General Teacher Questionnaire – English

Instructions

Dear teacher,

Thank you for participating in this study.

This questionnaire asks for information about:

• Background information
• Your initial education and professional development
• Your collaboration with teachers and parents
• Teacher beliefs and attitudes
• Teaching practices
• Your school

This information will help illustrate the similarities and differences between groups of teachers in order to better establish the context for students’ test results. For example, the information provided may help to establish what effect the availability of resources may have on student achievement – both within and between countries.

The questionnaire should be completed by you only. It should take about 30 minutes to complete.

If you do not know an answer precisely, your best estimate will be adequate for the purposes of the study.

Please note that the forward button used to proceed to the next question is located at the bottom right hand corner of your screen. In some instances you may need to scroll down to the bottom of your screen to access this forward button.

Your answers will be combined with answers from other teachers to calculate totals and averages. All of the information you provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law [20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151].

Background Information

Are you female or male?

(Please select one response.)

Female

Male

How old are you?

(Please move the slider to the appropriate number of years.)

In what country were you born?

(Please select one response.)

The United States*

Other country

* NOTE: The “United States” refers to the 50 states, District of Columbia, and U.S. military bases abroad.

What is your current employment status as a teacher?

(Please consider your employment status at this school and for all your teaching employments together.)

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Full-time (more than 90% of full-time hours)	Part-time (71-90% of full-time hours)	Part-time (50-70% of full-time hours)	Part-time (less than 50% of full-time hours)
My employment status at this school

How many years of work experience do you have?

(Please round up to whole years no matter whether you worked part-time or full-time and move the slider to the appropriate number of years. If any option does not apply to you select "0" (zero).)

Year(s) working as a teacher at this school

Year(s) working as a teacher in total

Your Initial Education and Professional Development

What is the highest level of formal education you have completed?

(Please select one response.)

High school and/or some college courses

Associate’s degree

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree

Doctoral or professional degree (e.g., PhD, M.D., J.D.)

Did you complete a teacher education or training program?

(Please select one response.)

Yes, a program of 1 year or less.

Yes, a program longer than 1 year

No

How did you receive your teaching qualifications?

(Please select one response.)

I attended a standard teacher education or training program at a college or university.

I attended an in-service teacher education or training program.

I attended a work based teacher education or training program.

I attended training in another pedagogical profession.

Other

Were any of the following included in your teacher education or training program or other professional qualification and do you teach them to the 10th grade in the current school year?

(Because this is an international survey, we had to categorize many of the actual subjects taught in schools into broad categories. If the exact name of one of your subjects is not listed, please mark the category you think best fits the subject.)

(Please select all that apply.)

Reading, writing and literature: reading and writing (and literature) in English, language arts, public speaking, literature, composition, communications, journalism

Mathematics: mathematics, mathematics with statistics, geometry, algebra, etc.

Science: natural science, physics, physical science, chemistry, biology, human biology, earth and space sciences, environmental science, agriculture/horticulture/forestry

Technology: orientation in technology, including information technology, computer studies, construction/surveying, engineering, electronics, graphics and design, keyboard skills, word processing, workshop technology/design technology

Social studies: social studies, community studies, contemporary studies, economics, environmental studies, geography, history, humanities, legal studies, American studies, social sciences, ethical thinking, philosophy

Modern foreign languages: languages different from the language of instruction

Classical languages (e.g., Latin)

Arts: arts, music, visual arts, practical art, drama, performance music, photography, drawing, creative handicraft, creative needlework

Physical education: physical education, gymnastics, dance, health

Religion and/or ethics: religion, history of religions, religion culture, ethics

Practical and vocational skills: vocational skills (preparation for a specific occupation), technics, domestic science, accounting, business studies, career education, clothing and textiles, driving, home economics, polytechnic courses, secretarial studies, tourism and hospitality, handicraft.

	Included in my teacher education or training program or other professional qualification	I teach it to the 10th grade in the current school year
Reading, writing and literature
Mathematics
Science
Technology
Social studies
Modern foreign languages
Classical languages (e.g., Latin)
Arts
Physical education
Religion and/or ethics
Practical and vocational skills

Were any of the topics listed below included in your teacher education or training program or other professional qualification and your professional development activities?

(Please select all that apply.)

