Question wording presented below has been modified for brevity. For
complete questions and results, please visit www.compas.ca.
Priorities for change
Of the following eight problems confronting Ontario schools today,
which is the biggest?
- Large classes
- At-risk, immigrant, special-needs students
- Not enough support staff
- Student discipline
- Curriculum, technology, materials
- Government administration
- Not enough teachers
- Teacher salaries
- Uprompted: Other
- Uprompted: Don't know/refused
|
 |
How desirable is each of the following initiatives?
| |
extremely desirable |
not at all desirable |
|
| |
| 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?
| |
| 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 |
|
| 4.6 |
69 |
22 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
* |
Thinking of the impact of class size on student learning, are
small classes:
- a lot more important in some settings than others
- equally important in all situations
- somewhat more important in some settings than others
- Don't know/refused
|
 |
In which of the following are small classes especially important?
- In every grade
- For special-needs students or those with behavioural problems
- K to Grade 3
- K to Grade 8
- In split classes
- At the applied level in high school
- Unprompted: Other
- Unprompted: Don't know/refused
|
 |
Compared to last year, are your classes.
- much bigger
- somewhat bigger
- about the same
- somewhat smaller
- much smaller
- 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?
- Current government is education-friendly.
- Agreement covers several years.
- Atmosphere is not tense.
- Most or all major issues were resolved.
- Issue of pay and working conditions was resolved.
- Unprompted: Don't know/refused.
|
 |
If no, which of the following seven reasons best accounts for
your view?
- There'll be board-specific conflicts.
- The government won't keep its promises.
- Some issues weren't resolved.
- The general atmosphere.
- Inflation may outpace the pay agreement.
- The contract's benefits are weak.
- The contract is too short.
- 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 |
|
| |
| 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.
- Strongly positive
- Moderately positive
- No net impact
- Moderately negative
- Strongly negative
- Unprompted: No opinion
- Unprompted: Don't know/refused
|
 |
On a 100-point report-card scale, rate your pre-service program
for:
| |
| 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:
| |
| 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:
- be shortened
- remain at eight months
- be extended to the length to 10 months
- be extended to two years
- Unprompted: Don't know/refused
|
 |
If yes, which should be emphasized if the program is extended?
- Practice teaching
- Academic
- Unprompted: Both
- 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 |
|
| |
| 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?
| |
| 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?
- An opportunity to improve schooling
- Enjoying leadership
- A desire to get out of the classroom
- Better pay
- A desire for more responsibility
- Ambition for authority or power
- Unprompted: Don't know/refused
|
 |
Which of the following would most discourage a teacher from becoming
a principal or vice-principal?
- the politics
- middle-management stress - having more responsibility than
authority
- the psychology of dealing with worried parents, students
in crisis or disciplinary issues
- missing out on the joys of the classroom
- long hours
- lack of job security
- Unprompted: Other
- 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 |
|
| |
| 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 |
|
| 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 |
|
| 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.
