Attitudes and Perceptions

If the public schools are to succeed, it is important that educators understand and address the attitudes, perceptions, and levels of understanding that Americans have toward the public schools.

Each year the Gallup Organization reports the results of its national poll on the attitudes of adults toward the public schools. Some important results from the 1995 poll are listed (Elam, 1995). There then is a discussion of three statewide polls conducted by the Wisconsin Education Association Council, followed by a few comments about the observation that public schools are too bureaucratic. Finally, there is a brief summary of selected findings from a survey of more than 9,000 WEAC teacher members.

1. The 1995 Gallup Poll

Grading the public schools: As has been the case for many years, people rate the school their oldest child attends higher than they rate the neighborhood's schools or the nation's schools. This suggests that when individuals have more contact and familiarity with the schools, this usually results in higher levels of confidence.

Not surprisingly, adults without children in the public schools tend to give lower grades. Adults who send their children to private or religious schools give the lowest grades of all: 23% give a grade of "A" or "B," while 33% award a grade of "D" or "F."

Public school choice: 69% of the nation's adults favor allowing students and parents to choose which public schools in their community students should attend.

Private school choice: Only 33% of adults favor allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense. Even among those who have children in the private schools, fewer than one-half (44%) favor a private school voucher program.

Gallup officials and others believe that this reluctance to seek public dollars for private schools is related to the fear that strings will be attached. This fear seems justified in view of the fact that 73% of adults say that if private schools accept government tuition payments, they also should be accountable to public authorities.

School prayer: 71% of adults favor an amendment to the U.S. Constitution which would permit prayers in the public schools. However, when given a choice between a prayer and moment of silence, 70% say they favor silence over a spoken prayer (24%).

Graduation standards: 65% of adults favor stricter graduation requirements, even if it means that significantly fewer students would graduate from high school.

Importance of College: 98% of adults would like to have their oldest child attend college after graduating from high school.

Special needs students: Only a small minority of adults favor placing students who have learning problems into regular classrooms. Most adults favor separate classes for students with special needs.

Biggest problems in the public schools: Lack of discipline (mentioned by 15%) was cited as the biggest problem in the public schools. This was followed by lack of proper financial support (11%), fighting /violence/gangs (9%), and drug abuse (7%).

Level of school violence: Americans believe that violence in the public schools is increasing. However, the public judges the school of their oldest child as far safer than the nation's schools or the local public schools in general.

Causes of school violence: Lack of parental control and the breakdown in family life are seen as the major reasons for the increase in school violence.

2. The 1994, 1995, and 1996 Wisconsin Polls

In early 1994 (January), in March, 1995, and in July, 1996, representative statewide samples of Wisconsin adults were surveyed by the Wisconsin Education Association Council. Selected findings follow.

Teaching as a career choice: Nearly one-half of Wisconsin's adults say they would like to have a child of theirs take up a career as a public school teacher (1994).

Difficulty of Teaching: 91% feel that teaching is far more difficult than it used to be (1994).

Too many mandates: A majority of Wisconsin's adults (58%) feel that schools are required to follow too many rules and regulations, often referred to as mandates (1994). However, when asked specifically about four of the state's Twenty Educational Standards (listed below), forty-nine percent of adults feel they should be maintained, while 44% feel they should be strengthened. Only 5% feel they should be eliminated.

The following standards were asked about:
· providing emergency nursing services
· providing library media services
· providing instruction in mathematics, language, science, social studies, health, physical education, and music
· offering guidance and counseling services

Need for accountability: Nearly nine in ten adults (87%) feel that school systems need to be more accountable to the public (1994).

Unions and "bad" teachers: Two-thirds of adults believe that teachers' unions protect bad teachers. Although the public has this perception of unions, this does not mean that the public is opposed to "just cause" or "due process" for teachers (1994).

Job Security: Forty-one percent of adults in Wisconsin believe that public school teachers have "too much job security." Forty percent do not believe this is true, while 19% say they "don't know" (1996).

