Parachute Digs into Why Teachers Feel Undervalued
In this episode of SOURCE, Dr. Nichole Grant (CTF/FCE’s Director of Research) and Rolf-Carlos Klausener (CTF/FCE’s Strategic Communications Coordinator) discuss the fourth edition of the Parachute Survey. They unpack the theme of this edition, why it matters, and how educators can share their voices.
What is the theme of this edition?
NICHOLE: This edition focusses on deprofessionalization, which is the systemic erosion of teaching as a profession. This erosion has been shown through the literature for a long time as a “push-out factor” worldwide.
Why is it important to study deprofessionalizaton?
NICHOLE: The topic is so important because it’s foundational to many facets affecting teaching and public education, and closely tied to our long-term work on retention and recruitment. For example, Ministries are shortening practicum time, moving to online-only teacher education programs, and increasing temporary certifications/letters of permission. That’s why this edition of Parachute examines where the profession currently stands, emerging concerns, and the supports and solutions educators say they need moving forward.
ROLF-CARLOS: Deprofessionalizaton is not a direct or obvious issue, compared to violence or class size and complexity. It really feels like an underlying, permeating problem that’s affected by all of these other major pillar issues. This edition is about something many educators are feeling but not always naming: the slow erosion of professional respect.
Why are we surveying educators again and why should educators participate?
NICHOLE: This is one way that educators can get their voices heard on a national level – it’s a space for educators to speak for themselves and to name their reality. The Parachute survey has always been about uplifting the professional voice of educators across the country, but also about working to understand and advocate for solutions to retention and recruitment issues that educators themselves are actually seeking, not solutions imposed from above.
ROLF: The CTF/FCE’s Member and Associate Organizations do really strong research and data collection, but we were missing a national perspective. Parachute amalgamates what’s happening at the provincial and territorial level by asking the same questions to teachers and education workers across the country. We then disaggregate the data and show the differences in how the issues manifest in all the different regions in the country.
Is there anything else that educators should know about Parachute?
ROLF: This edition is the last of our biannual survey series. However, due to great engagement, feedback and the importance of collecting national data, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation Board of Directors has endorsed Parachute continuing as an annual survey. This will ensure ongoing, timely insights, and inform advocacy at the federal, provincial and territorial levels. Stay tuned!
This edition of Parachute runs until May 21, 2026.
Take the survey: https://survey.alchemer-ca.com/s3/50558135/665f1c50dfca
View findings from past editions on class size, retention, violence in schools, and more: https://www.ctf-fce.ca/take-action/parachute/
About the Public Education Journal
The Public Education Journal connects you to the stories, insights, and ideas shaping classrooms and communities across Canada. An initiative of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, the voice of public education.
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