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What makes teacher
working conditions Initiatives so important is that
local communities can learn about working conditions
directly from those who are most affected by them –
classroom teachers. By
surveying every teacher in a state, enough data can be
gathered to provide customized information and reports for
individual schools and districts.
Gathering school level data allows school and
community leaders to
understand what educators think about working
conditions. The
data will also help schools consider programs and
policies that address the specific concerns of their unique teaching corps.
The data analysis section of the toolkit is intended to help community members—both educators and the community at large—better understand the results of their school and district working conditions surveys. Statewide teacher working conditions surveys have been conducted in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kansas, while pilot surveys have been conducted in select districts in Arizona, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia. Data is currently available online for North Carolina, Kansas, and Arizona. Click here to access data from your state, district or school.
What follows are key questions to guide an
analysis and discussion of survey results. This process
can help identify
the working condition areas of greatest need and focus.
After considering these questions, please use the
data recommendations matrix to determine which toolkit recommendations could help address
concerns related to specific questions and areas of the
working conditions survey.
About the Survey
The development of the survey began in 2001 as a part of North Carolina Governor Mike Easley’s Teacher Working Conditions Initiative. The North Carolina
Professional Teaching Standards Commission, with the support of the State Board
of Education, conducted research and focus groups to develop
30 working conditions standards for schools in five broad
categories — time, empowerment, professional development,
leadership, and facilities and resources.
Focus groups with more than 500 teachers validated the
categories or "domains." The original survey,
was administered to every licensed public school educator in North Carolina in
2002 and solicited teacher response on 39 statements
regarding working conditions in these five categories.
Led by Governor Easley’s office, the
survey was administered for a second time in April-May 2004
with some important changes. The survey went online, allowing teachers more time and privacy
to complete the survey.
The online format allowed the survey to be expanded from 39 to 72
questions on working conditions and eight demographic
questions. The survey also added a series of questions
that gathered information on actual conditions as well as
many based on teachers' perception of their school. Upon receiving the survey results, a statistical factor analysis was conducted not only to ensure that the survey was well constructed, but also to create domain averages that included only questions that truly explained the working conditions area described.
As subsequent states developed Teacher Working Conditions initiatives on the basis of this survey, some added a section on mentoring and induction to the five core domains. To date, state-wide teacher working conditions surveys have been administered in North Carolina (most recently in 2006), South Carolina, and Kansas, as well as in individual districts in Arizona, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia. Although questions differ to a small degree on each state's survey, a series of core questions allows all states and districts to begin analyzying their data with the aid of the toolkit.
Getting Started: To begin using the data analysis
section of the toolkit to better understand your school's data, consider the following key questions.
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