impressions of the quality of teaching and learning are also on the rise. Both likely influence teachers’ commitment to the profession.
Most teachers (73 percent) report that staffing their school with qualified teachers is not a problem. Fewer report trouble getting teachers than in 1984 (31 versus 26 percent). Predictably, higher numbers of urban teachers (40 percent) than suburban teachers (19 percent) consider staffing a problem.
Teachers report improvements in preparation and training. Two-thirds of teachers (67 percent) agree that the training and preparation that teachers receive today does a good job of preparing them for the classroom, compared to 46 percent in 1984. In addition, teachers are generally pleased with the ongoing training they receive. Eight in ten teachers report that the professional development in their schools is excellent or good.
Teachers’ views of the competence of other teachers at their school have improved since first surveyed (1987). In 2007, 69 percent of teachers rated the quality and competence of other teachers at their school as excellent, up from 51 percent 20 years earlier.
Finally, teachers also rate the overall quality of education at their schools higher than in the past. In 1987, 30 percent of teachers rated the quality of the education students at their school received as excellent. Today, that number has nearly doubled (55 percent). Their rating of academic standards at their schools showed a similar increase.
Seven in 10 teachers rate the size of their classes as excellent or good. Teachers with the most experience (21 years or more) were more likely than new teachers be positive about class size, perhaps because their experience makes them more comfortable managing larger groups of students.
School location and level have an effect on teachers’ ratings of their school’s disciplinary policy. Elementary teachers are more likely to rate the disciplinary policy at their school as excellent or good than secondary teachers (74 versus 65 percent). Three-quarters of rural and suburban teachers rate their school’s disciplinary policy as excellent or good, compared to six in 10 urban school teachers.
Twice as many teachers rate the availability of teaching materials and supplies as excellent as did in 1984 (44 versus 22 percent). Seventeen percent of teachers rate the availability of teaching materials and supplies at their schools as fair or poor.
One less optimistic note is student preparation. Just more than half of teachers (54 percent) report that at least three-quarters of their students are prepared to learn at grade level when they arrive. Teachers in urban areas are most likely to have unprepared students, with six in 10 reporting that at least a quarter of their student are not prepared to do grade-level work.
MetLife also surveys principals as part of the project, and differences in the opinions of teachers and principals with regard to working conditions were striking.
For example, 96 percent of principals rate their school’s disciplinary policies as excellent or good, while just 71 percent of teachers would. And 74 percent of teachers say the support of the administration in their school is excellent or good, while a resounding 98 percent of principals believe it is.
Principals generally had rosier views of their schools and gave them higher marks than teachers with regard to:
Teachers and principals also have markedly different views of the amount of time teachers spend on nonteaching tasks. More than eight in 10 principals believe teachers in their school spend at least three-quarters of their time teaching their students as opposed to disciplining students or doing administrative work. Just 53 percent of teachers agree with that distribution.
