Professionally SpeakingUpfrontDepartmentsFeaturesResourcesGoverning Ourselves

State of the Teaching Profession 2005:
What matters?

Ontario educators laud contracts in the drive for stability, but other issues still loom

by Brian Jamieson

Full Article

Survey Results

Full Article

A Dream Trip

Teacher Hugh Dale-Harris is one of five who retraced - on skis and by dog sled - Peary's trip to the North Pole

by Beatrice Schriever  

Full Article

Playing to Learn

Drama AQ produces results for teachers across many disciplines

by Gabrielle Barkany  

Full Article

Consider the Possibilities

The world is their classroom

by Alan Travers  

Full Article

State of the Teaching Profession Survey Results

Surveys conducted by COMPAS Inc.

Question wording presented below has been modified for brevity. For complete questions and results, please visit www.compas.ca.

Methodology: Professionally Speaking commissioned COMPAS Inc. - a public opinion and customer research firm - to conduct a representative sample survey via telephone of more than 1,000 teachers during July. The results are deemed accurate to within 3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Rounding: Due to rounding rules concerning survey results, percentages for some questions may not add up to 100 per cent.


Priorities for change

Of the following eight problems confronting Ontario schools today, which is the biggest?

  1. Large classes
  2. At-risk, immigrant, special-needs students
  3. Not enough support staff
  4. Student discipline
  5. Curriculum, technology, materials
  6. Government administration
  7. Not enough teachers
  8. Teacher salaries
  9. Uprompted: Other
  10. Uprompted: Don't know/refused

How desirable is each of the following initiatives?

  extremely desirable not at all desirable  
  5 4 3 2 1 DNK
Smaller class sizes 65 20 10 3 2 *
Classroom support for special-needs students 63 24 8 3 2 *
More physical education, music and art 52 29 13 4 2 0
Mentoring program for new teachers 53 26 14 4 2 1
Specially trained teachers in literacy and numeracy in every elementary school 50 28 14 6 3 *
Healthy foods and beverages in school vending machines 46 23 15 8 6 1
Safe schools action team 32 33 24 7 2 1
Multi-year collective agreements 31 32 25 7 4 2
Review of elementary curriculum 26 28 28 10 6 3
Mandatory schooling to age 18 33 20 22 12 12 *
Increasing the number of males in teaching 22 27 33 11 7 1
Modifying governance structure of the Ontario College of Teachers 19 21 36 13 7 6
Hiring uncertified teachers by means of letters of permission 2 5 19 25 48 1

Which of the following would be most and least helpful in improving student learning?

  MOST LEAST MOST - LEAST
Smaller classes 35 2 +33
Increased support for at-risk, immigrant and special-needs students 18 2 +16
Literacy and numeracy programs 16 2 +14
Teacher professional development 8 4 +4
Better materials and textbooks 8 4 +4
Better curricula 6 4 +2
Increased support for students entering the workforce directly from high school 8 10 -2
Standardized testing * 71 -71
Unprompted: Not aware of recent initiatives or reform ideas 0 * NA
Unprompted: Don't know/refused 1 2 NA

Class size

How important is class size in student success?

  extremely important   not at all important  
MEAN 5 4 3 2 1 DNK
4.6 69 22 7 1 1 *

Thinking of the impact of class size on student learning, are small classes:

  1. a lot more important in some settings than others
  2. equally important in all situations
  3. somewhat more important in some settings than others
  4. Don't know/refused

In which of the following are small classes especially important?

  1. In every grade
  2. For special-needs students or those with behavioural problems
  3. K to Grade 3
  4. K to Grade 8
  5. In split classes
  6. At the applied level in high school
  7. Unprompted: Other
  8. Unprompted: Don't know/refused

Compared to last year, are your classes.

  1. much bigger
  2. somewhat bigger
  3. about the same
  4. somewhat smaller
  5. much smaller
  6. Don't know/refused

Current climate

Generally speaking, do you think that the new multi-year collective agreements will bring peace and stability to the Ontario education system?

If yes, which of the following five reasons best accounts for your view?

  1. Current government is education-friendly.
  2. Agreement covers several years.
  3. Atmosphere is not tense.
  4. Most or all major issues were resolved.
  5. Issue of pay and working conditions was resolved.
  6. Unprompted: Don't know/refused.

If no, which of the following seven reasons best accounts for your view?

  1. There'll be board-specific conflicts.
  2. The government won't keep its promises.
  3. Some issues weren't resolved.
  4. The general atmosphere.
  5. Inflation may outpace the pay agreement.
  6. The contract's benefits are weak.
  7. The contract is too short.
  8. Unprompted: Don't know/refused.

Rank the effectiveness of the provincial government in dealing with each of the following problems.

  extremely effective not at all effective  
  5 4 3 2 1 DNK
Teachers' salaries 12 38 34 11 4 1
Not enough teachers 5 26 37 22 9 2
Curriculum, technology, materials 5 25 37 23 9 1
Government administration 2 14 45 23 10 7
Not enough teachers with specialized training in key areas 2 15 37 29 15 2
Large classes 4 17 28 28 22 1
At-risk, immigrant and special-needs students 2 14 34 32 16 3
Better buildings 2 16 33 27 20 2
Student discipline 1 15 34 28 18 4
Not enough support staff 3 13 26 37 20 1

Pre-service education

Describe the impact of the pre-service program at your faculty of education on your teaching skills and classroom performance.