Teacher Pay: Few adults in Wisconsin feel that teachers are overpaid; 12% say teachers are paid too much, while 37% say they are underpaid. Of the rest, 34% say teachers are paid "about right," while 16% said they do not know (1996).

Image of Teachers: Wisconsin's citizens have a very favorable opinion of public school teachers. When asked to rank sixteen occupations as to their "contributions to society," teachers ranked second only to medical doctors. The occupations and their ranks are listed below (1994).

Changes in the public schools: Compared with five years ago, 30% of adults feel the public schools are "better," while 31% say they are "about the same." Thirty-one percent say they are "worse." Those who are most critical of the public schools were likely to have attended a private school themselves or have a child who is enrolled in a private school (1994).

Causes of school problems: When asked to identify who is mostly responsible for the problems in our public schools, most "blamed" the parents of students or the "society at large" (1994).

Public schools and residential preference: 82% said that the quality of the public schools is "very" or "somewhat" important in their decision about where to live (1994).

Tougher graduation requirements: 92% believe that students should pass a minimum skills and knowledge test in order to graduate (1996).

Communications with the Community: 43% of adults feel there is not enough communication between the school and community about student programs and services. This compares with 31% who feel communication is adequate and 24% who are uncertain (1996).

Grading the public schools: Twelve percent of Wisconsin's citizens say the public schools are doing an "excellent job," and 51% a "good job. " Only 5% said they are performing poorly (1996). Letter grades awarded to selected groups and institutions follow (1994).

Handling Discipline Problems: Nearly two-thirds of Wisconsin's citizens believe that the public schools are doing a poorer job of dealing with discipline today than in the past (1996).

Importance of the basics: 46% of adults feel that there is not enough emphasis on the basics ; 25% are uncertain, while 27% are satisfied. However, only 13% of Wisconsin's citizens say that schools should eliminate extra-curricular activities such as sports, music, art, and some electives and concentrate only on basic education (1996).

Wisconsin's schools compared with other states: Wisconsin's citizens feel their system of public education is much better than in other states: 52% say it is "better," compared with 5% who say it is "worse." A large percent, 30%, say it is "about the same." The remainder indicated they had no opinion (1994).

Equity in funding: The vast majority of adults (78%) feel that the amount of money spent to educate students in Wisconsin should be the same for all students, regardless of where they live (1994).

Private school vouchers: Only 30% of adults feel that students should be able to attend religious private schools at public expense. This is slightly below the national average (33%) (1994).

Private schools, public funds, and accountability: 88% of adults feel that if private schools were to accept public dollars, they should have to meet educational standards established by the State of Wisconsin (1994).

Importance of public schools: Ninety-eight percent of Wisconsin's citizens feel that it is important for the well-being of our state that we have strong and successful public schools (1996).

Public and Private Schools Compared: Respondents were asked to compare public and private (religious) schools in terms of how good a job each does in selected areas. The percent who said "excellent" or "good" for public and private/religious schools are shown below (1996).

3. First Things First: What Americans Expect from the Public Schools

During the summer of 1994, Public Agenda, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and education organization, surveyed the American public on a variety of educational issues. The study, called First Things First, had ten key findings:

1. The majority of Americans do not feel the public schools are providing a safe and orderly environment, along with effective teaching of the basics.
2. Most Americans support higher standards in the public schools. For example, 88% favor not allowing students to graduate from high school until they demonstrate they can write and speak English well.
3. The majority of Americans are suspicious of and/or uncomfortable with many of the changes in education which have occurred in recent years. Most Americans want to see today's students learning some of the same things using the same ways they were taught.
4. Most Americans favor more traditional teaching methods; however, they do not feel that schools should be domains of boredom or fear. People believe that learning can be fun and interesting, and they feel that teachers and schools should find ways to help students enjoy learning and become more confident and self-assured.
5. Most Americans are not preoccupied with concerns over sex education or multiculturalism. Only a small minority of Americans (about 15%) say that they have been upset by the material in one of their children's textbooks or lessons.
6. Americans want schools to teach values, especially those values that allow people in a diverse society to live together peacefully. The top priorities included honesty; telling the truth; solving problems without violence; having respect for others regardless of racial or ethnic background; and equality, fairness, and getting along.
7. There is strong support for the public schools having a central role in sex education. However, on questions of premarital sex and homosexuality, there are sharp divisions within the public over how graphic and morally judgmental sex education should be.
8. Traditional Christian parents share most of the same concerns about the public schools--and support most of the same solutions--as other Americans. However, they are more likely to have concerns about issues related to sex and religion, and also are more likely to want the inclusion of Christian religious materials in the public schools.
9. African-American parents have the same concerns about the schools. However, their concerns tend to be magnified. For example, when asked about 13 problems which might be present in the local schools, African-American parents were more dissatisfied than white parents in every category.
10. Americans still trust teachers, principals, and school boards to make decisions about how to manage the schools, but the public's trust is wavering.

