Teachers are far more likely vote Labour than Conservative, and look negatively on the Coalition Government's education policies
A new YouGov survey commissioned by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) finds little enthusiasm for the two Coalition parties.
Asked how they would vote if a General Election were held tomorrow, only 12% of teachers would vote Conservative, whilst 43% would vote Labour. Excluding those who respond ‘don’t know’ or ‘I wouldn’t vote’ (as is done for YouGov’s daily voting intention survey) Labour’s edge over the Conservative Party is 41 points, with Labour at 57%, the Conservative Party at 16% and Liberal Democrats at 8%.
The survey, which was conducted during early December and published Thursday, also finds tepid support for some of the reforms proposed by Education Secretary Michael Gove, such as restructuring national curricula.
Four in five teachers believe the changes to curriculum, qualifications and examinations is having a negative impact on students.
Only 6% of teachers think the Coalition Government’s academies and free schools program is taking education in ‘the right direction’, while one in 25 (4%) think the current government has had a positive impact on the education system.
Organisations representing teaching professionals, including the NUT, have been vocal in their criticism of Gove. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) passed a motion of no confidence in the Education Secretary and Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw in March 2013, and the NUT carried a similar no-confidence motion at their annual conference in April.
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