The Teaching Profession Reaches a Crossroads

Interesting findings from the NEW METLIFE SURVEY OF THE AMERICAN TEACHER! Teachers are reporting significant changes in their profession. These changes come at a time when the teaching profession faces multiple challenges, including the retirement of teachers in the baby boom generation, economic pressures, and a greater emphasis on teacher quality and student achievement. To address these challenges, career pathways in education are changing, the role of the teacher is evolving, and collaboration is being emphasized as never before!

Here are just a few findings:

• Teachers very satisfied with their careers are more likely to work in schools with higher levels of collaborative activities (39% vs. 26%) and to strongly agree that the teachers in a school share responsibility for the achievement of all students (86% vs. 72%).
• More than half of teachers (56%) and half of principals (49%) say that some teachers in their school have a hybrid teaching role. Nearly four in ten teachers (37%) say they are interested in such a hybrid role.
• Three-quarters of teachers (75%) say they would like to continue to work in education beyond traditional retirement from classroom teaching.

The surveys are available online at www.metlife.com/teachersurvey.

Do these findings reflect your experiences?

Please comment!