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Digest of Education Statistics
1996 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

Table 27.Teachers' perceptions about teaching and school conditions, by type and control of school: 1993-94

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                                         |  Percent of teachers somewhat agreeing or strongly agreeing with statement
                                         |------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         |      Public school teachers          |       Private school teachers
                Statement                |--------------------------------------|---------------------------------------
                                         |        |Elementary|Secondary|Combined|        |Elementary|Secondary|Combined
                                         | Total  | schools  | schools |schools | Total  | schools  | schools | schools
-----------------------------------------|--------|----------|---------|--------|--------|----------|---------|---------
                    1                    |   2    |    3     |    4    |   5    |   6    |    7     |    8    |    9
-----------------------------------------|--------|----------|---------|--------|--------|----------|---------|---------
The school administration's behavior     |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  toward the staff is supportive  .......|   79.2 |     80.7 |    76.8 |   77.0 |   88.2 |     89.4 |    83.3 |    88.7
My principal enforces school rules for   |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  student conduct and backs me up when I |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  need it ...............................|   80.8 |     82.0 |    78.6 |   81.4 |   88.4 |     89.3 |    84.4 |    88.5
The principal lets staff members know    |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  what is expected of them  .............|   85.6 |     86.9 |    83.5 |   82.1 |   88.2 |     89.1 |    86.6 |    88.2
Principal talks to me frequently about   |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  my instructional practices ............|   44.3 |     49.0 |    35.6 |   45.7 |   54.0 |     58.3 |    41.2 |    53.7
Goals and priorities for the school are  |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  clear  ................................|   82.8 |     85.4 |    78.1 |   79.3 |   90.2 |     90.9 |    88.3 |    90.2
Teachers in this school are evaluated    |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  fairly  ...............................|   87.9 |     88.6 |    86.6 |   85.3 |   89.8 |     90.4 |    87.3 |    90.3
In this school, staff members are        |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  recognized for a job well done  .......|   67.9 |     71.7 |    61.7 |   62.6 |   81.1 |     82.4 |    74.7 |    82.1
Principal knows what kind of school      |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  he/she wants and has communicated it to|        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  the staff .............................|   80.5 |     82.8 |    76.7 |   77.1 |   88.6 |     89.1 |    85.5 |    89.9
Principal does a poor job in getting     |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  resources for this school .............|   16.1 |     15.1 |    18.1 |   19.6 |   10.5 |     10.6 |    12.9 |     8.7
Most of my colleagues share my beliefs   |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  and values about what the central      |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  mission of the school should be .....  |   84.2 |     87.3 |    79.1 |   81.4 |   93.2 |     95.0 |    88.4 |    93.7
Teachers participate in making most of   |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  the important education decisions in   |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  this school ...........................|   58.3 |     62.8 |    50.3 |   58.4 |   74.0 |     75.1 |    66.1 |    75.3
There is a great deal of cooperative     |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  effort among staff ....................|   77.5 |     80.9 |    71.8 |   76.3 |   90.5 |     90.3 |    86.2 |    93.0
I receive a great deal of support from   |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  parents for the work I do .............|   52.5 |     58.4 |    43.2 |   47.4 |   84.6 |     87.3 |    77.7 |    83.1
I make a conscious effort to coordinate  |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  the content of my courses with that of |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  other teachers  .......................|   85.0 |     88.0 |    79.8 |   82.9 |   85.2 |     86.6 |    78.5 |    86.1
Routine duties and paperwork interfere   |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  with my job of teaching  ..............|   70.8 |     70.9 |    71.4 |   65.7 |   40.1 |     40.5 |    45.2 |    36.2
I have to follow rules in this school    |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  that conflict with my best professional|        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  judgement .............................|   24.2 |     22.0 |    27.4 |   26.4 |   15.0 |     15.1 |    19.1 |    13.0
Level of student misbehavior in this     |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  school interferes with my teaching ....|   44.1 |     42.9 |    45.5 |   43.9 |   22.4 |     22.7 |    20.2 |    25.1
Amount of student tardiness and class    |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  cutting in this school interferes with |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  my teaching ...........................|   27.9 |     18.4 |    45.3 |   24.6 |    8.6 |      6.4 |    13.4 |     9.2
Rules for student behavior are           |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  consistently enforced by teachers in   |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  this school, even for students who are |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  not in their classes ..................|   61.8 |     70.9 |    45.8 |   59.5 |   77.6 |     83.1 |    63.6 |    77.0
I am satisfied with my class sizes  .....|   64.9 |     62.9 |    68.2 |   78.1 |   84.4 |     82.2 |    84.0 |    89.3
I am satisfied with my teaching salary ..|   44.9 |     44.1 |    47.2 |   43.1 |   41.6 |     35.5 |    43.6 |    49.5
I sometimes feel it is a waste of time   |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  to try to do my best as a teacher  ....|   26.8 |     23.4 |    32.6 |   30.8 |   13.4 |     12.1 |    16.5 |    13.7
I plan with the librarian/media          |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  specialist for the integration of      |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  services into my teaching .............|   66.9 |     67.8 |    65.8 |   64.5 |   60.6 |     58.6 |    65.4 |    61.2
Library/media materials are adequate to  |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  support my instructional objectives ...|   65.6 |     64.9 |    67.7 |   59.9 |   61.0 |     56.4 |    67.2 |    63.4
Necessary materials are available as     |        |          |         |        |        |          |         |
  needed by staff .......................|   73.1 |     73.7 |    73.0 |   72.3 |   85.7 |     84.5 |    85.3 |    87.3
-----------------------------------------|--------|----------|---------|--------|--------|----------|---------|---------

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Schools and Staffing Survey, 1993-94." (This table was prepared September 1996.)


1996 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest