Business And Schools Working Together

Schools and businesses agree the benefits of working together outweigh the drawbacks, but feel there is room for improvement, according to new research from MORI.

The research, commissioned by Barclays plc, also reveals that it is schools which are more satisfied with the current relationship than businesses. Two in five (59%) teachers say they have benefited a great deal from the relationship between schools and business, while a third (33%) of involved businesses say the same.

In support of this contrast, 36% of businesses strongly agree that business commitment to education will increase as opposed to 60% of teachers who see the need for business support greatly increasing over the next few years.

The dissatisfaction teachers highlight is that businesses do not necessarily understand them, with one in five (22%) teachers saying there is no understanding of how they work and 17% saying there is no understanding of the pressures they face.

Technical details

Teachers in 100 schools with on-going relationships with business were interviewed. Fifty businesses were interviewed, 30 of which provide on-going support for schools and 20 which don't. Interviewing was conducted by telephone by MORI, between 10-23 January 2003.