69´«Ã½

Teaching Profession From Our Research Center

Educator Morale, School Job Applicants Declining, Survey Shows

By Holly Kurtz — November 04, 2020 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Educator morale is dropping. School districts are reporting fewer job applicants. Student mask requirements are expanding. And there is a big range in the amount of live instruction schools offer daily.

Those are four key findings from the EdWeek Research Center’s latest monthly survey about the impact of the coronavirus on schools and other timely topics.

The EdWeek Research Center administered the online survey Oct. 28 and 29. A total of 1,630 educators responded, including 495 district leaders, 310 principals, and 825 teachers.

1. Educator Morale Hits Lowest Point Since Pandemic Started

Teacher, administrator, and hourly employee morale have hit their lowest points since the EdWeek Research Center first started tracking this metric on March 25.
Of those three groups, teachers are faring the worst: 84 percent of teachers and administrators say teacher morale is lower now than it was prior to the pandemic. That’s up from 71 percent the last time the Research Center asked about morale in late August and from 56 percent in March.
Hourly employees aren’t far behind: 76 percent of teachers and district leaders say hourly employee morale is lower now than prior to the pandemic. Respondents in larger districts with 10,000 or more students are especially likely to say hourly employee morale has declined. Eighty-four percent of teachers and district leaders in those districts say hourly employee morale is down, compared with 68 percent of those in smaller districts with fewer than 2,500 students.

2. Number of Job Applications for School Positions Declines

Despite caused by the pandemic-induced recession, half of principals and district leaders say they’re receiving fewer job applications right now than they did last year at this time. By contrast, just 8 percent say they’re receiving more
The decline has hit larger districts especially hard. In districts with 10,000 or more students, 67 percent of principals and district administrators say the number of applications has declined. By comparison, 48 percent of school and district administrators in school systems with less than 2,500 students have seen declines.

3. Student Mask Requirements Continue to Expand

The share of district leaders reporting that their school systems require students to wear masks has continued to rise. Ninety-two percent of district-level administrators say masks are required, or will be if in-person instruction occurs, up from 82 percent the last time the EdWeek Research Center asked about it on Oct. 8.
Although student mask requirements are close to ubiquitous, they are reported slightly less often by rural leaders and those from smaller school districts.

4. There is a wide range in the amount of daily, live instruction offered by schools

Most district leaders (84 percent) say their students are engaging in remote learning at least part of the time.

Most of the teachers, principals, and district leaders involved in full-time remote learning or a mix of remote and in-person instruction say students are receiving at least four hours daily of live, synchronous instruction on days they’re not at school.

However, 1 in 5 say students receive less than two hours of live, synchronous learning each day. And only 3 percent say they get seven hours or more.

Older students tend to get more live, synchronous learning time. Twenty-seven percent of high school teachers and principals say their students get six or more hours daily of live, synchronous instruction on days they’re not at school, compared with 22 percent of middle school educators and 9 percent of elementary school principals and teachers.

In addition, compared with their peers who are only providing remote instruction, educators whose schools are offering a combination of in-person and online learning are roughly twice as likely to be offering six or more hours daily of live, synchronous instruction on days students are not on campus (10 percent vs. 20 percent).

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69´«Ã½
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Teaching Profession Data What Teacher Pay and Benefits Look Like, in Charts
A third of teachers report inadequate pay, and Black teachers are the likeliest to do extra unpaid work.
4 min read
Vector illustration of a woman turning a piggy bank upside down with nothing but a few coins and flies falling out of it.
iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession The State of Teaching Why Teachers Likely Take So Few Days Off
The perception coincides with teachers' low levels of job satisfaction.
3 min read
survey teachers static
via Canva
Teaching Profession What the Research Says The More 69´«Ã½ Miss Class, the Worse Teachers Feel About Their Jobs
Missing kids take a toll on teachers' morale, new research says. Here's how educators can cope with absenteeism.
4 min read
An empty elementary school classroom is seen on Aug. 17, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York. Nationwide, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened after COVID-forced closures. More than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year.
An empty elementary school classroom is seen on Aug. 17, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York. Nationwide, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened after COVID-forced closures. Now research suggests the phenomenon may be depressing teachers' job satisfaction.
Brittainy Newman/AP
Teaching Profession Will Your Classroom Get Enough 'Likes'? Teachers Feel the Social Media Pressure
Teachers active on social media feel the competition to showcase innovative lessons and beautiful decorations.
5 min read
Image of a cellphone on a desk.
iStock/Getty