TPT Survey: Teachers’ Perspectives Heading into the 2025-2026 School Year

• Key takeaways
• Academics are feeling optimistic
• Academics really feel empowered, however not all the time trusted 
• Academics fear probably the most about social-emotional wants 
• TPT Survey Methodology 
• Empowering educators to show at their finest

Are lecturers feeling extra optimistic within the face of continued uncertainty? Are they feeling trusted? What retains them up at evening? TPT carried out a nationwide survey of practically 8,000 lecturers to uncover insights that assist reply these questions — and extra — forward of the 2025-2026 faculty 12 months. These findings supply insights into lecturers’ views on points on the forefront of schooling at the moment, from college students’ social-emotional must synthetic intelligence.

Key takeaways

• A majority of educators (61%) really feel optimistic heading into the 2025-2026 faculty 12 months.
• A majority of lecturers (74%) don’t really feel like they’ve the belief wanted to do their finest work.
• Academics are extra involved about assembly college students’ social-emotional wants (53%) than their educational wants (41%).

Academics are feeling optimistic

The vast majority of educators are feeling optimistic as they head into the 2025-2026 faculty 12 months, regardless of going through an ever-changing and unsure panorama.

When digging slightly deeper into the information, this optimism is especially robust amongst newer lecturers. Sixty-five % of latest lecturers (who’ve been educating for 5 years or much less) report feeling optimistic, whereas solely 59% of seasoned lecturers (those that have been educating for 25+ years) report feeling the identical.

This optimism is guided by lecturers’ convictions in regards to the career. Universally — throughout grade ranges and states — 83% of educators stated “making a distinction for youths” is what first impressed them to change into a instructor. And 93% of lecturers agreed that they’re guided by a powerful sense of goal, which retains them motivated even when educating is difficult.

This optimistic outlook varies throughout the nation, as lecturers from completely different states expressed differing ranges of optimism.

Academics really feel empowered, however not all the time trusted 

Belief and empowerment are key drivers of lecturers’ general optimism. And whereas 95% of lecturers say that belief from directors helps them do their finest work, solely 74% really feel they really do have that belief. 

Even so, lecturers are powering via to do nice work. Regardless of the belief hole, 87% of lecturers really feel empowered to show at their finest.

Academics fear probably the most about social-emotional wants 

Academics’ largest concern heading into the brand new faculty 12 months is students’ social-emotional needs. Actually, extra lecturers are involved about assembly college students’ social-emotional wants (53%) than with assembly their educational wants (41%).

That is vital, given the rise in classroom disruptions. Over half (55%) of lecturers reported that pupil conduct has gotten worse over the previous two years.

Whereas lecturers could also be fearful about their college students’ social-emotional well-being, they nonetheless see the influence that they’re having on their college students: 92% of educators really feel they’re making a distinction for youths general.

TPT Survey Methodology 

TPT despatched an 18-question survey of multiple-choice and open-ended inquiries to energetic instructor customers on the TPT platform to collect educators’ opinions prematurely of the 2025-26 faculty 12 months. The survey was despatched by way of e mail on July 23, 2025, and was accomplished by 7,964 lecturers. The margin of error is +/-3 proportion factors. Traits for the colleges the place the respondents educate are displayed beneath.

Empowering educators to show at their finest

At TPT, we imagine the very best concepts for educating and studying come from folks with expertise within the classroom. Along with our community of talented Teacher-Authors, educators can discover countless progressive and galvanizing concepts to deliver extra creativity to their instruction, higher have interaction college students, and stage up their educating abilities on our market.