	Included in my teacher education or training program or other professional qualification	Included in my professional development activities during the last 12 months
Knowledge and understanding of my subject field(s)
Pedagogical competencies in teaching my subject field(s)
Knowledge of the curriculum
Student assessment practices
ICT (information and communication technology) skills for teaching
Student behavior and classroom management
School management and administration
Approaches to individualized learning
Teaching students with special needs
Teaching in a multicultural or multilingual setting
Teaching cross-curricular skills (e.g., problem solving, learning-to-learn)
Student career guidance and counseling
Internal evaluation or self-evaluation of schools
Use of evaluation results
Teacher-parent cooperation
Second language teaching
Communicating with people from different cultures or countries
Teaching about equity and diversity

For each of the areas listed below, please indicate the degree to which you currently need professional development.

(Please select one response in each row.)

	No need at present	Low level of need	Moderate level of need	High level of need
Knowledge and understanding of my subject field(s)
Pedagogical competencies in teaching my subject field(s)
Knowledge of the curriculum
Student assessment practices
ICT (information and communication technology) skills for teaching
Student behavior and classroom management
School management and administration
Approaches to individualized learning
Teaching students with special needs
Teaching in a multicultural or multilingual setting
Teaching cross-curricular skills (e.g., problem solving, learning-to-learn)
Student career guidance and counseling
Internal evaluation or self-evaluation of schools
Use of evaluation results
Teacher-parent cooperation
Second language teaching
Communicating with people from different cultures or countries
Teaching about equity and diversity

Are you required to take part in professional development activities?

(Please select one response.)

Yes

No

During the last 12 months, did you participate in any of the following professional development activities?

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Yes	No
Courses/workshops (e.g., on subject matter or methods and/or other education related topics)
Education conferences or seminars (where teachers and/or researchers present their research results and discuss educational issues)
Observation visits to other schools
Observation visits to business premises, public organizations, non-governmental organizations
In-service training courses in business premises, public organizations, non-governmental organizations

During the last 12 months, did you participate in any of the following activities?

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Yes	No
Degree program
Participation in a network of teachers formed specifically for the professional development of teachers
Individual or collaborative research on a topic of interest to you professionally
Mentoring and/or peer observation and coaching, as part of a formal school arrangement
Reading professional literature (e.g., journals, evidence-based papers, thesis papers)
Engaging in informal dialogue with your colleagues on how to improve your teaching

About how much time per week do you spend reading for your work (e.g., articles, magazines, books, manuals, and websites) out of your classes?

(Please select one response.)

Less than 1 hour a week

1-3 hours a week

4-6 hours a week

More than 6 hours a week

We would like to know how you generally feel about your job. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly agree
The advantages of being a teacher clearly outweigh the disadvantages.
If I could decide again, I would still choose to work as a teacher.
I would like to change to another school if that were possible.
I regret that I decided to become a teacher.
I enjoy working at this school.
I wonder whether it would have been better to choose another profession.
I would recommend my school as a good place to work.
I think that the teaching profession is valued in society.
I am satisfied with my performance in this school.
All in all, I am satisfied with my job.

In your teaching, to what extent can you do the following?

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Not at all	To some extent	Quite a bit	A lot
Get students to believe they can do well in school work
Help my students value learning
Craft good questions for my students
Control disruptive behavior in the classroom
Motivate students who show low interest in school work
Make my expectations about student behavior clear
Help students think critically
Get students to follow classroom rules
Calm a student who is disruptive or noisy
Use a variety of assessment strategies
Provide an alternative explanation (e.g., when students are confused)
Implement alternative instructional strategies in my classroom

On average, how often do you do the following in this school?

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Never	Once a year or less	2-4 times a year	5-10 times a year	1-3 times a month	Once a week or more
Exchange teaching materials with colleagues
Engage in discussions about the learning development of specific students
Work with other teachers in my school to ensure common standards in evaluations for assessing student progress
Attend team conferences

Your School

Is your school’s capacity to provide instruction hindered by any of the following issues?

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Not at all	Very little	To some extent	A lot
A lack of teaching staff
Inadequate or poorly qualified teaching staff
A lack of assisting staff
Inadequate or poorly qualified assisting staff
A lack of educational material (e.g., textbooks, IT equipment, library or laboratory material)
Inadequate or poor quality educational material (e.g., textbooks, IT equipment, library or laboratory material)
A lack of physical infrastructure (e.g., building, grounds, heating/cooling, lighting and PA systems)
Inadequate or poor quality physical infrastructure (e.g., building, grounds, heating/cooling, lighting and PA systems)

How much do you agree with the following statements?

