Teaching Profession Report Roundup

‘Gen Y’ Teachers

By Stephen Sawchuk — April 19, 2011 1 min read
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“Gen Y” teachers want more frequent feedback on their teaching, tend to be more open to shared practice, and say that rewards and sanctions should be differentiated based on performance, a new analysis concludes.

But, while such teachers believe in teacher evaluation, they have concerns about whether it can be done equitably and validly, and they tend to overestimate schools’ ability to provide them with up-to-date technology tools, the analysis says.

Authored by the American Institutes of Research and the American Federation of Teachers, the analysis tries to pick out key features of teachers from Gen Y—defined as those born between 1977 and 1995—and their relationship to the profession. It draws on 11 different surveys, focus groups with Gen Y teachers, and three case studies in AFT districts.

A version of this article appeared in the April 20, 2011 edition of Education Week as ‘Gen Y’ Teachers

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