An Executive Summary of the

2009 New Teacher Satisfaction Survey

The purpose of this Executive Summary is to present the findings from the 2009 New Teacher Satisfaction Surveys. As advised by the Florida Department of Education, this annual survey was conducted during the Fall 2009semester.

Participants: Teachers in Broward, Hendry, Indian River, Martin, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties were surveyed. (n=177).

Methods: The Florida Department of Education provided a list of first year employment data for FAU graduates employed in the state of Florida during the 2008-2009 school year. The graduates are from initial certification programs in the Teaching and Learning, Exceptional Student Education, and Counselor Education departments. A survey was emailed to each new teacher (n=177), requesting their participation in an online survey. The survey asked new teachers to evaluate how well they feel our programs prepared them for their teaching career. The survey questions are parallel to the Employer Satisfaction Survey. The survey was conducted in November 2009. The total number of responses at the conclusion of the response window was34,a 29% response rate. This response rate is low, yet reflects an increase from the 13% response rate in 2008.

Data Analysis: The survey yielded both quantitative and qualitative data. For quantitative data, descriptive statistics were employed for rates on individual questions as well as overall satisfaction. For qualitative data, patterns in answers to open-ended questions were coded.

Findings: Overall, the findings portray satisfaction among new teachers with the training they received in FAU teacher education programs. The specifics for these findings are presented in the following tables and summaries.

  • Who responded? Participants were asked to identify their current teaching assignment. The responses (n=34) revealed:
  • 19 elementary education
  • 6 secondary education
  • 4 exceptional student education
  • 5 other/ no response

Of the six secondary teachers responding:

  • 1 teachesEnglish
  • 1 teaches Science
  • 1 teachesMusic
  • 2 teach Social Science
  • 1teachesReading

Palm Beach County reported 44.1% (n=15) of the responses, Broward County reported 26.5% (n=9) of the responses, other counties made up the remaining 29.4% of the data respondents (n=10).

  • Overall satisfaction- Most participants were satisfied overall with their training at FAU, with 88.3% reportingaverage or above average satisfaction. Table 1 demonstrates that overall satisfaction has decreased among FAU initial certification program completers in the four years the survey has been used.

Table 1: Overall Satisfaction

% average or higher
rating of 5,4 or 3 / % excellent / very good
rating of 5 or 4
2009 Total / 88.3 / 82.4
2008 Total / 96.5 / 80.7
2007 Total / 96.1 / 84.4
2006 Total / 87.7 / 59.4

Source: New Teacher Satisfaction Survey, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006

Scale: 5= excellent, 4=very good, 3=average, 2=fair, 1=poor

  • Self Ratings of FAU Preparation for Teaching:

(mean ratings presented: 5=excellent, 4=very good, 3=average, 2=fair, 1=poor)

As shown in Table 2:

  • All ratings report at least above average perception of training received in preparation for a career in teaching.The top three rated indicators were:
  • Work with individuals of diverse backgrounds (4.6)
  • Perform overall assigned responsibilities in a professional manner (4.5)
  • While rated in the average range (score of 3.7 on a 5-point scale), the lowest rated indicator was:
  1. Apply appropriate measures to improve students’ computational skills

Table 2: Mean Self-Ratings

Performance Behavior / Mean Rating 2006
New Teachers / Mean Rating 2007
New Teachers / Mean Rating
2008
New Teachers / Mean Rating
2009
New Teachers
Write in a logical and understandable style using appropriate grammar / 3.95 / 4.21 / 4.30 / 4.20
Speak in a logical and understandable style using appropriate grammar / 4.00 / 4.18 / 4.34 / 4.20
Recognize signs of student’s difficulty with reading / 3.36 / 3.76 / 3.74 / 4.10
Recognize signs of students’ difficulty with computational processes / 3.23 / 3.59 / 3.58 / 3.80
Apply appropriate measures to improve students’ reading skills / 3.30 / 3.61 / 3.47 / 3.90
Apply appropriate measures to improve students’ computational processes / 3.17 / 3.39 / 3.47 / 3.70
Maintain an orderly and disciplined classroom conducive to student learning / 3.15 / 3.55 / 3.65 / 3.90
Use and integrate appropriate technology in teaching and learning processes / 3.58 / 3.78 / 3.67 / 4.00
Use creative thinking skills/abilities to generate new ideas / 3.83 / 4.21 / 4.14 / 4.20
Demonstrate responsibility/accountability in self-management / 4.0 / 4.22 / 4.21 / 4.40
Use reflective decision-making skills to choose ethical courses of action / 4.02 / 4.32 / 4.42 / 4.40
Participate as a “team player” / 4.02 / 4.21 / 4.40 / 4.40
Work with individuals of diverse backgrounds / 4.38 / 4.30 / 4.45 / 4.60
Demonstrate the ability to acquire, interpret and use information / 3.98 / 4.05 / 4.16 / 4.40
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Sunshine State Standards / 4.15 / 4.05 / 4.12 / 4.30
Perform overall assigned responsibilities in a professional manner / 4.07 / 4.21 / 4.39 / 4.50

Source: New Teacher Satisfaction Survey 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006

Scale: 5= excellent, 4=very good, 3=average, 2=fair, 1=poor

Compared to the rating of performance by principals, new teachers rated themselves lower on 31.2% of the survey items. Table three demonstrates the side by side results of the Employer Satisfaction Survey items and the New Teacher Satisfaction Survey items.

