For educators, specific feedback is more valuable than general compliments. Public shoutouts of good work can be polarizing. And free food ranks low on the list of meaningful acknowledgments from supervisors.
That鈥檚 according to a nationally representative survey from the EdWeek Research Center of 239 district leaders, 161 school leaders, and 553 teachers. The survey鈥攚hich, among other questions, asked educators to select the kind of praise or acknowledgment from their supervisor that would be very meaningful to them鈥攚as in the field from Jan. 31 to March 4.
The results provide some context as administrators try to boost low teacher morale and keep their staff from leaving. A past EdWeek Research Center survey found that 54 percent of teachers said more acknowledgment of their good and hard work would go a long way toward supporting their mental well-being.
Verbal feedback that was specific in nature was the highest-ranked type of praise, with 58 percent of all educators (teachers and administrators) saying it was very meaningful. Specific written feedback was a close second.
Forty-eight percent of educators said verbal praise with a general compliment on their work was very meaningful, with general written feedback following closely behind.
鈥淎t the heart of it, anything generic never feels personal,鈥� said Christopher Littlefield, an author and the founder of Beyond Thank You, which trains managers in employee recognition and motivation. 鈥淲hat has people feeling valued is when people see both our behaviors and our intentions and creativity and effort we put in, and the time and care we put in.鈥�
And teachers specifically want to know that school leaders understand good pedagogy, said Susan Moore Johnson, a professor of education at Harvard Graduate School of Education.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very important for them to feel like, 鈥楽omeone saw what I did, understood it, and thinks that it鈥檚 productive,鈥欌�� she said.
About a third of educators said they鈥檇 found a public shoutout of their work to all their colleagues to be a very meaningful form of acknowledgment. It鈥檚 no surprise the number isn鈥檛 higher: 鈥淭eachers do not want to be known as the principal鈥檚 pet,鈥� Johnson said.
鈥淲hat [teachers] are really hoping for is not the public recognition but getting that reinforcement that your teaching is really effective,鈥� she added.
Littlefield said that many people feel uncomfortable with public praise because they鈥檙e nervous about what their colleagues will think. That鈥檚 especially true when the workplace culture is not one where employees regularly are publicly highlighted for good work, he said.
鈥淲hen it鈥檚 regular, when it鈥檚 common, ... there鈥檚 less vying for space because there鈥檚 an abundance of something we know is going to come our way, too,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen there are scraps, people fight for it.鈥�
Words matter more than gifts
Compared to verbal or written feedback, tangible and intangible rewards鈥攔anging from gift cards to free food to a jeans day鈥攚ere much less frequently chosen by educators as being very meaningful.
Teachers were more likely than administrators to say they would find a tangible reward, like a gift card, to be very meaningful鈥�39 percent of teachers said so, compared with about a quarter of school or district leaders, who are paid more than teachers on average.
Even so, verbal or written feedback, both specific and general, remain more common responses among teachers. (There was no significant difference between the number of teachers who chose those forms of acknowledgment and the number of administrators who did the same.)
鈥淭eachers are teaching because they want to make a difference with kids,鈥� Johnson said, adding that most teachers want to be recognized for those efforts. 鈥淪omething like a gift card, for many teachers, would not be something they鈥檇 want [instead].鈥�
A tangible reward like a gift card can even be insulting if it is used as a replacement for genuine acknowledgment, Littlefield said.
Employees鈥� preference for direct praise over gifts has been noted before, and it transcends fields. In 2019, the Deloitte Greenhouse Experience group 16,000 professionals working in more than 4,000 organizations in a variety of industries about their preferences for recognition.
Fifty-four percent of respondents said they most preferred a verbal thank you for their day-to-day accomplishments. Just 7 percent said they most preferred a gift.
What educators say
In open-ended responses to the EdWeek Research Center survey, several educators said the most meaningful acknowledgment of their work would be a pay raise.
Others said public support and recognition would be meaningful. A prior survey shows that about three-fourths of teachers feel respected and seen as a professional by their students鈥� parents, and just about half feel respected by the general public.
Genuine acknowledgment from administrators might come in the form of 鈥渉aving my back when it comes to parents鈥� attacks,鈥� an elementary teacher wrote. Another elementary teacher suggested 鈥渘ewsletters to the community praising our accomplishments.鈥�
One high school teacher said school leaders listening to teachers鈥� suggestions, instead of solely handing down top-down decisions 鈥渢hat disregard our expertise,鈥� would be the greatest form of acknowledgment.
An elementary school principal wrote that praise should be specific and based on a variety of factors, including student growth, teacher collaboration, school climate, and data-based successes.
鈥淚t is important to recognize the hard work we all put in,鈥� that principal wrote. 鈥淚 like when a supervisor takes a 鈥榳e are all in this together鈥� approach.鈥�
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center鈥檚 work.
