Education Week - April 27, 2022 - 15

Teacher Job Satisfaction Hits an All-Time Low
Survey shows just 12
percent of teachers
are very satisfied
By Madeline Will
Teachers' job satisfaction levels appear to have
hit an all-time low this year as the fallout from the
COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage schools.
That's according to the Merrimack College
Teacher Survey, a nationally representative poll of
more than 1,300 teachers conducted by the EdWeek
Research Center and commissioned by the Winston
School of Education and Social Policy at Merrimack
College. The survey, which was conducted between
Jan. 9 and Feb. 23, was designed to replace the
MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, which ran
for more than 25 years and ended in 2012.
The results paint a picture of a disillusioned, exhausted
workforce. A little more than half of teachers
are satisfied with their jobs, and only 12 percent
say they're " very satisfied " with their jobs, down
from 39 percent in 2012. More than half of teachers
said they likely wouldn't advise their younger self to
pursue a career in teaching.
In interviews, teachers say they still love teaching-but
they're fed up with everything else. They
feel burdened by a constantly growing workload,
especially with more students having greater academic
and social-emotional needs than ever before.
They don't feel like they're paid appropriately for all
the work they do. And they don't feel respected as
professionals.
" This year has been a struggle more than any others
in my career, " said LéAnn Cassidy, 57, a middle
school history teacher in Connecticut who is in her
34th year in the classroom.
Teaching has always been stressful, but past surveys
show that teachers' stress levels have skyrocketed
since the start of the pandemic. Teachers have
had to pivot to teaching online, in socially distanced
classrooms, or both at the same time. Staff shortages
have added to teachers' workloads this year
and decreased the amount of support they receive.
Teachers report that students are behaving badly
in class or are disengaged entirely, perhaps due to
the trauma of the pandemic. And amidst all of this,
teachers have found themselves at the center of divisive
political and cultural debates.
" I've never seen the number of people break down
as I have this year, " Cassidy said. " I think the pandemic
has dampened that joy [of teaching], and
people are trying to find it again. "
But Cassidy, who was a finalist for her state's
teacher of the year in 2018, said that if she can't
rediscover that joy, she might leave-and so might
many of her colleagues. The Merrimack College
Teacher Survey found that 44 percent of teachers
said they're likely to quit and find a different job
within the next two years.
Takeru Nagayoshi, 30, the 2020 Massachusetts
Teacher of the Year, was among those who left the
classroom last year. After seven years as an awardwinning
Advanced Placement English teacher, he
decided the frustrations of teaching-including " the
impossibility of the work-life balance, and the guilt
and fatigue that was associated with that " -were no
longer sustainable for him. The pandemic had exacerbated
students' needs and changed their relationship
with school, which led to lower attendance and
less engagement. Students were disconnected from
learning, and " it felt so defeating, " Nagayoshi said.
Nagayoshi decided that he could make more of an
impact outside the classroom and took on a new role
as the professional learning director of community
events for Panorama Education, an education technology
company with a focus on social-emotional
learning. His experience is not an isolated one.
" I think the
pandemic has
dampened
that joy [of
teaching],
and people
are trying
to find it
again. "
62%
57%
54%
50%
44%
44%
39%
40%
33%
52%
44%
56%
59%
12%
Even so, past research suggests that many of the
LéAnn Cassidy, 57, sits in
her middle school classroom
in Connecticut. The 2018
Connecticut History Teacher
of the Year and 2018 finalist
for Connecticut Teacher
of the Year has been
a classroom teacher for
34 years, but is considering
retiring early.
people who indicate plans to quit won't actually do
so. But experts warn there are negative consequences
from a dissatisfied teacher workforce. Research
shows that when teachers are stressed, the quality
of their instruction, classroom management, and
relationships with students all suffer. And students
tend to do better in schools with positive work environments.
" What
people want is to be able to teach and teach
well, and if they can't do it because they can't afford
to do it or because they have a toxic work environment,
that discourages them from acting as teachers
who are learning and growing and getting better
and increasing their commitment to the work, " said
Susan Moore Johnson, a Harvard University professor
of education who studies teachers' working conditions
and satisfaction. " That's the side of satisfaction
we need to pay attention to-it's not just keeping
people in their positions. "
Also, the low satisfaction levels of teachers already
in the classroom may impact the pipeline of
future teachers. Enrollment in teacher-preparation
programs has declined by about a third over the past
decade, and experts say that is likely in part due to
the perception of teaching as a low-paid, thankless
career.
Teachers don't feel respected
The survey found that about a quarter of teachers
don't feel like students' parents or guardians respect
them. In interviews, teachers said some parents can
be combative and demanding, with little regard for
their professional expertise.
Penny Zhitomi, 54, an English/language arts
middle school teacher in Connecticut, pointed to a
cartoon that depicts parent-teacher conferences in
both the past and present. In the 1960s, the parents
turn to their child and ask them to explain their bad
grades. In modern times, the parents ask the same
question of the teacher.
EDUCATION WEEK | April 27, 2022 | www.edweek.org | 15
Christopher Capozziello for Education Week
http://www.edweek.org
Education Week - April 27, 2022

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