OVER 100,000 NC EDUCATORS PARTICIPATE IN TEACHER WORKING CONDITIONS SURVEY
View Vance County Schools Teachers Opinions after this article.
More than 100,000 North Carolina licensed teachers and principals participated in the 2012 NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey (NC TWC), according to the Initial Findings report by the New Teacher Center this morning presented to State Board of Education members. NC TWC findings are used to help inform state education policy, develop schools’ annual improvement plans and more recently, in the state’s educator evaluation process.
The New Teacher Center, a national nonprofit organization that administers the NC TWC survey, also noted in its report that educators’ perceptions of working conditions have remained relatively stable – no question response rate increased or decreased by more than 5 percent. Many of the areas where perceptions of positive conditions have decreased are the most dependent on resources – time, professional development, etc. More data needs to be gathered to understand how federal, state and local resources have been utilized, particularly in schools that have seen improvement, to better understand how successful strategies can be scaled.
State Superintendent June Atkinson said the NC TWC provides insight into how teachers feel about their working conditions and its impact on their job performance. “We know that your work environment affects how well you do your job. Survey data helps school and district administrators address areas of concern so that teachers and students can focus on what is most important – teaching for learning,” Atkinson said.
State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison noted North Carolina’s leadership role in surveying all of its licensed educators on working conditions and thanked teachers and administrators for their strong, faithful participation. “Research has shown the connection between positive teaching conditions, student achievement and teacher retention. It’s essential that we do all we can to make schools a great place to teach and learn.”
Initial survey findings showed that 86 percent of all licensed educators participated in the survey. In order for a school to have its own data to use in its annual school improvement plan, at least 40 percent of educators (and a minimum of five teachers in small schools) at that school had to participate in the survey. Of the 2,434 traditional public schools, 2,429 (99.7 percent) met or exceeded the 40 percent threshold. Sixty-one percent of charter schools and 76 percent of special schools also met or exceeded the minimum threshold. All districts reached at least a 59 percent response rate. The survey results for each of these schools, as well as every district and the state is available online at www.ncteachingconditions.org. Also available on the website are guides for schools and districts to use showing how to incorporate its data in school improvement plans as well as the presentation to the State Board of Education.
Further analyses of the results will be conducted by the New Teacher Center and reported later this year. In addition to general trends, the report will include analysis of trends in the data related to student achievement, teacher retention, new teacher support and persistently low-performing schools.
The NC TWC is an online, anonymous survey that assesses teacher working conditions at the school, district and state levels. Questions focus on time, facilities and resources, community support and involvement, managing student conduct, teacher leadership, school leadership, professional development, instructional practices and support, and new teacher support.
Below are the survey results summary. You may find this same data at: http://www.ncteachingconditions.org/reports/summary.php?orgID=910
Time
| Item |
Question |
% Agree |
| 2010 Vance County Schools |
2012 Vance County Schools |
| Q2.1 |
Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements about the use of time in your school. |
| |
a. Class sizes are reasonable such that teachers have the time available to meet the needs of all students. |
70.8 |
60.1 |
| |
b. Teachers have time available to collaborate with colleagues. |
65.1 |
61.2 |
| |
c. Teachers are allowed to focus on educating students with minimal interruptions. |
64.5 |
65.0 |
| |
d. The non-instructional time provided for teachers in my school is sufficient. |
59.9 |
55.5 |
| |
