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Interview questions sought to probe deeper into issues raised by the survey.Although not all the teachers interviewed had completed the survey this was notjudged to be important. It was hoped that their replies would help shed light onsome of the major issues raised by the survey, and provide opportunities to askopen-ended questions which could not otherwise be aired.Teacher interviews focused on:■■■■■■■■why or how they had come into the professiontheir qualifications, training and career developmentattitudes towards the professiontheir teaching context.Interviews with Head Teachers focused on:■■■■■■■■why or how they had come into the professiontheir training and qualifications, and any specific training they had undergoneto prepare them to become a Head Teacherissues connected to the management and running of their school, includingnumbers in classes, teachers’ salaries, releasing teachers for in-service trainingattitudes towards the profession, including future educational directions.Main findings and discussionSurvey participants and their teaching contextsSurvey participants80 per cent of participants work in state schools and 20 per cent in privateinstitutions. This contrasts with other recent surveys of primary teachers, forexample Papp (2011:2) where ‘almost half of respondents work in languageschools’ and are presumably working in the private sector, and the survey ofGarton, Copland and Burns (2011) where 32 per cent of respondents work in theprivate sector. It can be difficult to collect data from the state sector throughonline surveys as in some countries government schools are not as well-resourcedas those in the private sector, and teachers do not have access to computers andthe internet. This is particularly apparent with teachers in rural schools.By far the largest group of respondents are female (91 per cent) which is in linewith response data from the Garton et. al (2011) survey – 80.4 per cent femalerespondents, indicating that globally primary school English teaching is a job thatappeals to women. The largest group of respondents (35 per cent) were aged31–40 and only five per cent were aged under 25, which might reflect the lengthof time it takes to complete teacher training. Alternatively, the low numbers ofrespondents aged under 25 might be partially attributable to the higher proportion ofinexperienced teachers working in rural schools. As mentioned earlier, rural schoolsoften do not have the computer and internet facilities that urban schools have, makingsurvey response more difficult.76 | Primary English Teachers