Highly Engaged by School

Teacher Engagement Survey Results and Analysis June 2011

Overview Engagement is the sense of connection that individuals have with their profession in general and with their current jobs in particular. The specific situation at individual school sites impacts the teachers’ level of engagement. Aspects of the working environment such as relationships with school administration, colleagues, students, and parents; the physical working conditions; feelings of personal safety; policy considerations and implementation; support for personal development and growth; prior preparation; perceptions of personal relevance; and satisfaction all impact the level of teachers’ engagement. This study was conducted to accomplish three goals: 1. Measure the level of engagement among the teaching staff. 2. Identify which groups of staff are not engaged. 3. Identify areas to help improve engagement.

With this information we hope to improve conditions so that all teachers are fully engaged in their profession. Fully engaged teachers is a key to helping all students achieve at their full potential.

Study Design All members of the teaching staff were invited to complete the engagement survey. The survey was completed online using the K12 Insight platform. The survey consisted of four parts: Engagement Scale was comprised of eight items that were specifically designed to measure each teacher’s level of engagement. On the basis of responses to these items, an “Engagement Score” was computed for each respondent. School/Workplace items assessed 23 areas that are related to engagement. Each of the 23 areas were measured by two questions that were combined to yield a score for each area. General Satisfaction was assessed independently by two items. Respondent Background items included school site, grade levels taught, and subject areas taught.

Technical Notes This study was designed as a census survey. That is, all teachers were invited and encouraged to participate. The census approach is desirable because:  

From an engagement/outreach perspective, it provides opportunities for all constituents to voice their views. From a statistical perspective, it eliminates sampling error because everyone is included.

An alternative to a census study is a random sample study. The random sample involves inviting a fraction of the population to complete the survey. The random sample approach requires that:   

Individuals are selected to participate in a manner that is not systematically related to the variable being studied (unbiased). A sufficient number of individuals are invited and respond to the invitation to achieve a desired level of precision (margin of error). The resulting sample should reflect (be representative of) the characteristics of the population from which it was drawn.

When a population is large, perceptions held by the population as a whole can be statistically estimated from a small fraction of individuals from that population. However, when the population is small, (i.e.,