Two-thirds of K-12 public school teachers think it is very important for the news media to cover how student poverty and behavioral problems affect teaching and learning––and even more think it is somewhat important. While this was the most commonly covered topic in both national and local newspapers, those articles rarely included teachers’ voices. And articles that mentioned teachers rarely portrayed them dealing with student poverty and behavioral factors.
Two-thirds of teachers also think it is very important for newspapers to cover whether teachers have sufficient teaching supplies and materials. Over half also think it is very important for newspapers to cover whether there are enough trained teachers to fill teaching jobs. Yet articles that mentioned teachers rarely depicted shortages, attrition, or a lack of classroom resources.
Evaluation was the second most frequently covered topic in national newspapers. Yet only one-third of teachers think it is very important for the news media to cover how schools decide whether teachers are effectively helping students learn.
More teachers think it is very important for the media to cover student poverty and teacher shortages than evaluation or extracurriculars.
Percent of K-12 public school teachers who say it is very important for the news media to cover each of the following topics about K-12 public school teachers. Base: Teachers, N=702.
Newspapers rarely portrayed #K12 #teachers dealing with shortages, attrition, or lack of classroom resources, all issues that most teachers think are very important for the media to cover, according to @publicagenda research.