Story Highlights
- Teachers’ satisfaction with learning opportunities and job closely linked
- Teachers rate collaborative planning as more valuable than other development opportunities
- One in three teachers have a chance to observe their peers’ teaching
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Teachers who are satisfied with their opportunities for professional learning and growth are much more likely than their counterparts to be satisfied with their school as a place to work and less likely to feel burned out. Among teachers who are satisfied with their opportunities for professional growth, 80% are satisfied with their job and 36% say they always or very often feel burned out at work. In contrast, just over half of teachers who are dissatisfied or feel neutral about their opportunities for growth are satisfied with their job (53%), and almost six in 10 feel always or very often burned out at work (57%).
The findings come from Teaching for Tomorrow: How Supporting Teachers Today Shapes Classrooms Tomorrow, the latest study released by the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup. This research explores the key elements of teachers’ work experience that most enhance their job satisfaction and engagement and, in turn, strengthen their capacity to support student learning.
Teachers rate collaborative planning as most impactful development opportunity
When it comes to professional development, teachers report that collaborative planning meetings are the most valuable type of opportunity out of four major categories, with 68% of teachers describing them as “highly” or “moderately” valuable to their development. This is followed by feedback from observations (60%), mentorship (59%) and training workshops (54%). Within each category, pluralities say the development opportunity is moderately valuable.
One in five teachers (21%) engage in collaborative planning multiple times a week, but an equal proportion (21%) say they do not participate in any collaborative planning at all.
More frequent meetings may also make the planning time more valuable, as frequency of collaborative planning time is directly linked to its perceived value. The more frequently a teacher participates in collaborative planning, the more likely they are to say it is valuable. For example, 73% of teachers who engage in collaborative planning at least weekly say it is highly or moderately valuable, compared with 57% of teachers who do so less frequently.
Teachers benefit from seeing their peers’ teaching, but few have opportunity to do so
Classroom observations designed to foster professional learning can take several forms, such as the teacher being observed by administrators or the teacher themselves observing other teachers. Teachers most commonly report that they have been observed by an administrator or other educator, with the vast majority (91%) saying this happened at least once in the past school year and close to half (45%) saying it happened three or more times. By contrast, barely a third (34%) report that they had one or more opportunities to observe another teacher’s class in the past school year, including only 9% saying this happened three or more times.
Yet, when it comes to how much teachers value various types of feedback, the largest percentage (43%) say observing other teachers has had the greatest impact on their development. This is about twice the proportion of teachers who say feedback they received from their own classroom being observed has been the most beneficial (21%). Another 25% say being mentored by another educator has had the greatest impact, underscoring the value of peer interaction.
Bottom Line
Teachers are critical to their students’ success, and prior research shows that an engaged teacher results in more positive student outcomes. But what contributes to a teacher’s satisfaction and engagement at work? Results from Teaching for Tomorrow: How Supporting Teachers Today Shapes Classrooms Tomorrow show that teachers’ opportunities for professional growth are linked to higher job satisfaction and reduced burnout. However, the type of professional development matters: Teachers say that collaborative opportunities, like peer-to-peer observation, mentorship and collaborative planning time, are among the most valuable types of professional development they experience. By giving teachers more time to connect, plan and learn together, school leaders can help create conditions that strengthen both teacher satisfaction and student success.
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Learn more about the Walton Family Foundation-Gallup Teaching for Tomorrow study.
