Teachers enjoy the work, but don’t think they’re appreciated

North Carolina teachers marched for better pay last May.

U.S. teachers like their jobs, even though they don’t think society values the profession.

They also report working more hours than their peers around the world and are more active in pursuit of  higher pay.

Those are just two of the findings of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) recently released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Researchers targeted teachers in grades 7-9.

They asked teachers and principals in 49 education systems about their working conditions and professional practices. More than 150,000 U.S. teachers and 9,000-plus U.S. principals participated in the survey.

Here is how U.S. teachers responded when asked about job satisfaction:

• Ninety percent of U.S. lower secondary teachers reported that they are satisfied with their jobs, while 36 percent think that society values the teaching profession.
• Ninety percent of U.S. lower secondary teachers “agree” or “strongly agree” that they are satisfied with their jobs, which is not measurably different from the TALIS or OECD averages (both 90 percent).
• In contrast, 36 percent of U.S. lower secondary teachers “agree” or “strongly agree” that society values the teaching profession, which is higher than the OECD average (26 percent) but not measurably different from the TALIS average (32 percent).
• Job satisfaction was generally high across education systems, ranging from 77 to 98 percent of lower secondary teachers who “agree” or “strongly agree” that they are satisfied with their jobs.
• The belief that society values the teaching profession varied more widely across TALIS education systems, ranging from 5 to 92 percent of lower secondary teachers who “agree” or “strongly agree” with this sentiment.

To see the full report, go to: https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/talis/talis2018/