State of Education Report 2017 state-of-education-booklet-Final-WEB | Page 36

How is the teaching profession perceived? Which of the following, in your opinion, has contributed most to the perception of the profession getting worse?* Readers of this report might not be surprised to learn that nearly seven in 10 (68%) school leaders think the perception of the teaching profession has got worse over the last five years. Of these, more than six in 10 (62%) say that the national and trade media are one of the factors most responsible. This is perhaps not surprising, given the high-profile nature of the proposed national funding reallocations, the domination 62% Portrayal in national and trade media of school budget-related headlines in education news in recent months and ongoing reports about teacher recruitment and retention issues. The focus on league tables and negative comments on social media are also among the top three most-cited reasons, believed to be to blame by 54% and 52% of school leaders respectively. The government’s policy on sponsored/compulsory academisation is a key factor for more than a quarter (28%) of school leaders who think the perception has worsened. In general, do you think the perception of the teaching profession has got better, worse or stayed the same over the past five years? 54% Focus on league tables 52% Negative comments on social media 28% National policy on sponsored/ compulsory academisation 24% Increased transparency/ publicity about poorly performing schools 14% The impression the profession itself gives 27% 3% Got better Stayed the same Union activity 10% 68% Got worse Don’t know – 2% 10% Other <1% None of these <1% Don’t know *Of the 68% of school leaders who think it has got worse STATE OF EDUCATION 2017 | WWW.STATEOFED.THEKEYSUPPORT.COM PAGE 36