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Digest of Education Statistics: 2009
Digest of Education Statistics: 2009

NCES 2010-013
April 2010


Table 72. Teachers' perceptions about teaching and school conditions, by control and level of school: Selected years, 1993–94 through 2007–08
Statement about conditions Public school teachers Private school teachers
1993-94 total 1999-2000 total 2003-04 total 2007-08 1993-94 total 1999-2000 total 2003-04 total 2007-08
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 14 15
Percent of teachers somewhat agreeing or strongly agreeing with statement
The school administration's behavior
   toward the staff is supportive
79.2 (0.36) 78.8 (0.38) 85.2 (0.33) 87.7 (0.39) 88.1 (0.51) 87.1 (0.47) 86.3 (1.25) 88.2 (0.42) 87.3 (0.45) 91.1 (0.74) 93.1 (0.43) 92.6 (0.49) 92.3 (1.15) 93.9 (0.74)
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) 88.0 (0.37) 89.3 (0.48) 85.9 (0.51) 86.0 (1.12) 88.4 (0.41) 88.3 (0.39) 92.2 (0.62) 92.2 (0.58) 91.8 (0.71) 91.8 (1.17) 92.8 (0.97)
The principal lets staff members know
   what is expected of them
85.6 (0.30) 87.7 (0.26) 91.8 (0.23) (†) (†) (†) (†) 88.2 (0.34) 89.8 (0.35) 93.8 (0.55) (†) (†) (†) (†)
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) 76.7 (0.56) 78.3 (0.77) 74.2 (0.63) 72.4 (1.41) 81.1 (0.40) 78.9 (0.50) 83.8 (1.09) 84.1 (0.67) 84.0 (0.78) 83.0 (1.71) 84.6 (1.05)
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 (0.33) 89.6 (0.44) 86.6 (0.51) 84.4 (1.20) 88.6 (0.38) 88.4 (0.43) 91.9 (0.68) 91.7 (0.53) 91.3 (0.65) 90.7 (1.20) 92.5 (0.82)
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) 88.3 (0.35) 90.7 (0.52) 83.8 (0.53) 87.4 (0.86) 93.2 (0.37) 92.2 (0.31) 93.8 (0.50) 93.7 (0.44) 94.9 (0.47) 90.5 (1.36) 93.7 (0.79)
There is a great deal of cooperative
   effort among staff
77.5 (0.31) 78.4 (0.32) 83.2 (0.36) 84.3 (0.33) 86.1 (0.47) 81.0 (0.51) 81.9 (1.19) 90.5 (0.29) 89.0 (0.42) 91.1 (0.75) 91.8 (0.63) 92.3 (0.53) 88.3 (1.43) 92.5 (1.08)
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) 64.3 (0.52) 66.5 (0.78) 60.4 (0.66) 62.5 (1.45) 84.6 (0.41) 84.0 (0.49) 86.0 (2.39) 87.7 (0.60) 89.4 (0.69) 85.1 (1.79) 86.9 (1.01)
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) (†) (†) (†) (†) 85.2 (0.44) 81.4 (0.55) 84.5 (1.20) (†) (†) (†) (†)
Routine duties and paperwork interfere
   with my job of teaching
70.8 (0.38) 71.1 (0.30) 70.8 (0.44) 69.0 (0.54) 69.4 (0.82) 68.7 (0.69) 64.4 (1.32) 40.1 (0.65) 44.5 (0.57) 40.8 (2.51) 42.7 (0.98) 44.8 (1.26) 46.2 (2.27) 39.3 (1.75)
Level of student misbehavior in this
   school interferes with my teaching
44.1 (0.40) 40.8 (0.42) 37.2 (0.53) 36.1 (0.57) 33.8 (0.80) 40.2 (0.79) 38.9 (1.37) 22.4 (0.43) 24.1 (0.61) 20.8 (2.55) 20.6 (0.73) 20.8 (0.97) 19.5 (1.71) 20.7 (1.38)
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) 33.4 (0.65) 26.4 (0.86) 47.2 (0.86) 32.8 (1.35) 16.9 (0.75) 15.0 (0.43) 16.9 (1.01) 17.8 (0.71) 17.1 (0.78) 20.4 (1.76) 17.6 (1.63)
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) 70.6 (0.55) 78.8 (0.68) 55.1 (0.66) 68.1 (1.38) 77.6 (0.50) 75.9 (0.51) 80.9 (1.51) 80.0 (0.81) 85.3 (0.87) 69.8 (2.00) 78.5 (1.49)
I am satisfied with my class sizes 64.9 (0.38) 67.7 (0.36) 69.1 (0.43) (†) (†) (†) (†) 84.4 (0.40) 85.7 (0.45) 87.6 (0.92) (†) (†) (†) (†)
I am satisfied with my teaching salary 44.9 (0.45) 39.4 (0.36) 45.9 (0.46) 50.9 (0.65) 48.9 (0.91) 55.2 (0.73) 47.9 (1.27) 41.6 (0.59) 42.6 (0.73) 50.6 (1.67) 51.7 (0.88) 44.5 (1.13) 55.8 (2.63) 57.6 (2.06)
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) (†) (†) (†) (†) 10.2 (0.65) 10.5 (0.38) 8.7 (0.71) (†) (†) (†) (†)
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) 82.2 (0.55) 82.5 (0.77) 81.5 (0.51) 82.1 (1.06) 85.7 (0.44) 89.0 (0.38) 91.8 (0.71) 92.1 (0.54) 92.3 (0.59) 91.2 (1.33) 92.2 (1.02)
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) 30.9 (0.58) 32.3 (0.81) 28.3 (0.54) 30.5 (1.32) (†) 6.7 (0.29) 7.8 (0.65) 7.7 (0.47) 8.2 (0.57) 6.4 (1.06) 7.6 (0.82)
State or district content standards have
   had a positive influence on my
   satisfaction with teaching
(†) (†) (†) 49.3 (0.62) 52.1 (0.95) 44.1 (0.57) 48.5 (1.29) (†) (†) (†) 41.0 (0.81) 49.1 (1.20) 34.1 (2.01) 35.2 (1.52)
I am given the support I need to teach
   students with special needs
(†) 60.9 (0.33) 64.4 (0.46) 67.2 (0.57) 66.2 (0.74) 68.3 (0.69) 72.7 (1.18) (†) 67.1 (0.58) 71.8 (2.05) 68.5 (0.84) 66.5 (1.17) 69.5 (1.81) 70.2 (1.55)
I am generally satisfied with being a
   teacher at this school
(†) 89.7 (0.24) 90.9 (0.28) 92.9 (0.31) 93.1 (0.42) 92.4 (0.37) 93.1 (0.59) (†) 93.3 (0.26) 95.2 (0.55) 95.7 (0.43) 95.2 (0.52) 95.5 (0.92) 96.2 (0.65)
—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," selected years 1993-94 through 2007-08; "Private Teacher Questionnaire," selected years 1993-94 through 2007-08; and "Charter Teacher Questionnaire," 1999-2000. (This table was prepared September 2009.)