MetLife
2003
The MetLife teacher poll is now 20 years old, and celebrated that milestone by interviewing principals, parents and students (grades 3-12) this year in addition to teachers. School leadership was the focus. The main message seems to be dissonance as to what the principal's role is and differing views on how successfully the principal is carrying out his/her responsibilities. For example, 89 percent of principals say their school is "welcoming to parents" but just 61 percent of parents agree. Eighty-nine percent of principals describe their relationships with teachers as "collaborative," a view that's shared by barely half the teachers. Relatively few teachers - one in ten - are keen to become principals. Yet two-thirds of principals pronounce themselves very satisfied with their jobs (and nearly all the rest are "somewhat satisfied"). As for the challenges they face, 60 percent of principals report that finances and "pressure to deliver results" are among their greatest challenges, but only 29 percent cite personnel issues and 20 percent remark on student unruliness. This is not an earth-shattering study but you might want to have a look. It's on line at http://www.ecs.org/html/offsite.asp?document=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Emetlife%2Ecom%2FWPSAssets%2F20781259951075837470V1F2003%2520Survey%2Epdf)
