tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/teacher-burnout-88313/articlesTeacher burnout – The Conversation2023-03-24T01:04:37Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2024382023-03-24T01:04:37Z2023-03-24T01:04:37ZTeachers need a lot of things right now, but another curriculum ‘rewrite’ isn’t one of them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517290/original/file-20230323-1627-qu4iur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5463%2C3628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Less than a fortnight after teachers staged a <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/486101/in-pictures-teachers-strike">national strike</a>, education was back in the headlines with the National Party’s release of its <a href="https://www.national.org.nz/teaching_the_basics_brilliantly">curriculum policy</a> – or “rewrite”, as leader Christopher Luxon described it.</p>
<p>In a nutshell, the policy would require primary and intermediate schools to teach at least an hour a day each of reading, writing and maths. Learners in Years 3-8 would also be tested on their progress at least twice a year – not unlike the controversial (and subsequently dropped) <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/national-standards-ended">national standards</a> system from 2010 to 2018.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Chris Hipkins responded by arguing the school curriculum should ideally be a <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/03/chris-hipkins-doesn-t-want-education-curriculum-to-become-political-football-after-national-plan-rewrite.html">bipartisan issue</a> rather than a political football: “Parents, kids, teachers deserve to know that we’ve got a stable curriculum regardless of who the government is.”</p>
<p>Clearly, we all want the best learning outcomes for our nation’s children. But there are deep ideological divisions in the debate about how best to teach and test school children. It seems the curriculum will inevitably become a partisan issue as the election year unfolds.</p>
<p>Behind this immediate contest of ideas, however, sits a larger question: does the education system need yet another upheaval when the curriculum is already undergoing a “<a href="https://curriculumrefresh.education.govt.nz/">refresh</a>”?</p>
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<h2>How the curriculum works</h2>
<p>The school curriculum is not set in stone. Since the 1989 <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1989/0080/latest/DLM175959.html">Education Act</a>, schools have been self-governing and charged with developing their own curriculum.
These local curriculums are underpinned by the national <a href="https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum">New Zealand Curriculum</a> and <a href="https://tmoa.tki.org.nz/Te-Marautanga-o-Aotearoa">Te Marautanga o Aotearoa</a>. </p>
<p>The national curriculum and school curriculums work in tandem to balance national consistency with localised enrichment. As part of the curriculum refresh now under way, Te Mātaiaho/The Curriculum Framework will replace the New Zealand Curriculum. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://curriculumrefresh-live-assetstorages3bucket-l5w0dsj7zmbm.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2023-03/PDF%20Te%20Mataiaho%20March%202023.pdf?VersionId=4mGOdynJVtlzePlxTvWRyHJf_W5tw_WE">latest version of Te Mātaiaho</a>, which includes responses to school feedback last year, was released on March 17. It’s open for further input until May 12. Part of the process involves updating the eight learning areas – what many will recognise as the traditional school “subjects” – within a new “<a href="https://curriculumrefresh.education.govt.nz/whats-changing#understand-know-do-a-progression-focused-curriculum">understand, know, do</a>” model. </p>
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<p>This model establishes key learning stage “progressions”. While it doesn’t go as far as National’s proposed year-by-year testing system, it does set out five consecutive phases: for years 1-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-13. This replaces the current system of eight overlapping levels across years 0-13.</p>
<p>The new progressions are <a href="https://curriculumtimelines.education.govt.nz/refreshing-the-new-zealand-curriculum/">scheduled to be released</a> for consultation in phases, with full implementation planned for 2026. The first “refreshed” learning area – <a href="https://curriculumrefresh.education.govt.nz/social-sciences">te ao tangata/social sciences</a> – was released last year. It includes the new <a href="https://aotearoahistories.education.govt.nz/">Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories</a> curriculum, which schools are now required to teach.</p>
<p>The curriculum refresh also includes improvements to literacy and communication, and numeracy, including explicitly describing outcomes as a component of all learning areas. As part of the <a href="https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/changes-in-education/curriculum-and-assessment-changes/literacy-and-communication-and-maths-strategy/">literacy and maths strategy</a>, a <a href="https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/changes-in-education/curriculum-and-assessment-changes/common-practice-model/">common practice model</a> is already being developed to create greater clarity, coherence and consistency across the school years. </p>
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<span class="caption">Big workloads, inadequate funding: striking teachers arrive outside parliament on March 16.</span>
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<h2>Teachers on the front line</h2>
<p>The upshot of all this is that extensive curriculum work is well under way – and teachers and school leaders are already grappling with the implications. But the National Party curriculum policy implies these changes <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/131581169/national-party-school-policy-focuses-on-daily-hourly-sessions-for-maths-reading-and-writing">won’t go far enough</a>. </p>
<p>If enacted, the proposed curriculum rewrite will require teachers to get their heads and hearts around even more change. This will include overseeing a new standardised testing regime in reading, writing and maths for years 3-8 – rather than solidifying their understanding of the current refresh.</p>
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<p>More curriculum change is assuredly not what teachers were calling for when they <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/03/16/photos-teachers-nationwide-take-to-the-streets-for-day-of-strike-action/">went on strike</a> on March 16. Rather, they were drawing attention to working conditions and pay scales that haven’t kept pace with inflation. </p>
<p>Mainstream reporting and social media posts overflowed with teachers and principals sharing experiences of increasing concerns about the wellbeing of students and staff. They spoke of overwhelming workloads and inadequate funding to support students with complex learning and behavioural needs. </p>
<p>Christopher Luxon addressed this broader educational complexity head-on, <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/131581169/national-party-school-policy-focuses-on-daily-hourly-sessions-for-maths-reading-and-writing">speaking directly to teachers</a>: “In addition to teaching, you have become the front-line response to complex social, educational, housing and wellbeing challenges.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nzs-key-teacher-unions-now-reject-classroom-streaming-so-whats-wrong-with-grouping-kids-by-perceived-ability-192007">NZ's key teacher unions now reject classroom streaming. So what's wrong with grouping kids by perceived ability?</a>
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<h2>Beyond the school gates</h2>
<p>Of course, a strong curriculum and clear milestones for progress are important. But we also need to recognise that quality education occurs within a complex milieu of wider social and economic policies. </p>
<p>If Chris Hipkins’ desire for a bipartisan approach to education were to work, it would be good to see the educational policies of different political parties directly address the funding issue for schools. </p>
<p>Beyond that, how does school funding intersect with other policies targeting inequality and inequity outside the school gates? The same day National announced its curriculum policy, child poverty again <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/cost-of-living-child-poverty-levels-hardly-improving-still-12000-in-material-hardship/NAARKFE32NAW5GTERMAZ2QSOLY/#">made the headlines</a>. A <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/child-poverty-statistics-show-no-annual-change-in-the-year-ended-june-2022">new report</a> showed 10% of the nation’s children are living in material hardship. </p>
<p>Having school children arrive at school properly fed, warm, well dressed and ready to learn is surely the priority. Teachers will then be able to focus on implementing the curriculum for everyone’s benefit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202438/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cathy Buntting is contributing to the writing of the science learning area within the current New Zealand curriculum refresh. </span></em></p>The National Party’s new curriculum policy proposes reforms, when there are already several underway. What schools and teachers really need is more funding and less change.Cathy Buntting, Director, Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1961752022-12-19T11:20:53Z2022-12-19T11:20:53ZTeacher recruitment target missed in England – why people don’t want to enter or stay in the profession<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501011/original/file-20221214-18-mu74w7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5607%2C3732&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pretty-black-woman-having-migraine-85522705">Phovoir/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Department for Education has <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7222/CBP-7222.pdf">managed to recruit</a> less than 60% of the new secondary school teachers expected this year in England, recent figures show. This is unsurprising for those of us working in education. </p>
<p>Since 2015, the Department for Education has only been able to meet its secondary teacher recruitment target once, <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7222/CBP-7222.pdf">in 2020</a>. These figures are specific to England, but there are indications that <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-63800954">both Wales</a> <a href="https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/secondary/exclusive-almost-40-places-secondary-teaching-courses-unfilled">and Scotland</a> are experiencing difficulties recruiting teachers too.</p>
<p>Part of the issue in England may lie with the Department for Education’s recruitment strategies. There has been a range of initiatives designed to attract people to teacher training programmes. These are often financially incentivised: for example, a graduate who trains as a physics teacher can receive a <a href="https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support/scholarships-and-bursaries">tax-free scholarship</a> of up to £29,000 while training, which they do not have to repay. </p>
<p>This may seem appealing – but, as the recruitment figures show, it is not working. Only 17% of the target number of <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7222/CBP-7222.pdf">physics teachers</a> have been recruited in 2022-23. </p>
<p>Perhaps this is because after completing the training there is no requirement to be employed as a teacher. It might be because the starting salary for a new teacher is £28,000 before tax deductions, meaning recruits may well earn more to train than they do in the job itself. </p>
<p>As well as struggling to attract new teachers, the Department for Education is having difficulty keeping those who do train in the profession. </p>