In a subsequent report entitled Assignment Incomplete (1995), Public Agenda arrived at several additional conclusions, including the following:

• "American support for public education is fragile and porous. Although many people voice initial approval of their own public schools, this support disintegrates at the slightest probing. . . however, most Americans are not ready to dismantle the public system--at least not yet" (p. 11).
• ". . .educators and reformers should stop challenging the public's obsession with basic skills and make the achievement of those skills an urgent reform goal--perhaps the first 'higher' standard" (p. 35).
• " . . . the public is outraged that kids are not being held accountable to rigorous standards--that, for example, many high school graduates can't even make change--and believes it is the educators themselves who are responsible. Interestingly, it is the public's concern for basics which fuels the support for standards. Leaders should capitalize on this support, and not challenge it" (p. 35).

Public Agenda reports that leaders and decision-makers (in both government and business) have a far more negative view of public education than do members of the general public.

4. The Public Schools as Bureaucracies

One of the most common criticisms of public schools is that they are too bureaucratic. This bureaucracy often is defined as intransigent, inaccessible, and excessive. It is difficult to evaluate the extent to which a school's bureaucracy is inaccessible or intransigent, for this would appear to be a characteristic which is unique to individual schools and school districts.

However, research does not indicate that schools employ too many administrators and central office staff. Nor is there evidence to show that school administrators are consuming an ever-increasing proportion of the school's resources.

Data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that central-office administrators, who typically are labeled as the "bureaucracy," represent about 1.6% of the education work force nationally (Houston, 1996). Another 2.9% of administrators work at the building level.

At the present time, education has approximately one manager for every 14.5 employees. In contrast, ratios in business range from a figure of 9.3:1 in the transportation industry to 4.7:1 in communications. The education ratios also do not take into account the fact that school managers are responsible for meeting the needs of hundreds of students and their parents.

In regard to cost, about 4.3% of district budgets go to administration, which is nearly the same percent as it was in 1960.

5. Teacher Needs and Proposed Changes

In 1994, 9,309 WEAC teacher members completed a survey which identified needs and proposed changes in several areas. These included relationships and communication, resources and equipment, parents and parent involvement, public support and perceptions, students and student problems, and teaching load and conditions (Allen and Leverich, 1994). Selected findings follow:

• 66% of teachers say that they are encouraged to try new ideas.
• 51% of teachers say that many parents have expectations for their children which are too low.
• 94% of teachers say that people expect educators to solve all of society's problems.
• 75% of teachers say that there are too many "experts" telling teachers how to do their jobs.
• 68% of teachers say that many children are not interested, responsive, or highly motivated.
• 13% of teachers say that policy decisions in their school district are based on carefully conducted research.
• 42% of teachers say that as a result of their job, they have stress-related ailments, such as stomach aches, headaches, and high blood pressure.
• 82% of teachers would like greater access for students and teachers to computers and related technology.
• 73% of teachers would like more telephones so that teachers can make private calls to parents.
• 88% of teachers would like their district to create programs to encourage parents to become more involved in the education of their children.
• 77% of teachers would like the authority to permanently remove disruptive students from their classrooms.
• 76% of teachers would like more integrated approaches to teaching, in which teachers from different subject matter areas work together on a regular basis.
• 80% of teachers feel there should be greater emphasis on writing in all subjects and at all grade levels.