Do you think teachers are similar to coaches, pastors or something else? It depends on where you live

Across three countries, people agree that teaching is centered on the teacher-student relationship. But they don’t agree on which profession teaching most resembles.

By: Gustavo E. Fischman, Arizona State University; Eric Haas, California State University, East Bay, and Margarita Pivovarova, Arizona State University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: October 15, 2026

Words: 876

Last Updated: 1 day, 16 hours ago

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By Gustavo E. Fischman, Arizona State University; Eric Haas, California State University, East Bay, and Margarita Pivovarova, Arizona State University

Three answers, three countries, one open-ended question: “Teaching is similar to what other occupation or activity?”

We asked this question to more than 3,000 people across the United States, England and Australia between May 2025 and March 2026.

Coaching was the front-runner across all three countries. But the similarities partially diverged there.

Respondents …

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