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Digest of Education Statistics: 2008
Digest of Education Statistics: 2008

NCES 2009-020
March 2009


Table 72. Teachers' perceptions about teaching and school conditions, by control and level of school: 1993–94, 1999–2000, and 2003–04
Statement Percent of teachers somewhat agreeing or strongly agreeing with statement
Public total, 1993–94 Public total, 1999–2000 Public school teachers, 2003–04 Private total, 1993–94 Private total, 1999–2000 Private school teachers, 2003–04
Total Elementary schools Secondary schools Combined schools Total Elementary schools Secondary schools Combined schools
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
The school administration's behavior toward
  the staff is supportive
79.2 (0.36) 78.8 (0.38) 85.2 (0.33) 85.8 (0.48) 84.1 (0.41) 84.3 (0.98) 88.2 (0.42) 87.3 (0.45) 91.1 (0.74) 91.4 (0.86) 89.6 (1.26) 91.4 (1.12)
My principal enforces school rules for student
  conduct and backs me up when I need it
80.8 (0.35) 82.2 (0.33) 87.2 (0.35) 87.8 (0.52) 85.8 (0.44) 87.7 (0.80) 88.4 (0.41) 88.3 (0.39) 92.2 (0.62) 92.0 (0.76) 91.0 (1.17) 92.9 (1.20)
The principal lets staff members know what
  is expected of them
85.6 (0.30) 87.7 (0.26) 91.8 (0.23) 92.4 (0.32) 91.0 (0.29) 90.1 (0.61) 88.2 (0.34) 89.8 (0.35) 93.8 (0.55) 93.6 (0.66) 93.4 (0.86) 94.1 (1.03)
Principal talks to me frequently about my
  instructional practices
44.3 (0.46) 45.6 (0.43) (†) (†) (†) (†) 54.0 (0.64) 50.4 (0.64) (†) (†) (†) (†)
In this school, staff members are recognized
  for a job well done
67.9 (0.39) 68.3 (0.42) 75.4 (0.38) 77.3 (0.55) 72.1 (0.40) 71.1 (1.28) 81.1 (0.40) 78.9 (0.50) 83.8 (1.09) 83.8 (1.25) 82.9 (1.58) 84.3 (1.91)
Principal knows what kind of school he/she
  wants and has communicated it to the staff
80.5 (0.36) 83.2 (0.28) 87.3 (0.30) 88.4 (0.40) 85.3 (0.43) 84.0 (1.07) 88.6 (0.38) 88.4 (0.43) 91.9 (0.68) 91.5 (0.81) 91.2 (0.90) 92.7 (1.21)
Most of my colleagues share my beliefs and
  values about what the central mission of the school should be
84.2 (0.22) 84.7 (0.26) 88.1 (0.26) 90.5 (0.38) 83.0 (0.41) 87.4 (0.86) 93.2 (0.37) 92.2 (0.31) 93.8 (0.50) 95.1 (0.55) 91.2 (1.02) 93.3 (1.08)
There is a great deal of cooperative effort among staff 77.5 (0.31) 78.4 (0.32) 83.2 (0.36) 85.1 (0.56) 79.0 (0.48) 82.8 (1.19) 90.5 (0.29) 89.0 (0.42) 91.1 (0.75) 91.5 (0.84) 88.6 (1.47) 91.8 (1.24)
I receive a great deal of support from
  parents for the work I do
52.5 (0.38) 57.9 (0.40) 61.1 (0.50) 63.2 (0.74) 56.7 (0.59) 61.1 (1.38) 84.6 (0.41) 84.0 (0.49) 86.0 (2.39) 88.3 (1.01) 81.5 (2.16) 85.1 (6.59)
I make a conscious effort to coordinate the
  content of my courses with that of other teachers
85.0 (0.25) 84.1 (0.24) 86.3 (0.31) 89.1 (0.45) 81.0 (0.40) 82.8 (0.96) 85.2 (0.44) 81.4 (0.55) 84.5 (1.20) 86.8 (1.10) 80.3 (1.54) 83.4 (2.03)
