The survey conducted on Contact in the first half of 1997 received a total of 925 responses. Approximately 44 percent of the respondents were from primary schools, 40 percent from secondary schools, nine percent from JC/CI and seven percent from MOE HQ. About 59 percent of respondents read every issue of Contact, 23 percent most issues and 14 percent some issues only.

Content

The three most read sections of the newsletter are What Teachers Asked, Updates and Reflections.

About 80 percent of respondents felt that the content of Contact was interesting and readable. On whether they felt that Contact provided useful and relevant information, 84 percent either strongly agreed or agreed to this.

Overall, 78 percent of respondents were satisfied with the content of the newsletter, 17 percent remained neutral and five percent were dissatisfied.

The most number of suggestions received for content was the inclusion of a forum page which accepts letters to the editorial board and provides a platform for exchanging ideas and feedback.

Respondents also felt that the following topics would be useful and relevant to them:-

• Sharing of teaching techniques and ideas on classroom management
• Improvements or interesting programmes adopted in schools
• Human resource issues e.g. staff welfare, workload, benefits, retirement plans, etc.
• Courses available for teachers
• Sharing of common problems faced by schools/teachers

Some respondents also suggested that light-hearted articles such jokes, health or leisure tips and even contests be included in the newsletter.

Design

On the layout and design of Contact, 73 percent of respondents agreed that they were currently satisfied with its appearance, while 23 percent remained neutral and four percent expressed dissatisfaction.

Among the suggestions received for improving the design were a more colourful layout and higher usage of photographs and/or graphics.

Other Suggestions

Some respondents suggested using environment-friendly paper for the newsletter.

To help conserve paper further, respondents suggested that only one copy of Contact be sent to homes where there are more than one teacher in the family. Alternatively, teachers could read a copy of Contact in school without one being sent to the home as well.

The Editorial Board of Contact would like to thank all those who responded to the survey.

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