2019 PDK Poll Results and Their Meaning to Mindful and Meaningful Education

By Lynn M. Gangone

While serving on this year’s (Phi Delta Kappan) PDK Poll Advisory Board, I listened and collaborated with scores of thought leaders in the education ecosystem—The National Education Association, The Learning Policy Institute, The Learning First Alliance, The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, among others. We determined what approaches to take to quantify, understand, and disseminate the vast amount of information and data garnered from this extremely worthwhile and useful poll. We discussed the results and how they could be utilized to advance 21st century classrooms, its students, and those who lead them.

What is the importance of the PDK Poll?

This year’s PDK Poll was entitled, “Frustration in The Schools: Teachers Speak Out on Pay, Funding, and Feeling Valued.” The new release is one of several polls PDK has conducted to examine opinions on public education for more than 50 years. The poll, according to PDK, is “a steady reflection of U.S. opinion about public education.” Its results are meaningful because they offer an annual review of one of the most important parts of our society—public schools, and focuses on of some our nation’s most crucial people—teachers. The poll measures opinions on the value of a public-school education and its teachers while giving us a sense of how our schools are supported, or more importantly, how they are not supported. It gives us a hypothetical picture of what the future of the educational world might hold and enlightens us about current issues from the perspective of the public. It informs and helps us contemplate how students are changing and what we, as educators, need to do to support and foster that evolution.

What does the poll offer educators and those trying to better the educational system?

Generally, it offers us a bird’s eye view into what is needed within the 21st century classroom environment. The results depict teachers’ opinions, and the realities of what is happening in our public schools. It identifies opportunities, as well as gaps, in the system. It begs the questions, “How do we better serve our students and what are the challenges associated with doing that?” I like to think of it as the annual pulse of the profession. AACTE’s central work is to support colleges of education, and education programs, which educate students to become teachers. This poll gives us a snapshot of what that profession looks like at this moment in time. From the results, we can identify ways that our faculty can enrich their curricular and practitioner-based work so they can, in turn, better prepare PK-12 students. As the association that educates the educator, knowing what teachers are thinking and feeling helps us equip them with the necessary tools and support needed for continued success.

Why do these results matter?

These results are the first line of defense for change and improvement. I think of it in two ways:

First, our colleges and programs of education have sadly experienced a decline in enrollment parallel to the decline in individual’s interest to become a teacher. The PDK Poll expands upon this occurrence. Its findings report that parents are not encouraging children to be teachers. And worse, teachers are not advocating for the profession either. In fact, PDK reports that 55% of teachers polled would not want their children to follow them into the teaching profession. This gives us insight into what the enrollment challenges are, and what we need to do to increase interest and passion for teaching again.

Secondly, it surprises me how the general public would like their public schools to be well-funded, their roads well-maintained, their officers and first responders ready in the event of an emergency, but that there is such a resistance to finding the proper funding vehicle to make these things happen consistently and efficiently. Tax dollars come to mind as a suitable vehicle. The continued dichotomy of what we want as expressed in the poll versus what we are willing to support is fascinating. An interesting commentary on PDK’s website by Maria Ferguson struck a nerve. She writes about how the poll shows that people would be in support of funding schools and education with gambling, state lottery, and legal marijuana sales. The issue here is that we are abdicating responsibility. We are not committing to funding public education, yet we want drugs and gambling to be the revenue streams that funds it. Isn’t that ironic? The very things we teach our children to avoid, the addictions we try to shelter them from are, to many, the answer to how their education should be funded. We will not have the level of public sector service we desire and expect until we are willing to say it is our job to fund education properly.

When I reviewed the commentary from parents and teachers about the concerns they have for students, they mentioned depression, anxiety, lack of support at home, bullying, and abuse. Our children are profoundly experiencing physical and mental health issues. We are seeing increased numbers of students in special education. These are all the reasons why there needs to be a much more honest investment in our young people.

How can teachers and educators use the poll results to better equip their 21st century classrooms?

The poll results strongly indicate that the one teacher, one classroom model is insufficient. From my perspective, educational and holistic needs of our children are not being met. The results strengthen my belief, and the beliefs of other educators as well, that we need to start discussing how we prepare our students and how we create opportunities for students to work collaboratively inside school districts. We must consider how we educate both our teacher candidates and our PK-12 students. We need more technology; we need more of everything, frankly. I really believe our entire approach needs assessing and changing.

What stands out in this year’s polling?

1. I was happy to see that teachers identified teaching citizenship as one of the chief aims of a public-school education, despite parents and the public not placing that high on the list. The fact that teachers did is a step in the right direction. This is an important message from AACTE—an educated citizenry is an engaged citizenry. It seems that teachers believe that as well. Since 2000, PDK has held focus groups, and has now been able to interpret some of the qualitative data gleaned from the past 18 years. What struck me from these focus groups were the stories that parents and teachers told about where our education needs to be and where it is failing. It gives life to the numbers and tells the story of what we can do better.

2. I was a little surprised that among the adults surveyed, at least 58% said that schools should offer bible study. It seems the key point is that morals and values should be taught in our schools so children can be shaped into future leaders. Because we are living in a multi-racial, multi-linguistic, multi-religious country, we should favor inclusiveness of faiths and religions in encouraging our children to uphold the moral fabric of our country.

3. Another interesting observation was not new, but addressed yet again—that high stakes testing has become dominant, and is now taking away from other ways that students learn and other things students need to know. Many countries have a national education system. We have 50 systems, since each state addresses education differently. In Finland, students are offered more opportunities to move, and studies show it has a lot to do with their capacity to learn. A recent PBS news report detailed an initiative among some pediatricians to prescribe “outside activity/being in nature” instead of prescription drugs. The high stakes testing arena does not offer a holistic approach to a child’s learning and development. It is not servicing the student as a whole, nor informing how students can apply learning to all parts of their life.

4. We must be aware of the racial differences in the way parents view how public schools handle discipline. African American parents do not have as much trust in the system. That deserves attention.

5. Bullying comes up a lot, over and over. It has always been a concern, but what I am seeing is that it is becoming an even bigger issue, and that in itself is worrisome. Bullying in the classroom, in the hallways, and over the internet. This bullying is deeply harming individuals and our learning communities.

What now?

When I read the poll and the focus groups’ commentaries, it was heartbreaking. What can we do to reverse this frustration? At AACTE, we are working very hard to change these feelings. We will be publishing a series of papers that examine what is happening societally and the impact it is having on our children. We are working diligently with our member institutions to promote the importance of teachers. AACTE is collaborating with the states to address teacher shortages, and we remain committed to diversifying the profession. Data shows us that most teachers are Caucasian women. More men and individuals of color need to be leading classrooms. To help facilitate that, we are focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion and how we can support—and retain—those teachers of color entering the profession. In fact, that commitment is a key component of AACTE’s new strategic plan.

And as always, we are focusing on the unrepresented individuals within the teaching profession, while concentrating heavily on the retention and recruitment of all teachers ready for the challenge of enhancing and shaping the precious lives of the children we teach.

 Lynn M. Gangone is the president and chief executive officer at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).

Additional Resources

Reports and Presentations

• 2019 PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools (PDF)
• 2019 PDK poll topline data report (PDF)
• 2019 PDK poll highlights
• 2019 PDK poll PowerPoint presentation