e. Efforts are made to minimize the amount of routine paperwork teachers are required to do. |
60.8 |
61.6 |
| |
f. Teachers have sufficient instructional time to meet the needs of all students. |
75.6 |
71.5 |
| |
g. Teachers are protected from duties that interfere with their essential role of educating students. |
62.5 |
66.4 |
Facilities and Resources
| Item |
Question |
% Agree |
| 2010 Vance County Schools |
2012 Vance County Schools |
| Q3.1 |
Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements about your school facilities and resources. |
| |
a. Teachers have sufficient access to appropriate instructional materials. |
74.0 |
68.5 |
| |
b. Teachers have sufficient access to instructional technology, including computers, printers, software and internet access. |
70.4 |
79.1 |
| |
c. Teachers have access to reliable communication technology, including phones, faxes and email. |
89.0 |
89.3 |
| |
d. Teachers have sufficient access to office equipment and supplies such as copy machines, paper, pens, etc. |
71.0 |
70.3 |
| |
e. Teachers have sufficient access to a broad range of professional support personnel. |
74.2 |
76.5 |
| |
f. The school environment is clean and well maintained. |
83.6 |
80.3 |
| |
g. Teachers have adequate space to work productively. |
85.7 |
84.4 |
| |
h. The physical environment of classrooms in this school supports teaching and learning. |
84.0 |
84.5 |
| |
i. The reliability and speed of Internet connections in this school are sufficient to support instructional practices. |
65.3 |
61.6 |
Community Support and Involvement
| Item |
Question |
% Agree |
| 2010 Vance County Schools |
2012 Vance County Schools |
| Q4.1 |
Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements about community support and involvement in your school. |
| |
a. Parents/guardians are influential decision makers in this school. |
50.0 |
46.4 |
| |
b. This school maintains clear, two-way communication with the community. |
77.4 |
78.7 |
| |
c. This school does a good job of encouraging parent/guardian involvement. |
78.5 |
79.9 |
| |
d. Teachers provide parents/guardians with useful information about student learning. |
90.8 |
92.7 |
| |
e. Parents/guardians know what is going on in this school. |
71.7 |
71.4 |
| |
f. Parents/guardians support teachers, contributing to their success with students. |
52.4 |
49.0 |
| |
g. Community members support teachers, contributing to their success with students. |
66.9 |
66.3 |
| |
h. The community we serve is supportive of this school. |
66.4 |
62.5 |
Managing Student Conduct
| Item |
Question |
% Agree |
| 2010 Vance County Schools |
2012 Vance County Schools |
| Q5.1 |
Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements about managing student conduct in your school. |
| |
a. Students at this school understand expectations for their conduct. |
76.2 |
73.2 |
| |
b. Students at this school follow rules of conduct. |
51.6 |
49.9 |
| |
c. Policies and procedures about student conduct are clearly understood by the faculty. |
85.6 |
81.8 |
| |
d. School administrators consistently enforce rules for student conduct. |
64.6 |
62.0 |
| |
e. School administrators support teachers’ efforts to maintain discipline in the classroom. |
76.1 |
70.3 |
| |
f. Teachers consistently enforce rules for student conduct. |
79.1 |
73.8 |
| |
g. The faculty work in a school environment that is safe. |
83.5 |
79.9 |
Teacher Leadership
| Item |
Question |
% Agree |
| 2010 Vance County Schools |
2012 Vance County Schools |
| Q6.1 |
Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements about teacher leadership in your school. |
| |
a. Teachers are recognized as educational experts. |
78.4 |
74.9 |
| |
b. Teachers are trusted to make sound professional decisions about instruction. |
82.2 |
81.6 |
| |
c. Teachers are relied upon to make decisions about educational issues. |
78.4 |
78.7 |
| |
d. Teachers are encouraged to participate in school leadership roles. |
86.2 |
85.9 |
| |
e. The faculty has an effective process for making group decisions to solve problems. |
67.8 |
64.6 |
| |
f. In this school we take steps to solve problems. |
74.5 |
69.6 |
| |
g. Teachers are effective leaders in this school. |
78.7 |
76.5 |
| |
| Q6.5 |
Teachers have an appropriate level of influence on decision making in this school. |
59.6 |
56.0 |
School Leadership
| Item |
Question |
% Agree |
| 2010 Vance County Schools |
2012 Vance County Schools |
| Q7.1 |
Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements about school leadership in your school. |
