Seventy nine per cent of people in the East of England believe school teachers are very or quite influential on the lives of others, second only to parents and friends, according to new research released today.
The research shows that nearly a third (32%) of people in the East of England feel school or university has been one of the biggest influences on their life – tipped only by family life (58%) and work life (36%).
Despite the rise of celebrity influence, well-known faces from popular culture – celebrities (60%) and social media influencers (50%) – are deemed by the general public to have less effect than parents, friends and school teachers.
The national survey of over 3,000 people1, for the national Get Into Teaching campaign, looks at the public’s perception of influence and influencers, and how this could and should be harnessed.
Spending around 35 hours at school each week, students spend a significant amount of time in the company of their teachers. Almost two thirds (59%) said that it was between one and five teachers that helped to influence and shape them into the person they are today, and 44% felt 13-15 years was the age during school life that teachers influenced them most.
