‘I just love being in the classroom with my students’ Factors that Sustain Today’s Teachers

Prepared for the ACE Foundation by Jan Lokan

'I just love being in the classroom with my students'

This report documents the key findings from a survey conducted under the auspices of the Australian College of Educators (ACE) Foundation in 2003. The What Sustains Teachers survey was administered via the Internet to generate responses from teachers on aspects of teaching that sustain them in their work. The primary focus was on factors that had the potential to highlight the positive aspects of teaching.

As a group, the 542 teachers who responded were most sustained by seeing their students grow both academically and in self-confidence as a result of their efforts. They enjoyed their time and activities in the classroom much more than their time and activities elsewhere in the school. They had strong altruistic values, seeing themselves in a helping role to make a difference in students' lives and to students' life chances. Many were sustained by the freedom they had to teach the way they wanted to, adapting their teaching strategies to suit their 'audience'.

The following response, typical of many that were made, reveals what sustains one teacher: "It is simply the empowerment of children and colleagues through seeing them achieve whatever goals that they have - and those goals obviously vary with capability and interest levels - that really keeps me inspired as a teacher."

The author Dr Jan Lokan is a member of the ACE Foundation's Scientific Research Committee. She recently retired from the position of Assistant Director with the Australian Council for Educational Research where she directed many projects, particularly large-scale assessment studies. Most recently she was National Project Manager for the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, and was also a member of the international management team for that project. Jan is a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators.