SPRINGFIELD - Most new teachers in Illinois feel prepared for their jobs and plan to dedicate their careers to education, a new survey says.

Nearly 99 percent of new teachers reported satisfaction with their career choices, and nearly 92 percent were happy with the quality of their colleges' education programs, the survey noted.

The survey is the result of a joint project conducted by the state's 12 public universities. Details about how graduates at each institution felt about their first year in the classroom will be released during a press conference in Springfield today.

The aim of the project was to gauge how well the universities prepared teachers for their jobs. It comes at a time when school officials and teachers' unions are monitoring a trend showing many new teachers leaving the profession after five years.

"I was pleased by the survey results, as they affirmed that, overall, the public universities are doing a commendable job of preparing teachers for our Illinois schools," said Christine Sorensen, dean of Northern Illinois University's College of Education, who serves as the chair of the Illinois Association of Deans of Public Colleges of Education.

The survey found that more than 95 percent of new teachers plan to stay in education. While most were upbeat about their preparedness for the job, there were some low-scoring areas.

For example, new teachers said they felt under-prepared to deal with children who were learning English. They also cited some challenges in working with school administrators.

In another area, nearly 20 percent of the teachers reported they don't have "most or complete knowledge of" state technology standards. Only 55 percent of new teachers reported applying technology standards in their classrooms.

In a prepared statement, Charles Rohn, dean of Eastern Illinois University's College of Education and Professional Studies, said the survey results give universities valuable data to fine-tune their teaching programs.

"Each institution is already very involved with trying to ensure that our preparation programs are as strong as they can be, and this will provide us with an additional tool to work toward that goal," Rohn said.

Copies of the report are available online at www.iadpce.org.

kurt.Erickson@lee.net

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