Table Of ContentPerceptions of Teachers
and Teaching
Professor R. G. Kane and Professor M. Mallon
Ruth G. Kane Mary Mallon
College of Education Department of Human Resources Management
Massey University Massey University
With:
Philippa Butler, College of Education, Massey University
Mark Sullman, Department of Human Resources Management, Massey University
Liette Godin-McKerras, College of Education, Massey University
Robyn Ward, Department of Human Resources Management, Massey University
ISBN: 0-478-13457-6
Web Copy ISBN: 0-478-13458-4
© Ministry of Education, New Zealand — 2006
Research reports are also available on the Ministry’s website: www.minedu.govt.nz under the
Research heading.
Opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily coincide with those
of the Ministry of Education
Perceptions of Teachers and Teaching i
DEDICATION
Dedicated to Professor Mary Mallon (1957 – 2006).
Professor Mary Mallon was a valued mentor and friend to many colleagues
and students in New Zealand and beyond. As Professor of Human Resource
Management with a distinguished record of research examining professional
careers, Professor Mallon brought a critical lens, alternative interpretations
and challenging questions to this project. Her thinking, scholarship and
contribution to advancing knowledge will continue to influence our work and
practice. Professor Mary Mallon led a life filled with purpose, energy and
love. She will be sorely missed and memories of times shared will be
treasured.
ii Perceptions of Teachers and Teaching
Perceptions of Teachers and Teaching iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This national research project could not have moved beyond anecdotal
predictions about the status of teachers and teachers’ work without the
contribution of a significant number of teachers, principals, head teachers,
board of trustees and management committee members, student teachers and
senior students throughout New Zealand who agreed to complete
questionnaires and participate in interviews. As demonstrated in the quote
below from one of these colleagues, completing questionnaires is time
consuming and can be somewhat frustrating for participants who are left to
wonder about the outcomes.
This is the 5th survey I have completed in 12 months. I have yet to see
any change in my workload/resources/student behaviour/salary
(Secondary Respondent).
We acknowledge the time that colleagues from across New Zealand have
committed to this project. The richness of the data provided advances our
understanding of teachers’ work and the factors which impact on recruitment,
retention and performance decisions. We do hope that findings will contribute
to improvements for teachers and students.
We would like to acknowledge the assistance of a number of people in the
conduct of this research and the compilation of the final report including:
Mark Sullman, Liette Godin-McKerras, Robyn Ward and Nicola Maw, who
each contributed through data collection, preparation of background reports
and/or data analysis. We are appreciative also for the administrative support
of Natasha Kershaw of the Institute for Professional Development and
Educational Research (IPDER), Massey University. Finally, we would like to
acknowledge and express our sincere thanks for the ongoing commitment of
Ms. Philippa Butler who has given considerable time, over and above
expectations, to ensure that this project, and indeed this final report, reached
completion.
iv Perceptions of Teachers and Teaching
Perceptions of Teachers and Teaching v
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Perceptions of Teachers and Teaching research project (originally named Teacher Status
Stage Two) was commissioned by the Ministry of Education and the New Zealand Teachers
Council to examine the relationships between key groups’ perceptions of teachers and
teachers’ work in early childhood and school sectors, and the recruitment, retention,
performance and capability, and professional status of teachers. The project responds to the
need for research that clarifies the nature and influence of current attitudes towards teachers
and teaching and identifies priorities for action with respect to recruitment and retention of
quality teachers.
This research report addresses the following two research questions:
What do key groups identify as the major factors that affect decisions of recruitment,
retention, capability and performance of teachers?
In particular, what if any is the impact of perceptions of teachers, teachers’ work and
the status of teachers and the teaching profession on behaviours of key groups?
The project was conducted in two phases: the first, a pilot project completed with the purpose
of clarifying the key groups and refining the research instruments. The key groups chosen
represent those currently engaged in teaching and administration of schools or centres
(teachers, principals and head teachers), those involved in governance of schools and
recruitment of teachers (board of trustees and centre management committee members), those
currently preparing for teaching (student teachers), and those who are making choices about
their future work and careers (senior secondary students).
