Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Wait, What? Educators Highly Satisfied With Classroom Autonomy, Morale | NEA Today

Wait, What? Educators Highly Satisfied With Classroom Autonomy, Morale | NEA Today:



Wait, What? Educators Highly Satisfied With Classroom Autonomy, Morale

February 26, 2014 by twalker  
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By Tim Walker
Ask most teachers what workplace conditions or policies determine their level of job satisfaction, support from administration, general respect, collaborative time with colleagues, and classroom autonomy are likely to top the list. You’ll also probably be told that teacher morale has taken a serious hit over the past decade or so due to the chipping away – or outright absence – of these factors.
Then again, maybe not. A recent report from theCenter for American Progress (CAP), a progressive think-tank in Washington D.C., found that the majority of educators 1) are happy in their jobs and 2) “report high levels of autonomy over almost every aspect of teaching, including what to teach and how to teach.”
“The data suggest much different than the conventional wisdom. In fact, teachers are far more autonomous – and far more satisfied – than most people believe,” the authors write.
These findings generated considerable buzz because they obviously throw cold water on the notion that a decade of top down education “reforms” – a narrower curriculum, high stakes accountability, testing frenzy – has left the nation with a dispirited teaching force who find their work drained of creativity and autonomy. The2012 MetLife survey of the American Teacher found that teacher satisfaction had declined 23 percentage 

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FEB 24

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