| |
a. The faculty and staff have a shared vision. |
76.7 |
75.0 |
| |
b. There is an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect in this school. |
68.2 |
65.5 |
| |
c. Teachers feel comfortable raising issues and concerns that are important to them. |
71.1 |
68.4 |
| |
d. The school leadership consistently supports teachers. |
75.6 |
69.4 |
| |
e. Teachers are held to high professional standards for delivering instruction. |
87.1 |
87.3 |
| |
f. The school leadership facilitates using data to improve student learning. |
89.7 |
92.2 |
| |
g. Teacher performance is assessed objectively. |
85.9 |
86.8 |
| |
h. Teachers receive feedback that can help them improve teaching. |
80.0 |
80.2 |
| |
i. The procedures for teacher evaluation are consistent. |
81.3 |
83.6 |
| |
j. The school improvement team provides effective leadership at this school. |
70.9 |
70.4 |
| |
k. The faculty are recognized for accomplishments. |
77.9 |
77.6 |
| |
| Q7.3 |
The school leadership makes a sustained effort to address teacher concerns about: |
| |
a. Leadership issues |
74.1 |
68.6 |
| |
b. Facilities and resources |
79.0 |
76.1 |
| |
c. The use of time in my school |
73.3 |
72.1 |
| |
d. Professional development |
76.7 |
74.7 |
| |
e. Teacher leadership |
76.3 |
75.1 |
| |
f. Community support and involvement |
74.6 |
74.3 |
| |
g. Managing student conduct |
73.4 |
70.0 |
| |
h. Instructional practices and support |
80.6 |
80.0 |
| |
i. New teacher support |
74.9 |
73.0 |
Professional Development
| Item |
Question |
% Agree |
| 2010 Vance County Schools |
2012 Vance County Schools |
| Q8.1 |
Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with statements about professional development in your school. |
| |
a. Sufficient resources are available for professional development in my school. |
64.4 |
67.8 |
| |
b. An appropriate amount of time is provided for professional development. |
67.3 |
73.6 |
| |
c. Professional development offerings are data driven. |
75.7 |
74.5 |
| |
d. Professional learning opportunities are aligned with the school’s improvement plan. |
82.9 |
80.1 |
| |
e. Professional development is differentiated to meet the individual needs of teachers. |
64.2 |
61.7 |
| |
f. Professional development deepens teachers’ content knowledge. |
74.4 |
72.4 |
| |
g. Teachers have sufficient training to fully utilize instructional technology. |
62.2 |
68.6 |
| |
h. Teachers are encouraged to reflect on their own practice. |
84.0 |
87.5 |
| |
i. In this school, follow up is provided from professional development. |
63.7 |
61.7 |
| |
j. Professional development provides ongoing opportunities for teachers to work with colleagues to refine teaching practices. |
70.3 |
72.7 |
| |
k. Professional development is evaluated and results are communicated to teachers. |
58.2 |
59.3 |
| |
l. Professional development enhances teachers’ ability to implement instructional strategies that meet diverse student learning needs. |
78.8 |
76.9 |
| |
m. Professional development enhances teachers’ abilities to improve student learning. |
83.2 |
80.2 |
Instructional Practices and Support
| Item |
Question |
% Agree |
| 2010 Vance County Schools |
2012 Vance County Schools |
| Q9.1 |
Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements about instructional practices and support in your school. |
| |
a. State assessment data are available in time to impact instructional practices. |
76.8 |
79.3 |
| |
b. Local assessment data are available in time to impact instructional practices. |
73.0 |
78.3 |
| |
c. Teachers use assessment data to inform their instruction. |
90.8 |
91.9 |
| |
e. Teachers work in professional learning communities to develop and align instructional practices. |
78.6 |
83.9 |
| |
f. Provided supports (i.e. instructional coaching, professional learning communities, etc.) translate to improvements in instructional practices by teachers. |
79.4 |
81.7 |
| |
g. Teachers are encouraged to try new things to improve instruction. |
89.0 |
90.2 |
| |
h. Teachers are assigned classes that maximize their likelihood of success with students. |
65.9 |
67.6 |
| |
i. Teachers have autonomy to make decisions about instructional delivery (i.e. pacing, materials and pedagogy). |
76.7 |
77.4 |
Overall
| Item |
Question |
% Agree |
| 2010 Vance County Schools |
2012 Vance County Schools |
| Q10.6 |
Overall, my school is a good place to work and learn. |
79.5 |
72.6 |
|
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