2020 State of Teaching Survey
In December of 2019, The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM offered teachers the ability to take an online, anonymous survey reflecting their current state of teaching. This is the second year we have offered this to teachers, so we now have comparative data based on the 2018 results. In this report, we’re sharing those findings.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll find in this report:
- An overview of responses from arts, general, STEM, E/LA, Social Studies and other teachers with experiences in elementary, secondary and post-secondary institutions and from 1-25+ years of experience.
- Curriculum and planning information, such as time spent planning, collaborative planning opportunities, use of standards and prescribed curriculum availability.
- How social media is impacting the teaching profession.
- Income supplements for teachers
- How long teachers plan to stay in the profession and their concerns for the future.
How to Use this Report
We designed this report to give you a comprehensive look at the data and trends that are shaping education – in real classrooms from real teachers.
Share this with your colleagues and staff. Use it to help you identify the gaps, as well as celebrate the successes in your own school. Get inspired to make positive change in education for yourself, other teachers, and the students we all serve.
Summary of Key Findings
Just like last year, teachers are overwhelmed. From taking work home to paying for additional resources/PD out of pocket and in some cases taking on a 2nd job to help make ends meet, it’s clear that teachers lack the time and resources required to meet their responsibilities.
Teachers are also feeling undervalued. This became very clear from the teacher comments in several of the subsections. It is difficult to continue to put in long hours and work through overwhelm if people feel as though they are not supported or valued for their contributions.
On the positive side, teachers do have access to curriculum and planning time. Additionally, a majority of teachers also indicated that schools contributed to their professional development costs. These are all research-backed indicators for successful instructional outcomes.
Social media continues to play a major role in instruction and is causing a shift in the teaching profession. Video as a medium is providing support in both lesson planning and professional development.
Teacher-created materials and professional development has seen a surge this year through TpT and Pinterest. Teachers trust other teachers and will spend out of pocket funds to purchase materials from others in the field.
The flip side of this trend is a question around consistent standards for quality and ensuring the materials purchased meet state and district requirements.
The written responses and data from this survey indicate that teachers don’t feel seen as professionals. They have many concerns surrounding competing priorities, student behaviors and lack of resources to accomplish meeting the needs of all learners.
Knowing this can help administration, communities and education organizations to consider tools, resources and behaviors that honor educators as professionals with value and respect.