<p>The government launched a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-recruitment-and-retention-strategy">Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy</a> in January 2019. This took a multifaceted approach, including special consideration of how to support newly qualified teachers. This support included specialist training during their initial years of employment, as well as supporting schools to provide a more flexible working environment. </p>
<p>How effective this framework has been is questionable. Nearly three years after its creation, we continue to see an exodus of new teachers from the profession. As of November 2021, over 17% of new teachers <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7222/CBP-7222.pdf">were leaving</a> after only two years of service.</p>
<p>However, the reasons people are not choosing teaching as a career are likely to be more nuanced. To begin with, it is important to understand what motivates someone to become a teacher. </p>
<h2>Teacher motivation</h2>
<p>If we think back to the teacher that stood out to us, the one we remember ten or 20 years later, these were people who loved what they did. For many who teach, it is not just a job, but a vocation – something that they are internally motivated to do. </p>
<p>They find immense pleasure in creating an engaging and exciting learning environment in which students thrive. By doing this, they can see the positive effect on their students’ lives. This is a powerful motivator and can create high levels of job satisfaction: it is a role to be proud of, one that makes a difference to society. </p>
<p>However, perpetual policy changes, national curriculum reform and the consequence of a poor Ofsted inspection leads to added pressures on schools and colleges. Teachers face an <a href="https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/article-listing/teachers-burnout-due-to-excessive-workload.html">increased workload</a> and the need to meet numeric measures of success. They have less time and freedom to create that engaging learning environment for their pupils, and less job satisfaction for themselves.</p>
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<img alt="Hand with pen grading stacks of papers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Teachers are facing increased workloads.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teacher-checking-student-homework-assignment-report-1216241752">NuPenDekDee/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>These working conditions mean that for many, teaching may well be an unattractive career proposition. </p>
<p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/936253/Teacher_well-being_report_110719F.pdf">Research by Ofsted</a> in 2019 found that teachers reported lower levels of satisfaction with their life compared with the general public. Three years later, little has changed. The 2022 <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress.pdf">Health and Safety Executive report</a> puts education in the top three professions most likely to experience stress, depression or anxiety. </p>
<p>What’s more, while teaching has never been the highest-paid career, in the past it did offer good job security and a good pension. However, <a href="https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/derby-schools-cut-dozens-teaching-5062675">structural changes</a> in the school system as primary and secondary schools join academy trusts have put <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/teachers-could-lose-jobs-middle-18028700">some jobs at risk</a>. Pensions are now determined by <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/money/pensions-and-retirement/company-pensions/public-sector-pensions-explained/teachers-pensions-scheme-explained-aBlXS6r6fwEN">career average salary</a> rather than final salary, reducing the end of service package offered to teachers.</p>
<p>There may be no simple or quick way to increase teacher recruitment and improve the number of teachers staying in the profession. But returning teaching to a career that people aspire to and enjoy is key.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Corbett receives funding from the University of Portsmouth.
I have worked on and led projects which are funded by the Education and Training Foundation
</span></em></p>The benefits of the profession are being eroded.Stephen Corbett, Head of School of Education, Languages & Linguistics, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1904892022-11-17T20:40:01Z2022-11-17T20:40:01Z5 ways to create a compassionate workplace culture and help workers recover from burnout<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495481/original/file-20221115-23-xns9l3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=112%2C0%2C3147%2C1471&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Creating a compassionate workplace culture involves acknowledging people's challenges,
even related to apparently small matters, in professionally appropriate ways. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/5-ways-to-create-a-compassionate-workplace-culture-and--help-workers-recover-from-burnout" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>We live in tumultuous times which can create an added layer of uncertainty for employees who need to build relationships with students, patients or clients. Providing calm, confident and warm <a href="https://www.edcan.ca/articles/teacher-emotional-well-being/">emotional labour</a> can be difficult for people experiencing burnout, grief or compassion fatigue. </p>
<p>I have been studying the <a href="https://doi.org/10.18848/2156-8960/CGP/v13i01/31-55">impact of compassion fatigue and burnout</a>, as well as the nature of emotional labour, in educational settings. </p>
<p>Workplace culture has emerged as a critical element to prevent burnout and support employees experiencing emotional distress.</p>
<p>Organizations that promote a sense of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.51.1.59">collective compassion</a> — by supporting noticing, feeling and acting on the suffering of others at the workplace — may see improvements in both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199734610.013.0021">employee performance and job satisfaction</a>. </p>
<h2>Compassionate work culture</h2>
<p>The emotions of sympathy, empathy and compassion play an important role in developing a compassionate work culture, by helping us pay attention, in professionally appropriate ways, to the suffering of our students, patients, clients, colleagues, managers and leaders. </p>
<p>Sympathy — the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0269216316663499">superficial recognition of the distress of another individual</a> — is the first step towards developing a compassionate workplace. It helps us notice the suffering of others. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://cmha.ca/empathy-a-skill-you-can-learn/">emotion of empathy</a> compels us to take the time and attention to investigate and understand the response of the individual in distress. Compassion is noticing, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/pspi0000010">feeling and then acting on the suffering of others</a>. </p>
<p>Workers’ acknowledgement and response to these emotions vary according to their professional duties and boundaries. But compassionate action can make the difference at the workplace, whether through small moments of kind interpersonal interaction or sustained collective effort to address complex and multifaceted challenges. </p>
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<img alt="A figure seen with arrows pointing to a cloud or a heart." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495457/original/file-20221115-12-mtcg5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495457/original/file-20221115-12-mtcg5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495457/original/file-20221115-12-mtcg5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495457/original/file-20221115-12-mtcg5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495457/original/file-20221115-12-mtcg5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495457/original/file-20221115-12-mtcg5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495457/original/file-20221115-12-mtcg5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sympathy helps us notice the suffering of another human being.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Responding to co-workers</h2>
<p>An example of how these emotions help to create a compassionate workplace would be the familiar case of a person struggling with a new software program, such as an expense reporting system. </p>
<p>A sympathetic response by a colleague would be to notice that a co-worker is spending too much time inputting their expenses into the management system, and to say, “The new system is tricky! Good luck!” and then walk away.</p>
<p>Empathy would prompt the colleague to seek to understand what the co-worker was already doing (rather than jumping in with an immediate solution) so that the colleague can figure out the origin of the frustration. Empathetic listening takes time.</p>
<p>Having felt similarly frustrated, the colleague may feel compassion and feel compelled to act by scheduling time during the next reporting period to sit with and help the co-worker complete their expense submission. If, through empathetic listening and compassionate action, further action is warranted, the colleague may offer to raise the problem as a larger systemic issue related to software training with management.</p>
<h2>Compassion in action</h2>
<p>Building an organizational culture that encourages compassion requires employers and employees to create time and space for listening. The <a href="https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma">cause of a person’s distress</a>, whether displayed in the workplace or not, can be complex, multi-faceted and not easily solved.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/19886190/Figley_C_R_1995_Compassion_Fatigue_Toward_a_New_Understanding_of_the_Costs_of_Caring">Compassion satisfaction</a>, or the joy and pleasure of providing care to others, provides the caregiver with the long-term fortitude to help others. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/commit-to-a-wellness-streak-to-help-manage-work-stressors-174592">Commit to a 'wellness streak' to help manage work stressors</a>
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<p>While compassion is <a href="https://www.drshanesinclair.com/blog/sympathy-empathy-and-compassion">not itself limited or easily extinguished</a>, acting on it can be slowed or stopped by burnout or compassion fatigue. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A heart made of lego has some of the pieces flying away." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495464/original/file-20221115-13-url2je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495464/original/file-20221115-13-url2je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495464/original/file-20221115-13-url2je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495464/original/file-20221115-13-url2je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495464/original/file-20221115-13-url2je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495464/original/file-20221115-13-url2je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495464/original/file-20221115-13-url2je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Acting on compassion is interrupted when people are living with compassion fatigue or burnout.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Moral distress</h2>
<p>The symptoms of compassion fatigue include <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351030021">a changed worldview to negative, helplessness, hopelessness and disassociation from the individual in distress</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205">main symptoms of burnout</a> are physical fatigue, mental and emotional exhaustion, feeling unacknowledged or unimportant and viewing the people one serves and one’s colleagues with apathy or a lack of care. </p>
<p>These symptoms can hinder a compassionate individual from acting on their emotions, creating <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ruCrBwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA246&dq=burnout,+compassion+fatigue,+and+moral+distress&ots=J9JcX_tkIl&sig=pOhCGRdLWz4IHh19W_Ww1ZjtqEU&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=burnout%2C%20compassion%20fatigue%2C%20and%20moral%20distress&f=false">moral distress</a> for employees who want to be helpful, but do not have the time, energy or fortitude to act on their sympathy. </p>
