For Immediate Release
March 22, 2014
March 22, 2014
A New Survey Offers Insights into the Opinions and Career Pathways of the Next Generation of Education Leaders
Young education professionals share universal agreement on the importance of bridging
the policy and practice divide – and the likelihood of being in a new job within five years
the policy and practice divide – and the likelihood of being in a new job within five years
Washington, DC – More than 99 percent of young education professionals believe it is important to build stronger connections between education policy and practice, yet more than a third of these professionals do not have many opportunities to do so, according to a new survey released today by the Young Education Professionals (YEP).
YEP Voices: A Report on and by the Next Generation of Education Leaders, released at YEP-DC’s second annual “Policy to Practice Conference” in Washington, D.C., is a first-of-its-kind survey of more than 400 young education professionals.
“Today’s young professionals are tomorrow’s leaders in education – whether that is in the classroom or in a supporting role,” said Elise West, executive director and co-founder of YEP. “In the next decade, they will be master teachers, school leaders, non-profit executives and key policymakers. They are a serious voice in today’s education conversation and one we hope to amplify through this report.”
Young education professionals from all fields believe that early education/pre-K and teacher preparation hold the most promise for impacting positive change for students and the education system. They are less optimistic, however, about the likelihood of most reforms – and in particular teacher preparation, school finance reform, and higher education access and affordability – being implemented successfully over the next five years. YEP Voices identifies this disconnect between the promise of a reform and its likelihood of actually being implemented as the “potential gap.”
Young education professionals also are quite open to the idea of many stakeholders and decision makers having a role in the education sector. Across the board, young professionals believe that school districts (97.6 percent), state governments (96 percent), local school boards (81.8 percent), the federal government (81.4 percent), teachers unions (81.7 percent) and advocacy organizations (67.3 percent) should all play a “significant” or “some” role in education reform.
Finally, young education professionals are clearly committed to the education field. While the report confirmed that today’s young education professionals are much like their counterparts in other sectors when it comes to employment stability – for example, 84 percent have been at their current jobs/organizations for less than three years and only 11 percent expect to stay at their current job for more than 5 years – fewer than 2 percent of all respondents say they plan to leave the education field in 10 years.
“These survey results show a lot of optimism among young education professionals, and also a lot of insight,” said West. “Perhaps it will be this generation of leaders that finally bridges the policy-practice divide and closes the potential gaps that have held our education system back for so long. Because young education professionals believe intra-sector engagement is important and they are passionate about remaining in education, I believe they can achieve stronger implementation results.”
YEP Voices: A Report on and by the Next Generation of Education Leaders was an open, online survey of 443 young education professionals conducted between January 15 – February 8, 2014. All YEP chapters participated in the survey, while YEP-Colorado, YEP-DC and YEP-Twin Cities served as lead chapters.
Access the full report at: www.youngedprofessionals.org/yep-voices-2014.html
About Young Education Professionals
Young Education Professionals (YEP) is a nonpartisan organization, created by and for young professionals, that connects tomorrow’s education leaders through relationship-building, knowledge development, career and professional development, and community engagement. YEP National is the umbrella organization for nine YEP chapters in existence across the country, which reach nearly 10,000 young education professionals through the network. For more information, see www.youngedprofessionals.org
Contact
Kari Hudnell
Communications Director
Young Education Professionals
info [at] youngedprofessionals [dot] org
YEP Voices: A Report on and by the Next Generation of Education Leaders, released at YEP-DC’s second annual “Policy to Practice Conference” in Washington, D.C., is a first-of-its-kind survey of more than 400 young education professionals.
“Today’s young professionals are tomorrow’s leaders in education – whether that is in the classroom or in a supporting role,” said Elise West, executive director and co-founder of YEP. “In the next decade, they will be master teachers, school leaders, non-profit executives and key policymakers. They are a serious voice in today’s education conversation and one we hope to amplify through this report.”
Young education professionals from all fields believe that early education/pre-K and teacher preparation hold the most promise for impacting positive change for students and the education system. They are less optimistic, however, about the likelihood of most reforms – and in particular teacher preparation, school finance reform, and higher education access and affordability – being implemented successfully over the next five years. YEP Voices identifies this disconnect between the promise of a reform and its likelihood of actually being implemented as the “potential gap.”
Young education professionals also are quite open to the idea of many stakeholders and decision makers having a role in the education sector. Across the board, young professionals believe that school districts (97.6 percent), state governments (96 percent), local school boards (81.8 percent), the federal government (81.4 percent), teachers unions (81.7 percent) and advocacy organizations (67.3 percent) should all play a “significant” or “some” role in education reform.
Finally, young education professionals are clearly committed to the education field. While the report confirmed that today’s young education professionals are much like their counterparts in other sectors when it comes to employment stability – for example, 84 percent have been at their current jobs/organizations for less than three years and only 11 percent expect to stay at their current job for more than 5 years – fewer than 2 percent of all respondents say they plan to leave the education field in 10 years.
“These survey results show a lot of optimism among young education professionals, and also a lot of insight,” said West. “Perhaps it will be this generation of leaders that finally bridges the policy-practice divide and closes the potential gaps that have held our education system back for so long. Because young education professionals believe intra-sector engagement is important and they are passionate about remaining in education, I believe they can achieve stronger implementation results.”
YEP Voices: A Report on and by the Next Generation of Education Leaders was an open, online survey of 443 young education professionals conducted between January 15 – February 8, 2014. All YEP chapters participated in the survey, while YEP-Colorado, YEP-DC and YEP-Twin Cities served as lead chapters.
Access the full report at: www.youngedprofessionals.org/yep-voices-2014.html
About Young Education Professionals
Young Education Professionals (YEP) is a nonpartisan organization, created by and for young professionals, that connects tomorrow’s education leaders through relationship-building, knowledge development, career and professional development, and community engagement. YEP National is the umbrella organization for nine YEP chapters in existence across the country, which reach nearly 10,000 young education professionals through the network. For more information, see www.youngedprofessionals.org
Contact
Kari Hudnell
Communications Director
Young Education Professionals
info [at] youngedprofessionals [dot] org