Industry News
Children 'losing trust in teachers'
Posted on 21st December 2007
Children in Scotland are losing trust in their teachers and have less respect for them than they did four years ago, a new report has revealed.
YouthLink Scotland conducted the research which found pupils feel less close to their teachers than in previous years, the Times Educational Supplement reports.
Jim Sweeney, chief executive of the charity, blamed a lack of after-school activities and class holidays for the findings.
"A great many young people now have a more formal and stilted relationship with teachers. And this is it seeping through," he commented.
Kathleen Marshall, Scotland's commissioner for children and young people, told the Times Educational Supplement that some teachers feel wary of building friendships with children for fear of false allegations.
Earlier this year, general secretary of the Independent Schools Council Jonathan Shephard suggested that state school pupils experience peer pressure to behave disrespectfully and badly to teachers.
This could be one reason private schools attract the country's more qualified teachers, he added.
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