<p><strong>Employers can ignite sympathy, empathy and compassion by:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><p>Encouraging rest for fatigued or burned-out workers. Rest is not only related to following a <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/sleep">healthy sleep schedule</a>. It also includes actions like choosing a hard stop time for answering emails or thinking about clients’ needs each day, using allotted personal days, de-stigmatizing personal leaves for mentally or emotionally exhausted employees and having a judgement-free return to work plan. </p></li>
<li><p>Educating employees and managers about how to access organizational and local resources, such as benefits plans, crisis hotlines and mental health clinics. Rarely are individuals equipped — nor should they be — to take on the emotional and mental work of healing people who have experienced traumatic events, so knowing where help is provided can lighten the workers’ and leaders’ role. </p></li>
<li><p>Ensuring that leaders (both formal and informal) model the importance of rest by scheduling, <em>and taking</em>, breaks throughout the workday. A break could be a ten-minute solo walk around the workplace or an energizing breakfast with colleagues in the local coffee shop. </p></li>
<li><p>Managing the valuable resource — employee and manager time — thoughtfully. Every organization likely has busier and slower times in the day, week or year. Consider how your organization regards time, as <a href="https://ijoh.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijoh/article/view/130">workload is strongly related to employee burnout</a>. For example, in schools, September and June are extremely busy as the year ramps up and slows down. Avoiding implementing new innovations at this time can help educational workers focus on building strong relationships with students and colleagues.</p></li>
<li><p>Supporting work check-in practices that provide options for leaders and employees to self-reflect on their own <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2019.07.001">mental and emotional states of mind</a>. Such reflection can include asking oneself: “Am I compelled to look away or <em>act</em>?” Are leaders or employees able to shift focus <em>from</em> hopeless worry about all the suffering they can’t relieve <em>to</em> hopeful impact by doing what they can do for each other? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Meanwhile, if resting, taking daily breaks and investigating and accessing workplace benefits and other resources do not help with recovery from compassion fatigue or burnout, consider a longer leave of absence <a href="https://www.universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/effective-successfull-happy-academic/what-to-do-when-you-feel-just-done/">or investigate other career, job</a> or workplace options. </p>
<p>The embers of sympathy, empathy and compassion are not extinguished by compassion fatigue or burnout, but they may be temporarily muffled by stress and circumstance. These emotions can be re-ignited through finding daily actions that can support a compassionate workplace culture.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190489/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Astrid H. Kendrick receives funding from SSHRC, is a member of the Board of Directors for PHE Canada, and is the Co-Chair of the Heath Promoting Schools Collaborative for southern Alberta. </span></em></p>It’s important that employers and employees understand sympathy, empathy and compassion, and consider these emotions’ roles in both job performance and employee relations.Astrid H. Kendrick, Director, Field Experience (Community-Based), Werklund School of Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1907242022-09-20T12:37:56Z2022-09-20T12:37:56ZStressed out, burned out and dropping out: Why teachers are leaving the classroom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484697/original/file-20220914-11733-ybu2z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5114%2C3412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">High teacher turnover hurts students and negatively affects learning.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/asian-teacher-teaching-math-to-students-in-royalty-free-image/135205438?adppopup=true">Ariel Skelley/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Many school districts across the United States are in the midst of a crisis: a teacher shortage. Part of the problem is due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are other reasons why teachers are leaving their jobs at higher rates than before. On Aug. 29, 2022, <a href="https://www.sciline.org/social-sciences/teacher-turnover/">SciLine</a> interviewed <a href="https://tuan-d-nguyen.github.io/home">Tuan Nguyen</a>, an assistant professor in the College of Education at Kansas State University, about why teachers are quitting and what can be done to slow or stop the trend.</em></p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/747011579" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Tuan Nguyen talks to SciLine about teacher burnout.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Below are some highlights from the discussion. Please note that answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.</em> </p>
<p><strong>Can you share some data on typical rates of teacher turnover?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> Before the pandemic, about 15%, 16% of teachers turn over every year. About half of that is teachers switching from one school to another, and then the other half, about 7%, 8%, is teachers leaving the profession every year. </p>
<p><strong>What is known about why teachers leave their jobs?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> Generally, there are three main buckets, or categories, as to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100355">why teachers leave their jobs</a> for other schools or leave the profession. </p>
<p>One is what’s known as the personal factors … things related to the teachers, their characteristics, such as their age, race, ethnicity and gender, their qualifications. </p>
<p>Another bucket is related to schools, such as … school characteristics and school resources, working conditions. </p>
<p>And the last area is known as external factors. These are things that are happening at the national or state level that are somewhat beyond the school control. We think about NCLB – <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/12/08/458844737/no-child-left-behind-an-obituary">No Child Left Behind</a>. </p>
<p><strong>How does teacher turnover affect student learning?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> We know that teachers are the most critical factor of student learning, and that when we have high teacher turnover, that is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858420905812">detrimental to student learning</a>. </p>
<p>What you have here is the loss of teaching knowledge and expertise. Districts also have to spend additional resources in order to recruit and train new teachers … usually a novice teacher or a teacher who is underqualified. And we know from research that underqualified teachers and novice teachers are <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/why-teachers-leave-or-dont-a-look-at-the-numbers/2021/05">more likely to leave the profession</a>. </p>
<p>So then what you get is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102079">this cycle of churn</a>, where you have teachers leaving, replaced with new or underqualified teachers, who themselves are more likely to leave. And that leads to more turnover next year.</p>
<p><strong>What makes teachers likelier to stay in their jobs?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> There are many things that we can actually do to help teachers stay where they are.</p>
<p>One is <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/teachers-paid-covid-retention-bonuses-staff-shortages-covid-19-pandemic-1666872">retention bonuses</a>, so that if they stay for one or two years, then they get an additional bonus on top of their salary. </p>
<p>Many teachers <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_211.60.asp">are not paid very well</a>. They have to moonlight. They have to have a second or a third job. And now they’re asked to <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2022/08/25/inflation-means-teachers-who-buy-their-own-supplies-have-to-spend-more-or-ask-for-help/">buy equipment and resources from their own pocket</a> in order to do that job. That doesn’t really incentivize teachers to stay. </p>
<p><strong>Is there any research on how the pandemic – including health risks, the switch to remote learning and new pressures from parents – has affected teachers’ job satisfaction?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> National surveys have shown that a significant portion of teachers – 55% – said that they would like to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/01/1076943883/teachers-quitting-burnout">leave teaching as soon as possible</a>. So even if those 55% do not leave their job, and we haven’t seen evidence of that, what that tells me is that teachers are stressed out and they’re burnt out. </p>
<p><strong>What policies can make teaching a more attractive long-term career and reduce teacher turnover?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> We have to think about making salary competitive so that it’s comparable to other professions, but also make targeted policy decisions and incentives for hard-to-staff schools and subjects. </p>
<p>For instance, we know that economically disadvantaged schools tend to have <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/why-do-high-poverty-schools-have-difficulty-staffing-their-classrooms-with-qualified-teachers/">a really hard time attracting teachers</a>. </p>
<p>We also know that STEM teachers, special education teachers and bilingual education teachers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.4959">are in high demand</a>. We need those folks. So we need to make targeted incentives to get those folks into teaching, right?</p>
<p>We also need to raise the prestige and respect of teachers and the teaching profession. You know, thinking about how we can provide career ladders or promotions to teachers so that they can continue and build on their craft. There are many, many things that we can do. And I’m optimistic that … we can do some of those if we can align our interests and think about policy solutions that can solve some of these problems.</p>
<p><em>Watch the <a href="https://www.sciline.org/social-sciences/teacher-turnover/">full interview</a> to hear about the teacher shortage crisis.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://sciline.org/">SciLine</a> is a free service based at the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190724/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tuan D. Nguyen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s not just COVID-19. Low salaries, subpar working conditions and lack of resources in the classroom are three of the reasons why teachers are abandoning the profession.Tuan D. Nguyen, Assistant Professor of Education, Kansas State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1881842022-08-08T12:21:33Z2022-08-08T12:21:33ZThe most recent efforts to combat teacher shortages don’t address the real problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477473/original/file-20220803-21-syg3j6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C5973%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teachers face a range of challenges, but hiring more teachers won't fix them.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakCalifornia/9e1c06a48efb4871b626326500ba287d/photo">AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>States have recently focused their efforts to reduce <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/08/03/school-teacher-shortage/">the nation’s teacher shortage</a> by promoting strategies that “<a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/states-relax-teacher-certification-rules-to-combat-shortages/2022/06">remove or relax barriers to entry</a>” to quickly bring new people into the teaching profession. </p>
