Dive Brief:
- Teachers are less satisfied with their jobs than all U.S. workers, according to data released Thursday by the Pew Research Center. Some 81% of teachers said they were very or somewhat content with their job, compared to 88% of all U.S. workers.
- Half of teachers reported being dissatisfied with their pay, Pew found. However, a majority of teachers surveyed — 71% — said they are very satisfied with their relationships with other teachers, and 52% said they are very satisfied with their relationships with administrators.
- Turning to retention, 11% of teachers said they are very likely to look for a new job for 2023-24 school year. Another 18% reported being somewhat likely to do so.
Dive Insight:
Even though a majority of teachers said they aren’t considering leaving within the next school year, educators’ job-related stress remains sky high, Pew found.
More than three-fourths — 77% — of teachers said their job is frequently stressful, and 68% called it overwhelming. Pew surveyed 2,531 teachers between October and November 2023.
Among those who reported being likely to leave their jobs, 40% said they wanted to leave education. Another 29% said they’re looking for a nonteaching job in education, and 18% said they’re seeking a teaching position at a different public school.
Additionally, 52% of educators said they wouldn’t recommend to a young person today that they become a teacher.
That sentiment doesn’t bode well for ongoing staffing issues, which were also reflected in the survey. Some 70% of teachers report that their schools are very or somewhat understaffed.
The Pew research highlights the persistence of issues like chronic absenteeism, mental health, student behavior and staffing that were exacerbated by the pandemic.
Almost half of teachers said chronic absenteeism is a major problem, with high school teachers reporting the highest rate of concern, at 61%.
Teachers at medium- and high-poverty schools were also far more likely to describe chronic absenteeism as a major issue, at 58% and 66%, respectively. That’s compared to 34% of teachers at low-poverty schools, according to Pew.
Addressing chronic absenteeism continues to be a priority for district, state and federal education leaders.
A recent Dear Colleague letter from the U.S. Department of Education urged state education officials to start now to improve student attendance in the 2024-25 school year. Even though districts and states have ramped up efforts here, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona wrote “there is still more work to do.”
Teachers are also feeling the toll of students’ struggles with mental health and behavioral issues. According to Pew, 28% of teachers said they handle student mental health challenges on a daily basis, while 58% said they have to address students’ behavioral problems every day.
