computer-class-422.jpgAs major changes in education loom and cuts in many public school budgets continue, the job of running the nation’s schools has become more complex, challenging, and stressful, the new MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Challenges for School Leadership (2012) reveals.

School leaders today say that key responsibilities are challenging, particularly those schools alone cannot address. The challenges include balancing budgets—more than half of both teachers (56 percent) and principals (53 percent) report that their school’s budget has decreased in the last 12 months—and addressing the growing needs of diverse learners and their families.

Many principals say their jobs have changed over the last five years (69 percent say the responsibilities are not very similar) and 75 percent say their jobs have become too complex. Principals also report high levels of stress and limited control over key academic functions in their schools. About half of all principals (48 percent) and teachers (51 percent) report that they feel under great stress in their job at least several days a week. Meanwhile, nine in ten principals (89 percent) say they are accountable for everything that happens to the children in their schools, but fewer principals say they have a great deal of control over key school-based functions, including the curriculum and instruction in their schools (42 percent) and making decisions about removing teachers (43 percent).

The survey—the 29th in an annual series commissioned by MetLife and conducted by Harris Interactive1—examines the views of teachers and principals on the responsibilities and challenges facing school leaders, including the changing roles of principals and teachers, budget and resources, professional satisfaction, and implementation of the Common Core State Standards for college and career readiness.

The survey was conducted by telephone among 1,000 U.S. K-12 public school teachers and 500 public school principals in October and November, 2012.

Teacher job satisfaction continues to drop to lowest level in 25 years

The report reveals that teacher job satisfaction has continued to drop significantly. Teacher satisfaction has declined 23 percentage points since 2008, from 62 percent to 39 percent very satisfied, including a drop of 5 percentage points in the last 12 months—the lowest level reported since 1987. 2

Principal job satisfaction is also on the decline, but at not as steep a rate as teacher satisfaction. Fifty-nine percent of principals say they are very satisfied with their jobs, compared to 68 percent in 2008. The decrease, however, marks the lowest point in principal job satisfaction in more than a decade.

“The survey’s findings underscore the responsibilities and challenges educators must address to ensure America’s young people are prepared to compete and collaborate in the global economy,” said Dennis White, vice president of corporate contributions for MetLife. “We hope the findings of this survey will help us all pose and address questions about school leadership that can turn challenges into opportunities for better student achievement.”

Educators confident about implementing Common Core but unsure of impact

While national experts on teaching, standards, and leadership interviewed for the design of the study have raised significant concerns about the readiness and capacity of schools to implement the Common Core State Standards, a majority of teachers (62 percent) and nearly half of principals (46 percent) report teachers in their schools already are using the Common Core a great deal in their teaching this year. Most principals (90 percent) and teachers (93 percent) are confident or very confident that teachers in their schools already have the academic abilities and skills needed to implement these new, rigorous standards.

Those confidence levels have limits, however. Teachers and principals are more likely to be very confident that teachers have the ability to implement the Common Core (53 percent of teachers; 38 percent of principals) than they are very confident that the Common Core will improve the achievement of students (17 percent of teachers; 22 percent of principals) or better prepare students for college and the workforce (20 percent of teachers; 24 percent of principals).

Other Key Findings

Teachers are leaders, too: Even with these significant challenges, teachers are engaging in school leadership and looking for opportunities to serve in other capacities. Half of teachers (51 percent) have a leadership role in their school, such as department chair, instructional resource, teacher mentor, or leadership team member. Fifty-one percent of teachers also say they are at least somewhat interested in teaching in the classroom part-time combined with other roles or responsibilities in their school or district, including 23 percent who are extremely or very interested in this option.

Factors whose origins are beyond school control represent the most significant challenges: Three-quarters of teachers and principals or more say that it is challenging or very challenging for school leadership to manage budgets and resources to meet school needs (86 percent of teachers; 78 percent of principals, address the individual needs of diverse learners (78 percent of teachers; 83 percent of principals), and engage parents and the community in improving the education of students (73 percent of teachers; 72 percent of principals).