<p><a href="https://edsource.org/2021/california-commission-continues-to-ease-testing-requirements-for-teachers/664620">California</a>, for example, allows teacher candidates to skip basic skills and subject matter tests if they have taken approved college courses. <a href="https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/education/new-mexico-lawmakers-seek-clearer-details-on-type-of-teacher-vacancies/article_dedd2a0e-0dc3-11ed-9948-afd9903735fd.html">New Mexico</a> is replacing subject skills tests with a portfolio to demonstrate teaching competency. </p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.kxii.com/2022/05/07/oklahoma-removes-requirement-pass-general-education-portion-competency-exam-future-teachers/">Oklahoma</a> eliminated the Oklahoma General Education Test as a certification requirement. <a href="https://www.khou.com/article/news/education/missouri-education-department-loosens-restrictions-teacher-certifications/63-c5bead98-ec0c-4b7a-9e0d-a731f515863c">Missouri</a> no longer looks at a prospective teacher’s overall grades – just the ones earned in select courses required to become a teacher. <a href="https://www.al.com/educationlab/2022/07/alabama-approves-immediate-changes-to-teacher-certification-praxis.html">Alabama</a> has moved to allow some who score below the cutoff scores on teacher certification exams to still get a teacher’s license, and Arizona’s education requirements for teachers now allow <a href="https://www.fox13now.com/arizona-teachers-no-longer-need-college-degree">people without a college degree</a> to begin teaching – so long as they are currently enrolled in college.</p>
<p>All of these efforts focus on <a href="https://www.ed.gov/coronavirus/factsheets/teacher-shortage">recruiting new teachers</a>, mostly by <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/states-relax-teacher-certification-rules-to-combat-shortages/2022/06">lowering requirements to make it easier</a> for people to become certified to teach in public schools.</p>
<p>But these approaches do not address the actual causes of the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-illinois-teacher-shortage-salary-woes-20220430-vc4g5xtbkrgfbh6tehowohtqqm-story.html">nationwide teacher shortage</a>. As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=VziSjl8AAAAJ">we</a> found doing research for our book “<a href="https://www.infoagepub.com/products/How-Did-We-Get-Here">How Did We Get Here?: The Decay of the Teaching Profession</a>,” college students who are interested in becoming teachers and current teachers agree: The root cause of the problem is a longstanding overall lack of respect for teachers and their craft, which is reflected by decades of <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/teacher-pay-penalty-dips-but-persists-in-2019-public-school-teachers-earn-about-20-less-in-weekly-wages-than-nonteacher-college-graduates/">low pay</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-education-reforms-can-support-teachers-around-the-world-instead-of-undermining-them-166528">hyperscrutiny</a> and <a href="https://www.apa.org/education-career/k12/violence-educators-technical-report.pdf">poor working conditions</a>. </p>
<h2>Disrespect to the profession is driving teachers away</h2>
<p>Even before COVID-19 hit, teachers were <a href="https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/A_Coming_Crisis_in_Teaching_REPORT.pdf">leaving the profession at an increasing rate</a>. In the late 1980s, annual teacher turnover was 5.6%, but it has grown to around 8% over the past decade. </p>
<p>The stress of <a href="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2022/07/26/teachers-mental-health-crisis-pay-covid-pandemic-burnout/">teaching through a pandemic</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/teacher-burnout-hits-record-high-5-essential-reads-185550">has been speculated to drive away even more teachers</a>. About 1 in 6 teachers expressed that they would <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-1.html">likely leave their job</a> pre-pandemic, but this increased to 1 in 4 by the 2020-21 school year. While teachers continue to leave classrooms, <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/the-teacher-shortage-is-real-large-and-growing-and-worse-than-we-thought-the-first-report-in-the-perfect-storm-in-the-teacher-labor-market-series/">fewer people are signing up</a> to replace them. </p>
<p>In fact, <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/the-teacher-shortage-is-real-large-and-growing-and-worse-than-we-thought-the-first-report-in-the-perfect-storm-in-the-teacher-labor-market-series/">the number of incoming teachers declined</a> from 275,000 in 2010 to under 200,000 in 2020 and is projected to be under 120,000 by 2025. And even those staying on the job are so unhappy, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/25/teachers-strikes-us-low-pay-covid">many have been striking</a>.</p>
<p>We found that the reasons teachers are leaving primarily revolve around the disrespect they and the profession consistently face. For example, teachers <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/teacher-pay-penalty-dips-but-persists-in-2019-public-school-teachers-earn-about-20-less-in-weekly-wages-than-nonteacher-college-graduates/">earn about 20% less</a> than similarly educated professionals.</p>
<p>They also faced an <a href="https://theconversation.com/teacher-burnout-hits-record-high-5-essential-reads-185550">escalating workload</a>, even before the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-022-09533-2">pandemic placed additional demands</a> on their time, energy and mental health.</p>
<p>In addition, teachers have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-education-reforms-can-support-teachers-around-the-world-instead-of-undermining-them-166528">experiencing diminishing control</a> over what and how they teach. They are also regularly exposed to a continued tide of <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/teacher-begs-parents-discipline-disrespectful-kids-viral-video-1701487">disrespectful student behavior</a> and parental hostility, as highlighted by a <a href="https://www.apa.org/education-career/k12/violence-educators-technical-report.pdf">survey of 15,000 educators</a> that revealed a growing trend of students verbally and physically harassing teachers, as well as parents engaging in online harassment and retaliatory behaviors for teachers simply doing their jobs.</p>
<p>This overall lack of respect drives turnover from existing teachers and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-07-2018-0129">discourages potential teachers</a> from considering the profession.</p>
<p>One college student told us, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-07-2018-0129">I looked into teaching as a career pretty strongly</a> … and every person I talked to, be it a grade school teacher or college professor, told me the same thing – that it was a lot of work, it was an unstable work environment, and the pay was very poor for the amount of work that you put in.” Unsurprisingly, she chose another career path.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477475/original/file-20220803-24-k2avdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in camouflage stands in a classroom and hands a piece of paper to a student" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477475/original/file-20220803-24-k2avdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477475/original/file-20220803-24-k2avdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477475/original/file-20220803-24-k2avdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477475/original/file-20220803-24-k2avdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477475/original/file-20220803-24-k2avdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477475/original/file-20220803-24-k2avdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477475/original/file-20220803-24-k2avdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In early 2022, New Mexico’s teacher shortage got so bad that the governor called in the National Guard to serve as substitutes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakSoldiersasTeachers/dad689df567f4a77874497b3506f0963/photo">AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The wrong solutions for the problem</h2>
<p>A growing number of states have eliminated or have proposed to remove <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/states-relax-teacher-certification-rules-to-combat-shortages/2022/06">basic skills and subject matter exam requirements</a> for teacher certification. Those prerequisites have long served as <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/10090/chapter/2">quality control checks</a> for prospective teachers. While they do not guarantee effective teaching, they do serve as a minimum qualification threshold.</p>
<p>We believe efforts to loosen requirements for new teachers will bring more disrespect to the profession. History also suggests that they will make it so that schools that serve mostly students of color will have <a href="https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/crdc-teacher-access-report">even fewer certified and experienced teachers</a> than they already do.</p>
<p>But more directly, these efforts to boost teacher recruitment don’t address the reasons teachers are leaving the profession in the first place, which drive <a href="https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/teacher-shortages-take-center-stage">90% of the demand for new teachers</a>.</p>
<p>Lowering the standards to allow more people to enter the teaching profession may, for a short period, boost the number of people available to stand in front of classrooms. But that approach does not make teaching an attractive profession to consider, nor worthwhile for someone to stay and thrive in. Solving the teacher shortage problem requires solutions that reduce the numbers of teachers leaving the field and specifically address the lack of respect, low pay, hyperscrutiny and poor working conditions that they regularly endure.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188184/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Looser requirements for teacher certification don’t fix teachers’ problems, which are low pay, high workload and lack of respect.Henry Tran, Associate Professor of Education Leadership, University of South CarolinaDouglas A. Smith, Associate Professor of Education, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1856832022-07-05T20:00:15Z2022-07-05T20:00:15Z‘We are not in this alone’: stressed teachers find hope in peer-support model used by frontline health workers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472004/original/file-20220701-26-4go0o1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C0%2C4992%2C3303&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Teachers are burning out and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/11/we-cant-lose-any-more-how-the-teacher-shortage-grew-into-a-national-crisis">leaving the profession</a> in unprecedented numbers. Classrooms and workloads are challenging, made worse by staff shortages, and teachers are stressed. Student welfare needs to be prioritised, but the educators supporting them need support too.</p>
<p>A model of peer support used by front-line health workers could provide a way forward. Results of a three-year trial in three regional Victorian primary and specialist schools are promising, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13540602.2022.2062727?journalCode=ctat20">our research</a> shows. All 40 participants said it improved their mental health and workplace culture, and increased their ability to cope with the demands of working in challenging conditions. </p>
