The Reality of the Teacher’s Status and the Educational Requirements for Improving this Status from the Principals’ Perspective

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore the teachers’ status and identify the educational requirements to be met for improving the teachers’ status in the Jordanian society in the light of the contemporary orientations from the principals’ perspective. It aimed to identify whether there is any difference between the respondents’ attitudes which can be attributed to gender, academic qualification, experience or school location. A descriptive approach was adopted and a seventy four item questionnaire was developed. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were measured. A simple random sample was selected. It consists form 110 female and male principals who work at the schools in Balqa’. This study was conducted during the academic year 2018/2019. It was found that the teachers’ status from the principals’ perspective is high. The teachers’ status in the economic and psychological areas is ranked first. The teachers’ status in the social area is ranked last. It was found that there isn’t any difference between the respondents’ attitudes towards the reality of the teachers’ status which can be attributed to gender. However, there is a difference in this regard that can be attributed to experience for the favor of the ones who have (1-5) years of experience. When comparing the ones who have (5 years of experience of less), the ones who have (5 years- less than 10 years of experience) and the ones who have (10 years of experience or more), the differences are for the favor of the ones who have (5 years- less than 10 years of experience). It was found that there isn’t any difference between the respondents’ attitudes towards the reality of the teachers’ status which can be attributed to academic qualification for the favor of the ones holding BA degree. The mean of the educational requirements is high. The mean of the statement involving raising the teachers’ salaries to live a decent life is ranked first. It was found that there isn’t any statistically significant difference between the respondents’ attitudes towards such educational requirements which can be attributed to gender, experience nor academic qualification. The researchers recommend treating teachers fairly. That can be done through re-examining all the decisions which may be unfair for teachers. Such unfair decisions may include the decision of raising the workload of teachers. The researchers recommend promoting awareness in society about the significant role of teachers. They recommend engaging teachers in social and cultural activities. They recommend holding lectures and symposiums for promoting awareness about the significant role of teachers in society Keywords: teachers’ status, educational requirements DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-9-15 Publication date: March 31 st 2020