  1. Strongly positive
  2. Moderately positive
  3. No net impact
  4. Moderately negative
  5. Strongly negative
  6. Unprompted: No opinion
  7. Unprompted: Don't know/refused

On a 100-point report-card scale, rate your pre-service program for:

  MARK
practicum experience 81
time spent with other teachers-in-training 72
instructors as sources of guidance or advice 71
material imparted by instructors in the classroom 69
assigned readings 64

Using the same 100-point scale, rate your pre-service program for having helped you to:

  AVERAGE MARK DNK
understand the standards of practice for the teaching profession 72 5
teach effectively 71 3
set appropriate teacher-student boundaries 69 4
acquire the relevant knowledge and skills to teach your subject area 69 4
maintain a good standard of behaviour in the classroom 68 3
help students excel 68 3
understand the provincial curriculum 68 7
work with colleagues 66 3
understand how to monitor, assess, record and report student progress 65 3
teach students with different abilities 62 4
handle the administrative tasks of being a teacher 55 3
teach students from minority backgrounds 52 5
work with parents 50 4

Currently teacher-education programs in Ontario are eight months, should they:

  1. be shortened
  2. remain at eight months
  3. be extended to the length to 10 months
  4. be extended to two years
  5. Unprompted: Don't know/refused

If yes, which should be emphasized if the program is extended?

  1. Practice teaching
  2. Academic
  3. Unprompted: Both
  4. Unprompted: Don't know/refused

Career and professional development

What is your interest in each of the following career directions?

    extremely interested not at all interested  
  MEAN 5 4 3 2 1 DNK
Developing as a classroom teacher 4.1 52 23 13 3 7 3
Mentoring or coaching new teachers 4.0 42 30 17 4 6 2
Becoming an associate teacher for student teachers 3.7 37 27 16 6 12 2
Becoming a subject specialist 3.7 35 27 16 7 13 2
Using your skills as a teacher outside a school environment 3.6 31 27 21 9 10 2
Becoming a curriculum leader 3.2 22 23 25 10 19 2
Becoming a division chair or department head 2.8 20 16 17 10 34 3
Becoming a consultant 2.8 17 18 20 13 31 2
Becoming a principal or vice-principal 2.2 14 10 11 11 53 2
Changing to a completely different career outside of a school environment 2.0 8 9 13 13 55 2
Becoming a superintendent 1.6 4 4 9 9 72 2

Approximately how many days have you been involved in each of the following professional development activities over the last 12 months?

  DAYS
Extra background reading in your subject areas of specialization 29
Collaborative learning with other educators in your school 24
Development and implementation of curriculum materials 18
Being a mentor to a new teacher 17
Additional qualification courses 12
Being supported by a mentor 11
Distance education program 8
Research, development or evaluation projects 8
Being an associate teacher for a faculty of education 7
Involvement with subject associations 6
Board in-service 5
Attending conferences, workshops, institutes 5
Workshops on literacy and numeracy 4
Summer teacher development sessions 4
Organizing conferences, workshops, institutes 3

What is the main motivation for becoming a principal or vice-principal?

  1. An opportunity to improve schooling
  2. Enjoying leadership
  3. A desire to get out of the classroom
  4. Better pay
  5. A desire for more responsibility
  6. Ambition for authority or power
  7. Unprompted: Don't know/refused

Which of the following would most discourage a teacher from becoming a principal or vice-principal?

  1. the politics
  2. middle-management stress - having more responsibility than authority
  3. the psychology of dealing with worried parents, students in crisis or disciplinary issues
  4. missing out on the joys of the classroom
  5. long hours
  6. lack of job security
  7. Unprompted: Other
  8. Unprompted: Don't know/refused

Perceptions of the profession

How concerned are you about the following public perception issues relating to the teaching profession?

    extremely concerned not at all concerned  
  MEAN 5 4 3 2 1 DNK
Many people don't understand the demands and complexities of the teaching profession. 4.4 65 21 9 3 2 0
It is vital for the public to appreciate the excellent education provided by schools with available resources. 4.3 49 33 14 3 1 *
Many people have an unrealistic understanding teachers' ability to solve problems that have their origins outside education. 4.1 43 32 18 5 3 *
To continue attracting the best and brightest, it is vital to promote the achievements of the teaching profession. 4.1 41 32 19 4 3 *
Many people fail to understand the centrality of schools in preparing young people to become democratic-minded citizens with the skills to function successfully in a very complex world. 3.8 27 35 28 6 3 1
The teaching profession suffers from a lack of a widely known and respected representative as its public face. 3.5 25 27 30 11 8 1

How important is it for a communications, information or public relations campaign to be undertaken to enhance public respect for or the image of the profession of teaching?

  extremely important   not at all important  
MEAN 5 4 3 2 1 DNK
4.1 46 29 16 5 5 *

How high a funding priority should the College of Teachers assign to such a campaign in partnership with other education-sector organizations?

  extremely important   not at all important  
MEAN 5 4 3 2 1 DNK
3.6 23 33 27 9 7 1

Respondents report:

Over the past five years,

82 per cent of teaching assignments have been well suited to their content knowledge and teaching strengths.


For more analysis and cross tabulations, please visit www.compas.ca.