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Strongly Disgree	Disgree	Agree	Strongly Agree
Every teacher should be trained to teach reading comprehension.
Every teacher has a responsibility to improve students' reading comprehension skills.
I know how to diagnose the students' reading comprehension problems.
I am very confident in my capability to teach reading comprehension strategies.

How often do you teach the following aspects of reading comprehension in your lessons?

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Never or almost never	Some lessons	Many lessons	Every lesson or almost every lesson
Summarizing strategies
Connecting texts with prior content knowledge
Monitoring comprehension
Adapting the mode of reading depending on reading purposes
Assessing credibility of information available on the Internet
Searching and selecting relevant information on the Internet

In your lessons, have you ever taught any of the following things?

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Yes	No
How to use keywords when using a search engine such as Google©, Yahoo©, etc.
How to decide whether to trust information from the Internet
How to compare different web pages and decide what information is more relevant for the students' school work
To understand the consequences of making information publicly available online on Facebook©, Instagram©, etc.
How to use the short description below the links in the list of results of a search
How to detect whether the information is subjective or biased
How to detect phishing or spam emails

During this academic year, how many pages was the longest piece of text your 10th-grade students had to read for your lessons?

(Please select one response.)

One page or less

Between 2 and 10 pages

Between 11 and 50 pages

Between 51 and 100 pages

Between 101 and 500 pages

More than 500 pages

How often did you use the following tools in your teaching this school year?

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Never	In some lessons	In most lessons	In every or almost every lesson
Tutorial software or practice programs
Digital learning games
Word processors or presentation software (e.g., Microsoft Word®, Microsoft PowerPoint®)
Spreadsheets (e.g., Microsoft Excel®)
Multimedia production tools (e.g., media capture and editing, web production)
Concept mapping software (e.g., Inspiration®, Webspiration®)
Data logging and monitoring tools
Simulations and modeling software
Social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter)
Communication software (e.g., email, blogs)
Computer-based information resources (e.g., websites, wikis, encyclopedia)
Interactive digital learning resources (e.g., learning objects)
Graphing or drawing software
E-portfolios

Does your school have a policy concerning the use of digital devices for teaching?

(Please select one response.)

Yes

No

How often do you use the following methods of assessing student learning?

(If you need further explanation of the term "standardized tests," please use the help button.)

(Please select one response in each row.)

Here, the term standardized tests includes standardized mandatory tests (mandated e.g., by state, district, or other governing authorities) as well as standardized non-mandatory tests (e.g., publicly or commercial available standardized test material). These tests are consistent in design, content, administration and scoring. Results can be compared across students and schools.

	Never or almost never	Some lessons	Most lessons	Every lesson or almost every lesson
I develop and administer my own assessment.
I administer a standardized test.
I have individual students answer questions in front of the class.
I provide written feedback on student work in addition to a grade.
I let students judge their own progress.
I observe students when working on particular tasks and provide immediate feedback.
I collect data from classroom assignments or home work.

How often do these things happen in your lessons?

(Please select one response in each row.)

	Never or almost never	Some lessons	Many lessons	Every lesson or almost every lesson
I tell students how they are performing in my course.
I give students feedback on their strengths in my course.
I tell students in which areas they can still improve.
I tell students how they can improve their performance.
I advise students on how to reach their learning goals.

How often are you involved in the following reading activities?

(Please select one response in each row. If you don't know what the activity is, select "I don't know what it is.")

	I don't know what it is	Never or almost never	Several times a month	Several times a week	Several times a day
Reading emails
Chat online (e.g., WhatsApp®, Messenger®)
Reading online news
Searching information online to learn about a particular topic
Taking part in online group discussions or forums
Searching for practical information online (e.g., schedules, events, tips, recipes)

Which of the following statements best describes how you read books (on any topic)?

(Please select one response.)

I rarely or never read books.

I read books more often in paper format.

I read books more often on digital devices (e.g., e-reader, tablet, smartphone, computer).

I read books equally often in paper format and on digital devices.

Which of the following statements best describes how you read the news (e.g., politics, culture, sports, local news)?

(Please select one response.)

I do not follow the news at all.

I only watch or listen to the news (e.g., radio, television, podcasts).

I read the news more often on digital devices (e.g., tablet, smartphone, computer).

I read the news more often on paper (e.g., newspapers, magazines).

I read the news equally often in paper format and on digital devices.

Thank you very much for your cooperation in completing this questionnaire!