Table 3: Performance Behavior Indicators: Mean Ratings

Performance Behavior / Mean Rating 2009
New Teachers / Mean Rating 2009
Principals
Write in a logical and understandable style using appropriate grammar / 4.20 / 4.30
Speak in a logical and understandable style using appropriate grammar / 4.20 / 4.30
Recognize signs of student’s difficulty with reading / 4.10 / 3.80
Recognize signs of students’ difficulty with computational processes / 3.80 / 3.90
Apply appropriate measures to improve students’ reading skills / 3.90 / 3.70
Apply appropriate measures to improve students’ computational processes / 3.70 / 3.80
Maintain an orderly and disciplined classroom conducive to student learning / 3.90 / 4.00
Use and integrate appropriate technology in teaching and learning processes / 4.00 / 4.00
Use creative thinking skills/abilities to generate new ideas / 4.20 / 4.00
Demonstrate responsibility/accountability in self-management / 4.40 / 4.10
Use reflective decision-making skills to choose ethical courses of action / 4.40 / 4.10
Participate as a “team player” / 4.40 / 4.20
Work with individuals of diverse backgrounds / 4.60 / 4.20
Demonstrate the ability to acquire, interpret and use information / 4.40 / 3.90
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Sunshine State Standards / 4.30 / 4.00
Perform overall assigned responsibilities in a professional manner / 4.50 / 4.20

Source: Employer Satisfaction Survey, 2009, New Teacher Satisfaction Survey, 2009

Scale: 5= excellent, 4=very good, 3=average, 2=fair, 1=poor

  • Comparison of ratings between 2008 and 2009 New Teachers and Principals- While the 2009 response rate was similarly low for New Teachers (29%) and for Principals (19%), Principals generally indicated overall satisfaction with FAU program completers.
  • Impact on Student Learning-Sixteen of the thirty four new teachers (47%) surveyed provided evidence of their impact on student learning in the classroom. Examples included the use of many sources of data (pre-tests, test scores, compiled spreadsheets, academic gap assessments, strength/weakness analysis, miscue analysis), resulting in differentiated instruction and “targeted mini-lessons”. The planned use of critical thinking strategies and the use of higher order thinking questioning was mentioned by 5 respondents. Assessment strategies listed include: observation, notebooks, portfolios, quizzes, tests, oral questioning, individualized questioning, reading response journals, and literary conferencing. Three new teachers mentioned that they used data to analyze their teaching, as measured by overall student learning gains.
  • Comments from Participants- The survey offered participants the opportunity to add comments. Analysis was done on the comments rendered by seventeen of the thirty-four participants (50%). Six comments were written with a dissatisfied tone, eleven praised specific areas, and twenty four phrases offered suggestions in the spirit of improvement. Four patterns surfaced from this analysis.
  • Satisfaction: In all, eleven phrases expressed specific areas of satisfaction or general compliments concerning FAU training. Of these phrases, five were general; four praised the mentoring and coaching experienced in coursework, student teaching and in the AIT program; one felt the ESOL endorsementprepared them well; and one felt prepared to diagnose reading problems. One student shared “ Thank you for what your program has done for me interms of preparation and guidance. I’m sure in these hard economic times FAU’s College of Education was the main reason I not only got a job as an educator, but my education at FAU has allowed me to keep that job.”
  • Dissatisfaction was noted in regard to reading remediation strategies, the timing of student teaching, and the job market need for “highly qualified” teachers.
  • Remediation strategies:The need for effective “guided reading” and “remedial reading type situations” was cited in three phrases. Another comment shared that the undergraduate reading course was adequate to diagnose reading issues, but not how to remediate.
  • Student teaching timing: One phrase cited the difference in student teaching responsibilities from a fall semester or spring semester assignment. “Students who participate in the spring miss outon very important beginning of the year teacher responsibilities (setting up the classroom, student progress monitoring forms, determining who to put on a PMP, understanding cum folders, and how to prepare and handle back to school night).
  • One comment shared frustration with an earned degree lacking the needed reading endorsement to be considered “highly qualified” at the county level. “I can’t get a job because the degree was not adequate”.
  • Transition to the Classroom issues were mentioned by three new teachers. Two cited the realization that teaching is “a lot of work, for a little bit of money”, and felt that their teacher preparation did not prepare them for the frustrations of “what truly happens in the classroom”. Two phrases regarding the need to learn “a lot in the classroom”, and “pressure to toe the line” in classrooms led two new teachers to say they would not pursue the career again.

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