<p>Our model enables principals, teachers and support staff to take the time to reflect together on their work, which involves complex and often challenging relationships with students, parents and other members of the school community. As one teacher, Karen*, said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We put the personal side first. And we put our safety first and our emotional well-being first over the academic side and the teaching, which then filtered out because we were comfortable, and we felt safe and looked after. That filtered out into our roles and we were able to do our job.”</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/could-more-online-learning-help-fix-australias-teacher-shortage-185877">Could more online learning help fix Australia's teacher shortage?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Many teachers are at breaking point</h2>
<p>The pandemic has caused more than two years of upheaval for educators through school closures and the return to work after remote learning. Burnout, staff turnover and extreme teacher shortages have followed. </p>
<p>But it may not be just the COVID-19 experience that accounts for this. A <a href="https://www.nswtf.org.au/files/18438_uwis_digital.pdf">2018 survey</a> of 18,234 staff at public schools in New South Wales found 60% of teachers were already reporting unacceptably high work stress. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1542635488065888256"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/read-the-room-premier-performance-pay-for-teachers-will-make-the-crisis-worse-185406">Read the room, Premier. Performance pay for teachers will make the crisis worse</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Teachers have long been required to draw on their emotional resources every day. But, as interviewee Sally, a primary school teacher, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-021-00455-7?utm_source=researcher_app&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=RESR_MRKT_Researcher_inbound">told us</a>, they “can’t keep giving from an empty bucket”. </p>
<p>Darren told us they want time with their peers dedicated to “thinking more deeply about what is going on in the classroom and really going deeper into it”. They want “to be able to acknowledge how you actually really feel and not have to hide it”, Paul added. </p>
<h2>The burdens of being a caring profession</h2>
<p>During the pandemic, teachers who became critical front-line workers began to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-10/worksafe-victoria-claims-from-teachers-rise-during-coronavirus/12536618">show signs of exhaustion and burnout</a>. </p>
<p>While the focus has been on prioritising student well-being, an important consideration has been overlooked. </p>
<p>When students are anxious and depressed, their educators worry about them, our soon-to-be-published research shows. And there is a catch-22 at play here. The more an educator cares, the more intense the emotions they experience when students are disengaged, falling behind or not coming to school. </p>
<p>In turn, how teachers are feeling directly affects their students – the stress can be “<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27156042/">contagious</a>”. In this way teachers’ concerns can inadvertently contribute further to negative classroom experiences. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/schools-will-now-be-required-to-support-well-being-but-the-standards-arent-clear-on-what-that-means-185861">Schools will now be required to support well-being, but the standards aren't clear on what that means</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So how do reflective circles help?</h2>
<p>Teacher concerns and emotions can be processed in more effective ways using what we call the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14623943.2021.1927694">Reflective Circle Education Model</a> (RCEM). It draws from similar forms of peer support in other professions. </p>
<p>Teachers analyse their professional experiences and personal reactions and, with small groups of colleagues, explore other ways of viewing them. This approach <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13540602.2022.2062727?journalCode=ctat20">leads to personal and professional growth and better teaching practices</a>, instead of a destructive cycle of exhaustion and deteriorating classroom climate. </p>
<p>Studies show that if teachers suppress their true emotions it <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2020.00090/full">leads to greater overall burnout</a>. Despite this evidence, education systems are yet to provide embedded structures to support teachers’ needs. </p>
<p>What sets reflective circles apart is its more restorative approach. Members of the team can share different perspectives in a way that leads to personal growth and change. The focus is on building relationships and self-awareness rather than <a href="https://pdfslide.net/documents/remaking-the-professional-teacher-authority-and-curriculum-reform.html?page=2">on content and curriculum</a>, or accountability and performance. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1404499243583393802"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-equity-in-schools-look-like-and-how-is-it-tied-to-growing-teacher-shortages-185394">What does equity in schools look like? And how is it tied to growing teacher shortages?</a>
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<p>Small groups with four to six members explore an experience they have had at school. Each member completes a personal reflection from a structured series of questions before they come together in the reflective circle. There, each person begins by sharing a summary of their reflection. The other members of the group then explore the experience, offering other insights or perspectives. </p>
<p>For example, one teacher was struggling with their anger towards a student who “had been riding one of our bikes and threw the bike into the shed, damaging several other bikes. I was furious with him. I thought he should be more grateful. When I went to do the online reflection, though, I realised something: his mother had died and when he went to live with his grandmother, she died shortly after and I thought – why should he be grateful for an hour on a bike? It was a real revelation to me. It has changed the way I think about him and certainly changed the way I react to him.” </p>
<p>The second phase of the circle is designed to integrate these other meanings into new ways of thinking. It involves more questions to help work out new approaches to try. </p>
<p>Each participant decides what they will share and the actions they want to take in future. </p>
<p>This pilot research is consistently reporting all participants find value in not only sharing their emotions but also realising others are feeling the same way. </p>
<p>As participant Priah said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We walk out that door after reflective circles on cloud nine. And it doesn’t matter how deep and serious the conversations are, I walk out feeling like something has lifted off my shoulders, we are not in this alone.”</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><em>* All names are pseudonyms to protect trial participants’ privacy.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185683/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study finds a three-year trial of the ‘reflective circles’ approach to peer support offers a way forward for teachers whose already stressful jobs have become even tougher during the pandemic.Anne Southall, Lecturer in Inclusive Education and Trauma, La Trobe UniversityFiona Gardner, Associate Professor and Discipline Lead for Social Work and Social Policy, Rural Health School, La Trobe UniversityLindy Baxter, Research Officer, School of Education, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1853942022-06-27T19:51:23Z2022-06-27T19:51:23ZWhat does equity in schools look like? And how is it tied to growing teacher shortages?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470988/original/file-20220627-17-xlnih3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5244%2C3522&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared victory on election night, he said he <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-22/anthony-albanese-acceptance-speech-full-transcript/101088736">wanted to unite Australians</a> around “our shared values of fairness and opportunity, and hard work and kindness to those in need”. </p>
<p>So what would this look like in Australian schools? Schools, after all, are where a society that believes in fairness and opportunity must begin. Equity involves more than <a href="https://theconversation.com/still-waiting-for-gonski-a-great-book-about-the-sorry-tale-of-school-funding-178016">fairly funding schools</a>. </p>
<p>It is about matching teachers’ passion with the respect, time, resources and conditions that enable them to do what they signed up to do: make a difference in students’ lives.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-60-of-teachers-say-they-want-out-what-is-labor-going-to-do-for-an-exhausted-school-sector-183452">Almost 60% of teachers say they want out. What is Labor going to do for an exhausted school sector?</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>Based on <a href="https://www.monash.edu/education/research/projects/qproject">our research</a> into quality use of evidence do drive quality in education, I suggest equity, hard work and kindness should underpin school policy in three ways.</p>
<h2>1. Ensure fairness in funding</h2>
<p>The first priority is fairness in funding. It has been ten years since the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/committees/senate/school_funding/school_funding/report/a03">Gonski review proposed</a> a more equitable approach to school funding. The goal was to ensure differences in students’ educational outcomes are not the product of differences in wealth, income or power.</p>
<p>Since then, the approach has been diluted and gone backwards.</p>
<p>While resourcing to schools increased by over A$2 billion over a decade, the Grattan Institute <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/lopsided-funding-gives-more-public-money-to-private-schools/">found</a> that once wage growth is taken into account, private schools received over 80% of this extra funding despite educating less than 20% of Australia’s most disadvantaged students.</p>
<p>COVID-19 <a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-60-of-teachers-say-they-want-out-what-is-labor-going-to-do-for-an-exhausted-school-sector-183452">has intensified</a> disparities that are hard-baked into Australia schooling through the historical <a href="https://theconversation.com/still-waiting-for-gonski-a-great-book-about-the-sorry-tale-of-school-funding-178016">segregation of schools</a>.</p>
<p>The basis of the reform therefore needs to be reviewed. As then Prime Minister Julia Gillard, a former education minister, effectively tied a hand behind the government’s back by committing to the principle that <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/no-gonski-nirvana-why-australia-s-most-ambitious-education-reforms-have-failed-20220215-p59wpj.html">no school would lose funding</a> as a result of the reforms.</p>
<p>This distorted Gonski’s needs-based aspiration.</p>
<p>The needs-based funding that needs to be directed to public schools for them to be fully funded according to the Gonski model equates to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/13/the-gonski-failure-why-did-it-happen-and-who-is-to-blame-for-the-defrauding-of-public-schools">more than $1,000 per student each year</a>. But ensuring all schools get a fair share of public funding is only a part of the challenge.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449433/original/file-20220302-17-sn3bo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing shortfalls and excesses in School Resource Standard (SRS) funding by state and territory, 2018-2023" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449433/original/file-20220302-17-sn3bo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449433/original/file-20220302-17-sn3bo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449433/original/file-20220302-17-sn3bo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449433/original/file-20220302-17-sn3bo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449433/original/file-20220302-17-sn3bo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449433/original/file-20220302-17-sn3bo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449433/original/file-20220302-17-sn3bo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.dese.gov.au/national-school-resourcing-board/resources/review-needs-based-funding-requirements-final-report-december-2019">Source: Review of needs‑based funding requirements: final report, December 2019/DESE</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/still-waiting-for-gonski-a-great-book-about-the-sorry-tale-of-school-funding-178016">Still 'Waiting for Gonski' – a great book about the sorry tale of school funding</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>2. Reward those who choose to teach</h2>