Time for collaboration and professional learning remains limited: More than six in ten teachers say that time to collaborate with other teachers (65 percent) and professional development opportunities (63 percent) have either decreased or stayed the same during the past 12 months. The decreases in professional development have a sizable relationship to a school’s financial condition: Teachers who report that their school’s budget has decreased in the past 12 months are three times as likely as others to report that there have been decreases in time to collaborate with other teachers (35 percent vs. 11 percent) and in professional development opportunities (27 percent vs. 8 percent).

The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive and is the twenty-ninth in a series sponsored annually by MetLife since 1984 to give voice to those closest to the classroom. This MetLife Survey examines the views of teachers and principals on the responsibilities and challenges facing school leaders, including the changing roles of principals and teachers, budget and resources, professional satisfaction, and implementation of the Common Core State Standards for college and career readiness. The results are based on a survey conducted by telephone among 1,000 U.S. public school teachers of grades K through 12 and 500 U.S. principals in public schools, grades K through 12, between October 5 – November 11, 2012. The data were weighted to key demographic variables to align with the national population of the respective groups. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Full methodology is included in the report and available online at www.metlife.com/teachersurvey.

About MetLife

MetLife is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. MetLife Foundation draws on the findings of the annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher to inform its support for education. For more information about MetLife, please visit the company’s web site at www.metlife.com. Additional information about the Foundation is available at www.metlife.org.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world’s leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries limited resources to address their needs.

Major findings

Principals take responsibility for leadership of their schools.

  • Nine in 10 (89%) principals say that ultimately a principal should be held accountable for everything that happens to the children in a school; 74% of teachers agree in 2012, compared with 60% in 1989.

The job of principal is becoming more complex and stressful.

  •  Three-quarters (75%) of principals feel the job has become too complex.
  •  Seven in 10 (69%) principals say the job responsibilities are not very similar to five years ago.
  •  Job satisfaction among principals has decreased nine percentage points in less than five years, to 59% very satisfied from 68% very satisfied in 2008.
  •  Half (48%) of principals feel under great stress several days a week.
  •  Only about four in 10 principals say they have a great deal of control over curriculum and instruction (42%), and making decisions about removing teachers (43%).

Teachers take leadership in schools and think principals are doing a good job.

  • Half (51%) of teachers have a leadership role in their school, such as department chair, instructional resource, teacher mentor, or leadership team member.
  • Half (51%) of teachers are at least somewhat interested in teaching in the classroom part-time combined with other roles or responsibilities in their school or district, including 23% who are extremely or very interested in this option.
  • Eighty-five percent of teachers rate the job their principal is doing as excellent or pretty good.
  • Nearly all principals (98%) rate the teachers in their school as doing an excellent or pretty good job.
  • Most teachers (69%) say they are not at all interested in becoming a principal.

The biggest challenges leaders face are beyond the capacity of schools alone to address.

  • More than half of principals (53%) and teachers (56%) report that their school’s budget has decreased in the past 12 months.
  • Half (50%) of teachers and 40% of principals say managing the school budget and resources to meet school needs is very challenging; overall, 86% of teachers and 78% of principals say this is challenging or very challenging for school leaders.
  • More than seven in 10 educators identify addressing the individual needs of diverse learners (83% of principals; 78% of teachers) and engaging parents and the community in improving education for students (72% of principals; 73% of teachers) as challenging or very challenging for school leaders.

Principals and teachers have similar views on academic challenges, but diverge somewhat on their priorities for leadership.

  • A majority of educators say implementing the Common Core State Standards (67% of principals; 59% of teachers), creating and maintaining an academically rigorous environment (64% of principals; 62% of teachers), and evaluating teacher effectiveness (53% of principals; 56% of teachers) are challenging or very challenging.
  • Principals are most likely to say it is very important for principals to be able to use data about student performance to improve instruction (85%) and to lead development of strong teaching capacity across the school (84%) to be an effective school leader.
  • Teachers are most likely to say it is very important for a principal to have been a classroom teacher (79%) and give less importance to leading the development of strong teaching capacity across the school (69%) and using data about student performance to improve instruction (53%).

Teacher satisfaction continues to decline.

