Perceived Respect for Teachers Has Declined

According to a new Harris Poll, perceived levels of respect between these parties is down - dramatically so in many cases - in comparison to what Americans recall from their own K-12 experiences. While nearly four in five Americans (79%) believe students respected teachers when they were in school, that number has plummeted 48 points, with only 31% believing students respect teachers today.  These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,250 adults surveyed online between November 13 and 18, 2013.

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When thinking about school dynamics when they were K-12 students themselves, vast majorities of Americans recall respect existing between academic "stakeholders." Respect between teachers and parents during this time is perceived as having been especially strong, with 91% of Americans each believing that teachers respected parents, and that parents respected teachers.

So what has changed? Americans' outlook on these relationships today is far less rosy. U.S. adults are far less likely to believe these disparate groups respect one another, with perceptions of parental and student respect for teachers showing the steepest declines when compared to how Americans perceive these relationships from when they were in school themselves:

• Only half of Americans believe parents respect teachers today (49%, down 42 points).
• Only three in ten believe today's K-12 students respect teachers (31%, making for a drop of 48 points).
• Just under two-thirds of Americans believe that teachers respect parents today (64%, down 27 percentage points when compared to the percentage who believe teachers respected parents during their own K-12 schooling).
• Roughly six in ten each believe that teachers today respect students (61%, down 25 points) and that the administration respects teachers (58%, down 30 points).

"Respect among principals, teachers, students and parents is an important aspect of a successful school ecosystem," said Jen Loukes, vice president of the Harris Poll School Pulse, Harris Interactive's longstanding School Satisfaction study. "Adults and children alike desire the respect of their colleagues and peers in order to perform at their best. While some of the findings around this perceived decline in respect are alarming, this is a trend the Harris Poll School Pulse will follow more closely in the coming year."

Also troubling is the disparity between teachers perceived respect for students and parents, in comparison to the relative lack of respect these groups are seen as showing in return. Americans are considerably more likely to say teachers respect parents (64%) than that parents respect teachers (49%). Turning to the student-teacher dynamic, Americans are twice as likely to say that teachers respect students (61%) than they are to say that students respect teachers (31%).

And the most influential teacher is…

Every awards season includes at least one celebrity thanking the teacher that influenced them most in their life. Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes and Adam Sandler (who can forget him thanking his kindergarten teacher on stage at the People's Choice Awards?) have all publicly recognized teachers that influenced them and pushed them to be successful.

The survey also asked Americans to think about teachers they may have had in the past, and to indicate during which school years they had the most influential teacher or teachers.

High school was the top response (47%), mentioned at a roughly 2-to-1 ratio over elementary school (23%). 16% of Americans pointed to middle school or junior high school (16%) and 14% said they experienced their most influential teacher or teachers in college.

• Roughly three in ten college graduates and post grads (31% and 29%, respectively) cited college.

When asked what qualities were factors in driving teachers to the top of this list for them, challenge, inspiration and style were more likely to influence the selection than actual grasp of their subject matter. "Challenged me to do my best" (36%), "Inspired me to want to learn" (34%) and "Teaching style" (32%) were the top selections, followed by "Treated me with respect" (28%) and "Seemed to enjoy teaching" (27%).

Nearly one-fourth each pointed to the teacher or teachers being "Knowledgeable about their subject matter" (23%) and "Instilling self-confidence in me" (23%), while two in ten selected "Sense of humor" (20%).

Some factors varied along generational lines:

• "Teaching style" appears to have been less of a factor among Echo Boomers (25%) than among their older counterparts (38% Gen Xers, 32% Baby Boomers, 39% Matures).
• Turning to the other end of the age spectrum, Matures are more likely than any of their younger counterparts to value "Knowledgeable about subject manner" in this manner (20% Echo Boomers, 21% Gen Xers, 23% Baby Boomers, 31% Matures).