<p>A second priority relates to fairly rewarding the hard work of teachers. This should include incentives to enter the profession, and better pay and working conditions to keep them there.</p>
<p>Teacher shortages are <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-education-minister-jason-clare-can-fix-the-teacher-shortage-crisis-but-not-with-labors-election-plan-184321">reaching critical levels</a>. Modelling in Queensland, for example, shows <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/16/queensland-to-have-one-of-nations-worst-teacher-shortages-modelling-suggests">a 25% decline</a> in state high school teaching graduates over five years. Secondary school enrolments are predicted to increase by 13% over the same period.</p>
<p>As Southern Cross University education professor Pasi Sahlberg notes, teachers “<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-education-minister-jason-clare-can-fix-the-teacher-shortage-crisis-but-not-with-labors-election-plan-184321">start excited and depart exhausted</a>”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-education-minister-jason-clare-can-fix-the-teacher-shortage-crisis-but-not-with-labors-election-plan-184321">New Education Minister Jason Clare can fix the teacher shortage crisis – but not with Labor's election plan</a>
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<p>During the campaign, <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/labor-to-pay-highachievers-up-to-12000-a-year-to-study-as-school-teachers-at-university/news-story/8ba0f18569b2842842b123e45c7e370e#:%7E:text=High-achieving%2520students%2520would%2520be%2520paid%2520up%2520to%2520%252412%252C000,they%2520receive%2520an%2520ATAR%2520of%252080%2520or%2520more.">Labor promised</a> high-achieving students would be <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/high-achievers-to-get-up-to-12k-a-year-to-become-teachers-under-labor-20220508-p5ajj8.html">paid up to $12,000 a year</a> to study education to lift teacher standards.</p>
<p>“We want to make sure our kids get the best education they can. That means we have to make sure they get the best-quality teaching,” Albanese said. </p>
<p>Labor also announced plans to double the number of high-achieving students enrolling in teacher education over the next decade, from around 1,800 a year at present to 3,600.</p>
<p>Also, about 5,000 students who receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 80 <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/labor-to-recruit-more-high-achievers-into-education-20220508-p5ajjg">will be able to get</a> an annual $10,000 payment over their four-year degree. An extra $2,000 a year has been promised to students who commit to teach in regional areas – the worst affected by teacher shortages.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1523454888214396928"}"></div></p>
<p>Providing incentives like these might work – particularly as <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/labor-to-recruit-more-high-achievers-into-education-20220508-p5ajjg">only 3% of high achievers</a> in Australia select teaching for undergraduate study. Contrast this to the 19% who select science for undergraduate study.</p>
<p>Three decades ago, <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/labor-to-recruit-more-high-achievers-into-education-20220508-p5ajjg">about ten times this proportion</a> of high achievers chose to study teaching.</p>
<p>But, unlike other fields such as agriculture, such rankings are <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=3608">less reliable as predicators of performance</a> in education. It is <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=3608">rightly argued</a> that other skills, such as high-level interpersonal skills, are important to the quality of teaching, alongside high-level literacy and numeracy.</p>
<p>We need to be thinking more boldly and expansively about how we can inspire and assess people to enter the profession.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-teachers-pay-in-australia-it-starts-out-ok-but-goes-downhill-pretty-quickly-122782">Three charts on teachers' pay in Australia: it starts out OK, but goes downhill pretty quickly</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. Make schools better for teaching</h2>
<p>But even if such measures might attract new teachers, attrition rates are also concerning.</p>
<p>Educators persistently indicate they are <a href="https://www.agsa.org.au/research/australian-principal-occupational-health-safety-and-wellbeing-survey-riley-et-al-2021/#:%7E:text=The%2520annual%2520Australian%2520Principal%2520Occupational%2520Health%252C%2520Safety%2520and,per%2520week%2520in%25202020%252C%2520while%2520twenty%2520per%2520cent%25E2%2580%25A6">suffering stress</a>, burnout, abuse from parents and excessive workload, which takes away from teaching students.</p>
<p>Increased workload pressures mean they have less time to focus on teaching students. It ultimately drives many out of teaching.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-21/nsw-teachers-to-strike-over-pay-and-conditions-next-week/101171092">Strikes</a> for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/14/nsw-education-department-launches-legal-action-against-teachers-union-over-may-strikes">better pay in New South Wales</a> in relation to the government’s 2.5% wage cap for public servants are on one level about fair pay, but also reflect deeper concerns about working conditions.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/read-the-room-premier-performance-pay-for-teachers-will-make-the-crisis-worse-185406">Read the room, Premier. Performance pay for teachers will make the crisis worse</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Teachers do not feel respected. A <a href="https://www.monash.edu/thank-your-teacher">2020 study</a> found nearly three-quarters of educators felt underappreciated.</p>
<p>The challenge of keeping teachers in the profession therefore entails much more than pay. <a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-salaries-might-attract-teachers-but-pay-isnt-one-of-the-top-10-reasons-for-leaving-177825">Research</a> has shown salary ranks after factors such as commitment to the profession, job satisfaction and positive relationships with students and colleagues. The most common reasons for leaving include workloads, being unappreciated, stress and burnout from years of struggle in substandard conditions.</p>
<p>Fostering excellence in teaching is therefore not just about attracting quality candidates, nor is it only about paying them at the right level once they become teachers. It’s about respecting their judgment and professionalism, as well as supporting them throughout their careers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-salaries-might-attract-teachers-but-pay-isnt-one-of-the-top-10-reasons-for-leaving-177825">Higher salaries might attract teachers but pay isn't one of the top 10 reasons for leaving</a>
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<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1173340747384414215"}"></div></p>
<p>Even though pay might be poor <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-teachers-pay-in-australia-it-starts-out-ok-but-goes-downhill-pretty-quickly-122782">in comparison with other professions</a> and the workload overwhelming, educators continue to teach because they are driven by a deep, passionate moral purpose to make a difference in kids’ lives.</p>
<p>We understand the challenges. Let’s hope kindness, fairness and a clear moral purpose drive the policy of Australia’s new government to address current problems as well as deeply embedded historical legacies.</p>
<p>The Albanese government has a tough, complex job – not unlike teaching.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185394/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucas Walsh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Difficulties in attracting and retaining teachers have a lot to do with the conditions they find themselves working in. Here are 3 ways to develop a school system that’s fairer and better for all.Lucas Walsh, Professor and Director of the Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1855502022-06-22T12:12:48Z2022-06-22T12:12:48ZTeacher burnout hits record high – 5 essential reads<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470087/original/file-20220621-13681-xlm18p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C58%2C5522%2C3628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Schoolteachers are reporting high levels of burnout.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreak/abb8ef6a4bbf4398a1daac54252448e5/photo">AP Photo/David Goldman</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Teachers in grades K through 12 are <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/393500/workers-highest-burnout-rate.aspx">more burned out</a> than workers in any other industry, according to a new Gallup poll that finds 44% of K-12 employees report “always” or “very often” feeling burned out at work. That number climbs to 52% when looking just at teachers.</p>
<p>Increased work duties during the pandemic, students with mental health challenges and political debates over masks and mass shootings are <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2022-06-13/educators-report-highest-level-of-burnout-among-all-other-industries">among the reasons</a> educators say they are under unprecedented stress – and staffing shortages increase the pressure.</p>
<p>Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Conversation has asked several scholars to explain their research on various aspects of teacher burnout. Here are selections from their work.</p>
<h2>1. Teachers most enjoy working with students</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421888/original/file-20210917-47336-o14fe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5100%2C3802&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A teacher holds up a calendar to her laptop screen during a Zoom call with her class." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421888/original/file-20210917-47336-o14fe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5100%2C3802&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421888/original/file-20210917-47336-o14fe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421888/original/file-20210917-47336-o14fe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421888/original/file-20210917-47336-o14fe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421888/original/file-20210917-47336-o14fe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421888/original/file-20210917-47336-o14fe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421888/original/file-20210917-47336-o14fe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teachers experienced more positive emotions interacting with their students when schools closed during the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/teacher-using-zoom-on-laptop-computer-to-teach-at-home-news-photo/1310937454?adppopup=true">Barrie Fanton/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6b-SlVgAAAAJ&hl=en">Nathan D. Jones</a> from Boston University and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KlDQ2_0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Kristabel Stark</a> from the University of Maryland interviewed teachers in early 2020 – both before the COVID-19 pandemic sparked school closings and lockdowns and after they began. </p>
