Public K-12 teachers are stressed about their jobs and few are optimistic about the future of education; many say poverty, absenteeism and mental health are major problems at their school.
Public K-12 schools in the United States face a host of challenges these days – from teacher shortages to the lingering effects of COVID-19 learning loss to political battles over curriculum.
In the midst of all this, teachers express low levels of satisfaction with their jobs. In fact, they’re much less satisfied than U.S. workers overall.
Here’s how public K-12 teachers are feeling about their jobs:
77% say their job is frequently stressful.
68% say it’s overwhelming.
70% say their school is understaffed.
52% say they would not advise a young person starting out today to become a teacher.
When it comes to how their students are doing in school, teachers are relatively downbeat about both academic performance and behavior.
Here’s how public K-12 teachers rate academic performance and behavior at their school:
48% say the academic performance of most students at their school is fair or poor. A third say it’s good, and only 17% describe it as excellent or very good.
49% say the behavior of most students at their school is fair or poor; 35% say it’s good and 13% say it’s excellent or very good.
The COVID-19 pandemic likely compounded these issues. About eight-in-ten teachers (among those who have been teaching for at least a year) say the lasting impact of the pandemic on students’ behavior, academic performance and emotional well-being has been very or somewhat negative.
Assessments of student performance and behavior differ widely by school poverty level.1 Teachers in high-poverty schools have a much more negative outlook. But feelings of stress and dissatisfaction among teachers are fairly universal, regardless of where they teach.
As they navigate these challenges, teachers don’t feel they’re getting the support or reinforcement they need from parents.
Majorities of teachers say parents are doing too little when it comes to holding their children accountable if they misbehave in school, helping them with their schoolwork and ensuring their attendance.
Teachers in high- and medium-poverty schools are more likely than those in low-poverty schools to say parents are doing too little in each of these areas.
(This report was written based on the Pew Research Center’s report on the situation of teachers at the K-12 levels.)
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