Survey: 1 in 5 teachers support ending unions

2011-08-03 15:46:53

Nearly one in five U.S. educators say they support abolishing teachers unions, and one in three support ending tenure for teachers, according to a new survey by the think-tank National Center for Education Information.

The survey of 1,076 public school teachers nationwide indicates that educators are becoming increasingly supportive of doing away with unions and tenure, with support growing by four to five percentage points over the past 15 years, to 19 percent and 33 percent, respectively.

The survey was released last week by the National Center for Education Information, an independent Washington, D.C.-based research organization.

"There shouldn't be something called tenure that protects teachers after two years," said Orange County schools Superintendent Bill Habermehl, a vocal advocate for abolishing teacher tenure. "There's no reason to have tenure – teachers don't need it, students don't need it, and the only group it serves are the people who hide behind it."

While support for unions and tenure is shrinking, the portion of teachers who say that teachers should be paid based on job performance is climbing, from 42 percent in 2009 to 59 percent this year, according to the survey.

At the same time, just 10 percent of teachers surveyed support evaluating a teacher's effectiveness based primarily on student achievement.

Michael Stone, a board member for the state teachers union, said he wasn't convinced that teachers' support for tenure and unions is waning, at least not in California.

"The whole idea of belonging to a union has never been more important," said Stone, a math teacher at Aliso Viejo Middle School who serves on the California Teachers Association board. "We've seen what's happened in Wisconsin. In these tough times, more and more of our members are saying, 'Help us.'"

In Wisconsin this spring, state lawmakers stripped away some of unions' contract-negotiating rights following a protracted fight.

Stone said that if teachers don't support unions, perhaps they simply don't understand the influential and important advocacy role that unions play.

"Sometimes members don't know those good things we're doing," Stone said. "It's about getting the word out."

The report's author, C. Emily Feistritzer, noted that newer teachers are "considerably more open" to education reforms than their more veteran counterparts.

For example, teachers with five or fewer years of teaching experience are twice as likely as teachers with 25 or more years of experience to support evaluating a teacher primarily on student achievement (16 percent vs. 8 percent), according to the survey.

Performance-based pay for teachers is a centerpiece of President Obama's education reform agenda.

Last year, California passed legislation to allow students' academic performance to be used to evaluate teachers and principals in California. But because school districts must get their local unions to agree to this plan for it to take effect at the local level, the effort has languished locally.

Meanwhile, a state bill that would have allowed school districts to lay off teachers based in part on their students' test scores, rather than simply seniority and tenure, died in the Legislature earlier this year.

"In the future, educators, especially the newer educators, are the ones who are going to question tenure much more," Habermehl said. "We have every protection for teachers in the world right now. Teachers are saying, 'If we didn't have tenure, it wouldn't make a difference to me.' Teachers who are really good, who are productive – the last thing school districts want is a reputation for firing them."

Stone argued that the term "tenure" implies a teacher can't be fired, when in reality teachers can be terminated, despite tenure.

"When K-12 teachers say they have tenure – no, they have due process," Stone said. "There is a process by which you can remove a teacher."

Some 2,500 teachers nationwide were randomly selected to participate in the "Profile of Teachers in the U.S. 2011" survey, which was conducted online and by mail; 1,076 teachers responded.

Other key findings from the 33-question survey included:

  • The teaching profession is getting younger. The portion of teachers with five or fewer years of teaching experience increased to 26 percent this year, from 18 percent in 2005.
  • More than half of teachers hold a master's degree. Some 43 percent hold a master's in education, and 12 percent more hold a master's in another area.
  • The introduction of a national proficiency exam for entry into the teaching profession is supported by 55 percent of teachers.
  • Thirteen percent of teachers expect to be retired in the next five years, compared to 22 percent saying the same thing in 2005.

To view the full survey findings, go to: http://www.ncei.com/Profile_Teachers_US_2011.pdf.

Contact the writer: 949-454-7394 or smartindale@ocregister.com

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