<p>“Of all the things teachers do on the job, we found that teachers enjoy interacting with students the most – and that the positive feelings when working with students intensified once schools shifted to remote learning during the pandemic,” they wrote. As parents and communities rallied around teachers, they felt supported and encouraged to continue to support each child in their charge. But the researchers warned those feelings might be overcome by other responsibilities. </p>
<p>“As schools reopen, our research suggests that one way to keep teachers motivated and engaged is to ensure that they have time to build and maintain relationships with students. This is something we fear could become lost as school leaders are forced to focus on the health and safety aspects of operating schools as the pandemic continues.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-say-working-with-students-kept-them-motivated-at-the-start-of-the-pandemic-166877">Teachers say working with students kept them motivated at the start of the pandemic</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>2. ‘Every day feels unsettled’</h2>
<p>Sure enough, by the 2021-2022 school year, teachers were feeling stressed and burned out, as <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ac0O7OcAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Laura Wangsness Willemsen</a> and John W. Braun at Concordia University, St. Paul, and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=y_g0H1cAAAAJ">Elisheva L. Cohen</a> at Indiana University found in their interviews with teachers and school administrators. </p>
<p>Lack of staff support was a major concern: “[P]ersistent staffing shortages are leading professionals to feel burned out and to worry about students missing learning opportunities,” they wrote. One assistant principal told the researchers, “Every day feels unsettled. I experience anxiety about how my day will unfold.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/every-day-feels-unsettled-educators-decry-staffing-shortage-180627">'Every day feels unsettled' – educators decry staffing shortage</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. It’s more than just individual</h2>
<p>Australian education scholars <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=fikz-WEAAAAJ">Rebecca J. Collie</a> at the University of New South Wales Sydney and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=RLDuq3kAAAAJ">Caroline F. Mansfield</a> at University of Notre Dame Australia looked at sources of workplace stress among about 3,100 teachers at 225 Australian schools.</p>
<p>They found that school management was also a key factor in whether teachers felt stressed. “[S]ources of stress at work are not necessarily specific to the individual, but reflect a broader school climate as well,” they wrote. “So, teachers’ stress isn’t just an individual issue – some schools are more stressful places to work.” </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-stress-isnt-just-an-individual-thing-its-about-their-schools-too-183451">Teachers' stress isn't just an individual thing – it's about their schools too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>4. Teachers look for other options</h2>
<p>All this stress and uncertainty led to teachers’ rethinking their careers, according to research from <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=q2ksZosAAAAJ">Gema Zamarro</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=PFyHRLUAAAAJ">Andrew Camp</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=cwLrMAkAAAAJ">Josh McGee</a> at the University of Arkansas, and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=X7wgeA0AAAAJ">Dillon Fuchsman</a> at Saint Louis University.</p>
<p>“More than 40% of the teachers surveyed said they considered leaving or retiring, and over half of those said it was because of the pandemic,” they wrote. “In March 2020, 74% of teachers said they expected to work as a teacher until retirement, but the figure fell to 69% in March 2021. The proportion of teachers answering ‘I don’t know’ to this question increased by a similar amount, rising from 16% to 22%.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pandemic-prompts-more-teachers-to-consider-early-retirement-or-new-career-166871">Pandemic prompts more teachers to consider early retirement or new career</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450496/original/file-20220307-83891-gxvux3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C106%2C7930%2C5163&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An adult stands in the front of a classroom with young children at desks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450496/original/file-20220307-83891-gxvux3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C106%2C7930%2C5163&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450496/original/file-20220307-83891-gxvux3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450496/original/file-20220307-83891-gxvux3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450496/original/file-20220307-83891-gxvux3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450496/original/file-20220307-83891-gxvux3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450496/original/file-20220307-83891-gxvux3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450496/original/file-20220307-83891-gxvux3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teachers across the U.S. have been under stress throughout the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nicole-brown-a-second-grade-teacher-starts-class-at-carter-news-photo/1237956733">Jon Cherry/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. The exodus may not be immediate</h2>
<p>Changes in career plans for teachers are one line of research for
<a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=HGEg70QAAAAJ">Christopher Redding</a>
at the University of Florida, who along with Temple University’s <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=vGikivAAAAAJ">Allison Gilmour</a>, Boston University’s <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=NV5uBUUAAAAJ">Elizabeth Bettini</a> and Kansas State University’s <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=4L7xCD8AAAAJ">Tuan D. Nguyen</a> compared what teachers said about their plans to change professions with whether they actually did so.</p>
<p>“Based on our research, we think it unlikely that most teachers who say they plan to leave teaching as soon as possible will actually leave this school year,” they wrote. “However, if even one-third of teachers who say they’re leaving the profession do so, that would be significantly more than the 8% of teachers who leave in an average year.”</p>
<p>What it comes down to, they wrote, is that “[t]eachers are clearly sounding the alarm about stress, burnout, dissatisfaction with school and district leadership, and other working conditions – even if they do stay in their jobs.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-most-teachers-who-say-they-plan-to-leave-the-profession-probably-wont-do-so-anytime-soon-178286">Why most teachers who say they plan to leave the profession probably won't do so anytime soon</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185550/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
With teachers reporting record-high levels of burnout, and more burnout than any other profession in the US, scholars examine what’s going on and what it may mean for education.Jeff Inglis, Politics + Society Editor, The Conversation USLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1834512022-06-02T20:18:36Z2022-06-02T20:18:36ZTeachers’ stress isn’t just an individual thing – it’s about their schools too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465187/original/file-20220525-20-lulkre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C5184%2C3437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Stress is common among teachers, and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-022-09686-7">recent</a> <a href="https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/21926">reports</a> suggest it’s getting worse. We need to understand the sources of this stress to improve support for teachers. Growing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/16/a-perfect-storm-government-forecasts-shortfall-of-1700-teachers-in-nsw">teacher shortages</a> in Australia underscore the need for this support.</p>
<p>It is also important to identify whether there are patterns of stress experienced by individuals and groups of teachers within a school. This knowledge will tell us whether support for teachers should be targeted individually or to a teaching staff more broadly.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-60-of-teachers-say-they-want-out-what-is-labor-going-to-do-for-an-exhausted-school-sector-183452">Almost 60% of teachers say they want out. What is Labor going to do for an exhausted school sector?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360482088_Teacher_and_school_stress_profiles_A_multilevel_examination_and_associations_with_work-related_outcomes">Our study</a> involving 3,117 teachers at 225 Australian schools shows sources of stress do vary among individual teachers. At the same time, the school environment – workloads, student behaviour and expectations of teachers – appears important. At some schools the stress experiences of individuals mirror those of the teaching staff more broadly. </p>
<p>So managing stress is not just the responsibility of individual teachers. Schools have an important role to play in developing a workplace that helps to minimise their teachers’ stress.</p>
<h2>What are the sources of teachers’ stress?</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360482088_Teacher_and_school_stress_profiles_A_multilevel_examination_and_associations_with_work-related_outcomes">our study</a>, published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0742051X22001330">Teaching and Teacher Education</a>, we examined three common sources of stress at work to see how these affect well-being among individual teachers and across a whole school teaching staff.</p>
<p>These three sources of stress are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>workload stress – teachers’ sense they have too much lesson preparation, instruction or marking work in the time available to them</p></li>
<li><p>student behaviour stress – teachers’ sense that student behaviour is overly disruptive or aggressive</p></li>
<li><p>expectation stress – teachers’ sense that professional/registration bodies and parents are placing very high or unrealistic expectations on them.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>We first examined how the three sources of stress co-occur among teachers to identify teacher stress profiles. That is, we wanted to see if there are distinct types of teachers who experience similar patterns across the three sources. For example, are there teachers with low or high levels of all three sources of stress, and are there teachers who have mixed levels of the sources of stress?</p>
<p>Next, we wanted to ascertain whether different types of schools are identifiable as being more or less stressful based on the make-up of their teacher stress profiles. That is, we set out to identify different school profiles.</p>
<p>Once we had identified teacher and school profiles, we examined whether the different profiles were linked with work strain and work commitment. Work strain refers to the adverse outcomes of stressful work – such as feeling highly stressed and reduced mental or physical health. Work commitment refers to teachers’ attachment to their profession. </p>
<p>Ideally, teachers experience low strain at work, but high commitment.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-cant-keep-pretending-everything-is-ok-toxic-positivity-will-only-make-them-sick-175431">Teachers can't keep pretending everything is OK – toxic positivity will only make them sick</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What teacher profiles did we find?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360482088_Teacher_and_school_stress_profiles_A_multilevel_examination_and_associations_with_work-related_outcomes">Our analysis</a> used data from the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (<a href="https://www.oecd.org/education/talis/">TALIS</a>) 2018. We identified five teacher profiles:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>low-burden profile (7% of teachers in our sample) displaying very low levels of all three stressors</p></li>