  • Teacher satisfaction has declined 23 percentage points since 2008, from 62% to 39% very satisfied, including five percentage points since last year, to the lowest level in 25 years.
  •  Half (51%) of teachers report feeling under great stress several days a week, an increase of 15 percentage points over 36% of teachers reporting that level in 1985.
  •  Less satisfied teachers are more likely than very satisfied teachers to be in schools where budgets declined in the last 12 months (61% vs. 47%) and to identify maintaining an adequate supply of effective teachers (58% vs. 43%) and creating and maintaining an academically rigorous learning environment (66% vs. 56%) as challenging or very challenging for school leaders.
  •  Less satisfied teachers are more likely to be located in schools that had declines in professional development (21% vs. 14%) and in time for collaboration with other teachers (29% vs. 16%) in the last 12 months.
  •  Nearly all teachers (97%) give high ratings to other teachers in their schools.

Challenges cited by educators are greater in high-needs schools.

  • More principals find it challenging to maintain an adequate supply of effective teachers in urban schools (60% vs. 43% in suburban schools and 44% in rural schools) and in schools with two-thirds or more low-income students (58% vs. 37% in schools with one-third or fewer).
  • Principals in schools with at least two-thirds low-income students are more likely than those with one-third or fewer to say that engaging parents and the community in improving the education of students (86% vs. 46%) is very challenging or challenging.
  • Principals who feel great stress several days a week are more likely to work in schools where no more than some students are performing at or above grade level in English language arts or math (57% vs. 43% of those in schools where most students perform at or above grade level).
  • In schools with at least two-thirds low-income students, 37% of principals and 27% of teachers say that most of their students are performing at or above grade level. In contrast, in schools with one third or fewer low-income students, 91% of principals and 83% of teachers say that most of their students are achieving at this level.
  • Teachers and principals in schools with more than two-thirds low-income students are less likely than those in schools with one-third or fewer low-income students to give their teachers an excellent rating (48% vs. 73% for teachers; and 51% vs. 75% for principals).

Educators are confident about implementing the Common Core, less so about its potential for increasing student success.

  • Nine in 10 principals (93%) and teachers (92%) say they are knowledgeable about the Common Core.
  • Nine in 10 principals (90%) and teachers (93%) believe that teachers in their schools already have the academic skills and abilities to implement the Common Core in their classrooms.
  • Teachers and principals are more likely to be very confident that teachers have the ability to implement the Common Core (53% of teachers; 38% of principals) than they are very confident that the Common Core will improve the achievement of students (17% of teachers; 22% of principals) or better prepare students for college and the workforce (20% of teachers; 24% of principals).
  •  A majority of teachers (62%) and a smaller proportion of principals (46%) say teachers in their schools are already using the Common Core a great deal in their teaching this year.

Research methods

This research combined both quantitative and qualitative methods to gain a clear picture of attitudes and perceptions among teachers and principals.

Survey of Teachers

The survey of teachers was conducted by telephone between October 5 and November 11, 2012 among 1,000 U.S. K-12 public school teachers. The data were weighted where necessary to key demographic variables to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

Survey of Principals

The survey of principals was conducted by telephone between October 9 and November 9, 2012 among 500 U.S. K-12 public school principals. The data were weighted where necessary to key demographic variables to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

In-depth Telephone Interviews among Thought Leaders in Education

To inform the development of the survey, in-depth telephone interviews with five education thought leaders and policy experts were conducted between August 14 and August 17, 2012. Thought leaders were drawn from different education organizations from a list provided by MetLife and offered a range of knowledge and expertise in education leadership from principals’ and teachers’ perspectives, in Common Core State Standards, and in assessment.

Executive summary

Within the U.S. education system, teachers and principals have the most direct responsibility for the achievement of students and the performance of schools. The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Challenges for School Leadership (2012) captures the viewpoints and experiences of teachers and principals working to meet those responsibilities in an environment of continued strained resources and increased expectations to strengthen educational outcomes. With the introduction of the Common Core State Standards, educators in 46 states and the District of Columbia are now being called to transform their professional practice further to ensure that all students—not just some—master content and areable to apply knowledge that will prepare them for success beyond high school in college or careers.

School leaders—principals, school leadership teams, and teacher leaders—face new challenges of finding and reallocating resources, introducing changes in curriculum and instruction, and ensuring professional learning needed to implement the Common Core.

