A recent survey by the Varkey GEMS Foundation went out to find out how the “world” views teachers. Below are some of their findings, focusing mostly on Germany in comparison to the rest of the countries surveyed.
Germany ranked near the bottom of the Teacher Status Index, below the UK, US, France, Spain and Finland, with an index of 21.6. Low pupil respect for teachers (fewer than 20%), little trust in teachers to deliver a good education and modest levels of encouragement for children to become teachers (20%) in Germany, are significant factors of a low index. Despite a low respect for teachers, PISA scores are above average and Germans have some confidence in their educational system, rating it as holding a middle rank out of the surveyed countries. Furthermore, almost 40% of German respondents urged for more union influence on pay and conditions, indicating that there is a desire among the public to develop the teaching profession.
Key Findings
- Over 40% of German people surveyed thought that pupils disrespected teachers, this is high in comparison with other countries in the study.
- Germany ranked low out of the countries surveyed on whether they trust their teachers, with a score of 6 out of 10.
- Despite holding moderate respect for secondary teachers and head teachers, Germany ranked 5th from bottom on respecting primary teachers.