Research Report: Survey of PK-12 School Teachers in Louisiana
LSU School of Education Office of Educational Research publishes report with teachers' views of work environments and responses to challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic
August 25, 2021
BATON ROUGE, LA - The Office of Educational Research in the LSU School of Education released a report today, sharing survey results from PreK-12 teachers across the state. The survey was administered to teachers in public, private, charter, and other type schools in the state in late fall 2020. The purpose of the survey was to ascertain the views of classroom teachers with regard to their work environments and how they had responded to challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the survey asked respondents how well their teacher preparation programs had prepared them for the classroom.
In general, the respondents were satisfied with their careers as teachers and held positive views of parents, students, colleagues and administrators. The primary sources of stress in their lives as teachers had to do with workload, engagement of students and parents, accountability policies, and restrictions placed on their ability to tailor instruction to the needs of their students. Pay and resources were also frequent issues raised as challenges for the respondents to the survey. COVID-19 tended to exacerbate these challenges due to its protocols and the requirement to move significant parts of instruction to some type of online format.
"The mission of the Office of Educational Research is research in service to the people of Louisiana," said Eugene Kennedy, PhD, professor and director of the office. "This survey follows a previous survey we conducted of Louisiana superintendents and principals. Our aim is to provide relevant and critical data for education decision makers and partners in our state."
A total of 1,207 teachers responded to the survey. The administration of the survey prioritized confidentiality and voluntary participation and, as such, was not intended to yield a rigorously representative sample of the state. Nevertheless, the respondents represent nearly 3% of the teaching workforce in the state in fall 2020 and their demographics, as described in the report, are similar to that of the larger population. Among other topics, the survey presented questions related to the perceptions respondents held of their school environment, work life as teachers, and the impact of COVID 19.
"The LSU School of Education is honored to serve our PK-12 educational communities around the State of Louisiana," said LSU School of Education Director Neil Mathews, PhD. "Education is the regenerative force in the community. The goal of this study, and future research reports is to address contemporary challenges and to deepen civic and academic learning, enhancing community well-being, and enriching scholarship to improve policy and practice."
About SOE
The LSU School of Education (SOE) offers graduate and undergraduate programs in Curriculum
and Instruction, Educational Leadership and Research, and Counseling, including two
completely online master’s programs. SOE offers a range of professional and academic
degree programs that focus on preparing students for careers in education, research,
policy formation and implementation, as well as program oversight. The School’s mission
is to prepare P-12 educational professionals to be leaders, practitioners, and scholars
knowledgeable in contemporary educational issues. SOE is part of the College of Human
Sciences & Education.
Visit the School of Education at lsu.edu/education.
About CHSE
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division
of Louisiana State University. The college is comprised of the School of Education,
the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development,
the School of Library & Information Science, the School of Social Work, the Early
Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool, and the University Laboratory School. These
combined schools offer 8 undergraduate degree programs, 18 graduate programs, and
7 online graduate degree and/or certificate programs, enrolling more than 1,900 undergraduate
and 1,120 graduate students. The College is committed to achieving the highest standards
in teaching, research, and service and is committed to improving quality of life across
the lifespan.
Visit the College of Human Sciences & Education at lsu.edu/chse.
Contact:
Mary P. Woods
Director of Communications
LSU College of Human Sciences & Education
225-578-6796 | mpwoods@lsu.edu