Among responsibilities that school leaders face, those that teachers and principals identify as most challenging result from conditions that originate beyond school doors. A majority of teachers and principals report that their school’s budget has decreased in the last 12 months, and even greater proportions of teachers and principals indicate that it is challenging or very challenging for school leaders to manage budgets and resources to meet school needs. Teachers and principals also rate the responsibilities of addressing the individual needs of diverse learners and engaging parents and the community in improving the education of students as significant leadership challenges.

Of lesser concern, but still seen by more than half of teachers and principals as challenging or very challenging, are instructional leadership responsibilities of implementing the Common Core, creating and maintaining an academically rigorous learning environment, and evaluating teacher effectiveness.

Principals and teachers also cite the need to provide professional development opportunities for teachers and maintaining an adequate supply of effective teachers as sizable but lower-tier challenges.

Teachers in schools where budgets have decreased, however, say that providing opportunities for them to build their competence and skills is a significant challenge. Greater proportions of teachers and principals in high-needs, than in other, schools report that maintaining an adequate supply of effective teachers and engaging parents and the community present challenges for their school leaders.

The responsibilities of school leadership have changed significantly in recent years, leading to a job that principals say has become too complex and highly stressful. Although principals generally feel personally accountable for everything that happens to the children in their schools, they see differences in their jobs compared to just five years ago. Overall, teachers also hold the principal responsible for everything that happens to the children in a school, and more so today than teachers did a quarter century ago.

Three-quarters of all principals say that the job has become too complex, and nearly half report feeling under great stress several days a week or more. Principals in secondary schools and schools where only some students are reaching grade level in English language arts and mathematics indicate the greatest stress. While most principals report having a great deal of control in hiring teachers and making decisions about teachers’ schedules, fewer than half have great control over removing teachers or over curriculum and instruction. Principals say they have the least control in making decisions about school finances.

Principal and teacher job satisfaction is declining. Principals’ satisfaction with their jobs in the publics chools has decreased nine percentage points since it was last measured in 2008. In that same period, teacher satisfaction has dropped precipitously by 23 percentage points, including a five-point decrease in the last year, to the lowest level it has been in the survey in 25 years. A majority of teachers report that they feel under great stress at least several days a week, a significant increase from 1985 when this was last measured.

Principals and teachers with low job satisfaction report higher levels of stress than do other educators and are more likely to work in high-needs schools. Less satisfied principals are more likely to find it challenging to maintain an academically rigorous environment and an adequate supply of effective teachers in their schools, while less satisfied teachers are more likely to be working in schools where budgets and time for professional development and collaboration have decreased in the last 12 months.

Principals and teachers give each other high marks but disagree somewhat on the skills and experiences school leaders need. Teachers provide a positive report on the job their principal is doing, and nearly all principals give high ratings to the classroom teachers in their schools—as do teachers to the other teachers in their schools. Principals and teachers do not fully agree, however, on what experiences and skills they think are necessary for a principal to be effective. While principals place greatest importance on being able to use data about student performance to improve instruction as well as to lead the development of strong teaching capacity across a school, teachers say that it is most important for a principal to have had experience as a classroom teacher.

The survey underscores the fact that teachers today play a key part in the leadership of their schools. Half of teachers now function in formal leadership roles such as department chair, instructional resource, teacher mentor, or leadership team member. These teacher leaders are more likely than others to feel that an effective principal should be able to develop a strong teaching capacity across a school, share leadership with teachers and other staff, and evaluate teachers using multiple measures. Few teachers want to become principals, but half are interested in hybrid, part-time classroom teaching combined with other roles in their school or district.

Teachers and principals have more confidence that teachers can teach the Common Core than they have that the Common Core will benefit students. Most principals and a majority of teachers consider implementation of the Common Core a challenge for their schools, and a majority of teachers and nearly half of principals report that teachers are already using the Common Core a great deal in their teaching.

Virtually all teachers and principals report to be knowledgeable about the Common Core and express confidence in the abilities of teachers in their school to teach according to the Common Core standards.

Comparatively fewer educators, however, are confident that the Common Core will improve student achievement and better prepare students for college and the workforce. Among educators overall who are more knowledgeable of the Common Core, and in schools where teachers are reporting using the standards a great deal in their teaching, there is a greater level of confidence that the standards will mprove student achievement.