STATE OF ALABAMA

GOVERNOR’S COMMISSION ON TEACHER QUALITY

Report on the Spring 2000 Survey of First- and Second-Year Teachers

December, 2000

Appendix 1:

Subject-Matter Areas of Assistance for All First-Year Teachers

 

The survey results for all first-year teachers on subject-matter areas of assistance are shown in the five charts below. To view each chart, click on the heading.

Percent of first-year teachers who want help in a subject. Eighty percent of all responding first-year teachers want assistance in understanding laws and regulations, making this the most sought-after subject among the ten included in the study. Around seventy percent of responding first-year teachers also want help in four other subject areas – following state and local curriculum guidelines, identifying and using instructional strategies, using technology, and managing student behavior. At the other end of the distribution, about half of responding teachers want help in managing class time and establishing collegial relationships with colleagues, making these the least sought-after subjects for assistance. The chart shows these results.
Percent of teachers who receive help in a subject. More than half of responding first-year teachers report receiving assistance in five subjects -- following curriculum guidelines, identifying and using instructional strategies, managing student behavior, understanding laws and regulations, and developing goals and objectives. Only forty percent of first-year teachers report receiving help in establishing collegial relationships with colleagues and managing class time. In most areas, first-year teachers were more likely to report receiving assistance than second-year teachers. The chart shows these results.
Of those who want assistance in a subject, percent who receive it. The highest "satisfaction ratios" for assistance were recorded in the areas of establishing collegial relationships with colleagues, following curriculum guidelines, and developing goals and objectives in lesson plans. Eight of every ten first-year teachers who want help in these subjects report that they receive it. This "satisfaction ratio" is determined by combining the percent of those wanting help with the percent who obtain it (i.e., if 80 percent of responding teachers want help in a subject and 80 percent of those same teachers obtain it, the success ratio would be 64 percent (80% X 80% = 64%)). On the other hand, the lowest satisfaction ratios were recorded for understanding laws and regulations and using technology. Assistance in these subjects was highly sought by first-year teachers, and their low satisfaction ratios should be a matter of great concern. The chart shows these results.
"Satisfaction ratios" by student income level. Teachers whose students are predominantly low-income are less likely to receive the help they want in every subject-matter area. The gap is especially wide in the areas of establishing relationships with colleagues, promoting cooperation with parents and community, managing student behavior, and managing class time. This finding from the survey suggests the need for upgrading assistance to new teachers on a statewide basis. Alabama’s testing results show a strong connection to students’ socioeconomic levels, which means that teachers of low-income students have the greatest need for high-quality assistance. The chart shows these results.
Need versus satisfaction. Dividing the results into four quadrants based on need for assistance versus satisfaction, it becomes clear that there are two high-need/low-satisfaction subjects for first-year teachers – understanding laws and regulations and using technology. In both of these areas, high percentages of teachers want assistance, but low percentages of those teachers actually receive it. This finding from the survey should prompt consideration of what might be done to meet teachers’ desire for more help in these areas. In addition, the survey shows that there are three high-need/high-satisfaction subjects for first-year teachers – following curriculum guidelines, identifying and using instructional strategies, and managing student behavior. Providers of teacher education and professional assistance should ensure that their efforts in these subject areas are maintained. The chart shows these results. The numbers adjacent to the data points in the chart refer to the list of subject areas on pages 2 and 3 of the main study report, and readers may want to have a copy of that list before them when studying the chart.