Routine duties and paperwork interfere with
  my job of teaching
70.8 (0.38) 71.1 (0.30) 70.8 (0.44) 71.2 (0.64) 70.7 (0.50) 65.9 (1.13) 40.1 (0.65) 44.5 (0.57) 40.8 (2.51) 42.2 (3.64) 44.1 (2.00) 37.5 (3.46)
Level of student misbehavior in this school
  interferes with my teaching
44.1 (0.40) 40.8 (0.42) 37.2 (0.53) 35.2 (0.83) 41.5 (0.59) 37.9 (1.48) 22.4 (0.43) 24.1 (0.61) 20.8 (2.55) 21.4 (1.47) 21.0 (1.92) 20.0 (6.60)
Amount of student tardiness and class cutting
  in this school interferes with my teaching
27.9 (0.32) 31.5 (0.35) 33.4 (0.45) 27.7 (0.62) 45.7 (0.64) 33.0 (1.32) 16.9 (0.75) 15.0 (0.43) 16.9 (1.01) 15.0 (1.14) 19.9 (1.59) 18.1 (1.93)
Rules for student behavior are consistently
  enforced by teachers in this school, even
  for students who are not in their classes
61.8 (0.42) 62.6 (0.39) 71.1 (0.46) 78.8 (0.60) 54.7 (0.55) 70.5 (1.08) 77.6 (0.50) 75.9 (0.51) 80.9 (1.51) 86.1 (1.12) 69.1 (2.45) 79.5 (2.42)
I am satisfied with my class sizes 64.9 (0.38) 67.7 (0.36) 69.1 (0.43) 69.7 (0.58) 65.2 (0.52) 83.7 (1.09) 84.4 (0.40) 85.7 (0.45) 87.6 (0.92) 85.4 (1.56) 85.4 (1.74) 91.5 (1.20)
I am satisfied with my teaching salary 44.9 (0.45) 39.4 (0.36) 45.9 (0.46) 44.2 (0.65) 49.4 (0.60) 46.2 (1.60) 41.6 (0.59) 42.6 (0.73) 50.6 (1.67) 43.7 (2.43) 54.1 (2.09) 57.9 (4.56)
I sometimes feel it is a waste of time to try to
  do my best as a teacher
26.8 (0.35) 20.3 (0.29) 16.7 (0.32) 14.6 (0.45) 20.8 (0.43) 18.4 (1.08) 10.2 (0.65) 10.5 (0.38) 8.7 (0.71) 8.5 (1.17) 7.8 (0.78) 9.3 (1.10)
I plan with the librarian/media specialist for the
  integration of services into my teaching
66.9 (0.42) 58.6 (0.38) (†) (†) (†) (†) 60.6 (0.71) 48.7 (0.74) (†) (†) (†) (†)
Necessary materials are available as needed by staff 73.1 (0.42) 75.0 (0.32) 79.0 (0.42) 79.7 (0.56) 76.9 (0.56) 83.2 (0.87) 85.7 (0.44) 89.0 (0.38) 91.8 (0.71) 91.0 (0.75) 91.5 (1.04) 93.0 (1.40)
I worry about the security of my job because of
  the performance of my students on state or local tests
(†) 28.8 (0.37) 31.2 (0.43) 32.4 (0.55) 28.8 (0.57) 30.8 (1.15) (†) 6.7 (0.29) 7.8 (0.65) 9.0 (0.98) 7.9 (0.93) 6.2 (1.14)
I am given the support I need to teach students
  with special needs
(†) 60.9 (0.33) 64.4 (0.46) 64.0 (0.63) 63.7 (0.65) 74.5 (1.37) (†) 67.1 (0.58) 71.8 (2.05) 68.6 (2.08) 70.8 (2.01) 76.5 (6.79)
I am generally satisfied with being a teacher
  at this school
(†) 89.7 (0.24) 90.9 (0.28) 91.1 (0.40) 90.4 (0.31) 91.9 (0.75) (†) 93.3 (0.26) 95.2 (0.55) 94.8 (0.65) 95.7 (0.88) 95.4 (1.17)
— Not available.
† Not applicable.
NOTE: Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public Teacher Questionnaire," 1993–94, 1999–2000, and 2003–04; "Private Teacher Questionnaire," 1993–94, 1999–2000, and 2003–04; and "Charter Teacher Questionnaire," 1999–2000. (This table was prepared August 2006.)