This report focuses on Phase Two, which involved key group participants from three regional
clusters of schools and centres in Christchurch, Taranaki and South Auckland. Two clusters
of schools and early childhood centres were selected in each region: in the first cluster,
schools and centres were visited by research assistants from Massey University,
questionnaires administered and interviews conducted; in the second, schools and centres
were approached by mail and invited to complete questionnaires. The first cluster included
one secondary school, one intermediate school, two primary schools, one kindergarten and
one early childhood centre from each region, twelve schools and six centres in total. The
second cluster was selected to reflect a spread of sectors, deciles, school types and sizes.
Student teachers from two teacher education providers completed questionnaires and
participated in focus groups. In total, questionnaires were completed by 790 teachers and
principals/head teachers, 182 board/committee members, 598 senior students and 410 student
teachers. Interviews were held with 16 principals, 48 teachers, 15 board/committee members,
11 focus groups of senior students and 5 focus groups of student teachers. Participants
reflected a range of decile ratings and sectors.
In seeking to identify key factors that influence recruitment, retention and performance
decisions, this study provides evidence of: why teachers, principals and student teachers
choose a career in teaching and what would attract (and conversely repel) senior students to
teaching as a career; what are the triggers that cause teachers to leave teaching; to what
degree are teachers satisfied with teaching; and the ways in which key groups perceive
vi Perceptions of Teachers and Teaching
teachers, teaching and the status of teachers. The data set is tremendously complex and it is
difficult to capture all the nuances within one report. There is definitely potential for further
analysis of the data. This summary presents findings and implications organised according to
the key sections of the report.
Recruitment
The findings of this national study demonstrate that recruitment into teaching is influenced
primarily by candidates’ intrinsic motivation and the degree to which they are encouraged by
others. As reported in the questionnaire and interview data, participants’ decisions to teach
are not influenced by perceptions of the status of teachers except in so far as they are
interpreted directly in terms of salary, which is the norm for senior secondary students
considering a career as a teacher. Those already involved in teaching as a career (principals,
head teachers, teachers, and student teachers) report that their decisions were based
predominantly on intrinsic motivations related to wanting to work with children, to contribute
to society and to do a job of which they feel proud. They report that they were often
encouraged by teachers who themselves enjoyed their work. Responses from current teachers
and student teachers show that they were not necessarily influenced in their decisions to teach
by wanting a high status position, a job with a good image, or the need to be respected by the
general public.
The majority of senior secondary school students who participated in this study did not
consider teaching an attractive career. There was an overwhelming consensus from senior
secondary students that teaching is underpaid, stressful and too ordinary. Rather than being
construed as a secure job with a reliable income (as reported by many current teachers),
senior students reported that they view many less than capable and certainly unhappy
teachers as being trapped in teaching. For most senior students, the familiar, predictable and
difficult (often due to student behaviour) job of teaching, pales into insignificance in the face
of other, more appealing careers which offer higher salaries, more esteem and enhanced
opportunities for advancement in salary and thus status. Senior students reported that they
were often directly discouraged from choosing teaching by teachers and were indirectly
turned off through their daily encounters with overworked, underpaid and often less than
positive teachers – all of which counter any claims to the job having high status or an
attractive image.
Teachers, principals and head teachers in this study identify the variable quality of current
student teachers and graduating teachers as a significant recruitment issue for the teaching
profession. They report widespread dissatisfaction with current initial teacher education
across all sectors. While it was acknowledged that there are some fine graduates emerging
from initial teacher education, the overwhelming views reported were that there are too many
providers, entry requirements (particularly for over 20 year olds) are insufficiently rigorous,
there is an apparent resistance to fail non-performing student teachers (especially males),
student teachers spend insufficient time in school-based practicums, and that, with some
notable exceptions, younger student teachers lack the professional attitudes and commitment
required in today’s classrooms.
Status, as a factor affecting recruitment is evident only so far as senior students said they
viewed status as inextricably linked to the salary one receives, the potential for ongoing
salary increases, and the lifestyle such salaries promise to support. With respect to teachers