<li><p>mixed-burden-workload profile (15%) displaying below-average workload stress, very low student behaviour stress and low expectation stress</p></li>
<li><p>mixed-burden-behaviour profile (19%) displaying low workload stress, below-average student behaviour stress and low expectation stress</p></li>
<li><p>average-burden profile (41%) displaying slightly above-average levels of all three stressors</p></li>
<li><p>high-burden profile (18%) displaying high workload stress and very high student behaviour and expectation stress.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466482/original/file-20220601-49429-xhye11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Teacher profiles according to the combination of levels of workplace stress, student behaviour stress and expectation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466482/original/file-20220601-49429-xhye11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466482/original/file-20220601-49429-xhye11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466482/original/file-20220601-49429-xhye11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466482/original/file-20220601-49429-xhye11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466482/original/file-20220601-49429-xhye11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466482/original/file-20220601-49429-xhye11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466482/original/file-20220601-49429-xhye11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The five teacher stress profiles reflect their experience of the combined impacts of workplace stress, student behaviour stress and expectation stress.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0742051X22001330">Collie & Mansfield 2022</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Looking at links between profiles and outcomes, the low-burden profile and the two mixed-burden profiles generally displayed the lowest work strain and highest work commitment.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-salaries-might-attract-teachers-but-pay-isnt-one-of-the-top-10-reasons-for-leaving-177825">Higher salaries might attract teachers but pay isn't one of the top 10 reasons for leaving</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What school profiles did we find?</h2>
<p>We then examined how these teacher profiles are distributed in schools. We identified three school profiles:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>workload-oriented-climate profile (17% of schools in our sample) composed mostly of teacher profiles with high workload stress, but also a sizeable proportion displaying lower stress</p></li>
<li><p>behaviour-oriented-climate profile (23%) composed mostly of teacher profiles with high student behaviour stress, but also a sizeable proportion displaying lower stress</p></li>
<li><p>higher-pressure-climate profile (60%) composed mostly of teacher profiles with above-average to high levels of all three sources of stress.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Teachers who collectively displayed the highest levels of work strain tended to work in higher-pressure-climate schools. Levels of work commitment were also lowest among teachers in those schools. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1297292466182328320"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-and-schools-australia-is-about-to-feel-the-full-brunt-of-its-teacher-shortage-174885">COVID and schools: Australia is about to feel the full brunt of its teacher shortage</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What does this mean for teachers and schools?</h2>
<p>One notable finding was the differentiation between workload stress and student behaviour stress in two teacher profiles and two school profiles. Some teachers and schools were higher in student behaviour stress. Others were higher in workload stress. And other profiles had similar levels of all types of stress.</p>
<p>These results suggest sources of stress at work are not necessarily specific to the individual, but reflect a broader school climate as well. So, teachers’ stress isn’t just an individual issue – some schools are more stressful places to work.</p>
<p>In practice, it is important that teachers have their own strategies to manage stress. At the same time, our findings suggest schools and educational systems should be aware of teachers’ collective experiences of stress and provide school-wide supports.</p>
<p>To reduce workload stress, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JEA-06-2013-0073">research</a> suggests supportive mentors are helpful. It’s also helpful to develop professional learning communities to share the loads of lesson preparation and marking moderation. </p>
<p>Reducing workload across the school is also critical. Decreasing teachers’ face-to-face teaching time and administrative tasks have been <a href="https://www.nswtf.org.au/inquiry">suggested</a> as ways to do this. </p>
<p>Providing <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2012.672286">professional learning opportunities</a> to develop teachers’ classroom management skills might help reduce student behaviour stress. </p>
<p>A positive learning climate at school is also important. When students feel supported and are more engaged in their learning, they are less likely to be disruptive. In particular, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2021.1994127">research</a> suggests it is important that all students feel cared for, have opportunities to succeed in their learning, and are given a say in content and tasks in the classroom. </p>
<p>Finally, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-09-2018-0185">research</a> suggests school leaders can help reduce expectation stress by seeking out teachers’ perspectives and conveying their trust in them as professionals. Likewise, positive school-home partnerships can help ensure teachers, school leaders, students and parents are aligned in their goals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183451/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca J Collie receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline F. Mansfield does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>High-stress schools undermine teachers’ commitment and risk losing even more from the profession at a time of growing staff shortages. But schools can take steps to reduce the causes of stress.Rebecca J. Collie, Scientia Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, UNSW SydneyCaroline F. Mansfield, Executive Dean, Faculty of Education, Philosophy and Theology, University of Notre Dame AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1782862022-03-11T13:18:57Z2022-03-11T13:18:57ZWhy most teachers who say they plan to leave the profession probably won’t do so anytime soon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450496/original/file-20220307-83891-gxvux3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C106%2C7930%2C5163&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teachers across the U.S. have been under stress throughout the pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nicole-brown-a-second-grade-teacher-starts-class-at-carter-news-photo/1237956733">Jon Cherry/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every spring, school and district leaders ask teachers about their plans to return to teaching in the fall. They need to know how many teachers to begin recruiting for the next school year.</p>
<p>These career conversations are currently taking place under the unprecedented circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stories from across the country show high levels of <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-stress-hypervigilance-and-decision-fatigue-teaching-during-omicron/2022/01">teacher stress</a> and <a href="https://www.cnet.com/health/parenting/the-great-resignation-hasnt-hit-school-teachers-yet-heres-why-it-still-might/">burnout</a> from repeated and long-term disruptions to school routines.</p>
<p>School leaders are worried about whether they’ll <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2022/02/18/how-are-staffing-shortages-affecting-schools-during-the-pandemic/">have enough teachers to keep classrooms staffed</a>. In a January 2022 poll of members of the country’s largest teacher union, the National Education Association, <a href="https://www.nea.org/about-nea/media-center/press-releases/nea-survey-massive-staff-shortages-schools-leading-educator">55% of educators</a> said the pandemic has made them more likely to leave the teaching profession earlier than they had planned. That’s nearly double the proportion of teachers who <a href="https://www.nea.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/NEA%20Member%20COVID-19%20Survey%20Summary.pdf#page=2">said that in July 2020</a>.</p>
<p>Among Black and Hispanic teachers, the percentages of teachers saying they have accelerated their plans to leave teaching were even greater – 62% and 59%, respectively.</p>
<p>Despite these signals of increased turnover, the past two years have not experienced <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/9/22967759/teacher-turnover-retention-pandemic-data">mass departures from the teaching profession</a>.</p>
<p>In the past, teachers who were looking to leave didn’t depart immediately, so there’s some hope that the current crop of burned-out teachers won’t either. Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.26300/3aq0-pv52">recent working paper</a> explains why. We looked at national data from over 100,000 public school teachers from 2004 to 2012. Of the teachers who said they would leave the profession “as soon as possible,” 34% had left the field by the following school year, and 66% were still teaching. By contrast, of the teachers who said they planned to remain in teaching as long as possible, just 5% left the profession, and 95% kept teaching the following year. </p>
<h2>Leaving isn’t immediate</h2>
<p>Teachers’ feelings about departure can change throughout the year. The 2021-2022 school year helps to illustrate this ebb and flow in teachers’ career plans.</p>
<p>The high rates of <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2022/0126/What-happens-to-US-education-if-there-s-no-one-to-teach">teacher absences</a> during the surge of the omicron variant added additional responsibilities on an already strained teacher workforce. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teachers-burnout-staffing-shortage-pandemic-quitting-schools-education-2022-2">A teacher in Memphis who eventually quit</a> said she was assigned nearly 200 additional students beyond her normal teaching load when a colleague quit midyear. <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/for-anxious-teachers-omicron-feels-like-walking-into-a-trap/2022/01">An elementary school teacher in Brooklyn worried</a> that too many teachers were working in schools without adequate ventilation systems or rules to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.</p>
<p>A beginning teacher in Colorado reflected in <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teacher-shortages-leaving-school-education/">one report</a>: “I also might want to just do it for one more year, just to kind of be more stable financially. If you asked me if I’ll be in the classroom in two years, or three years, I say those odds are even lower.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450500/original/file-20220307-133446-1epioku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An adult approaches a young person in a school classroom" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450500/original/file-20220307-133446-1epioku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450500/original/file-20220307-133446-1epioku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450500/original/file-20220307-133446-1epioku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450500/original/file-20220307-133446-1epioku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450500/original/file-20220307-133446-1epioku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450500/original/file-20220307-133446-1epioku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450500/original/file-20220307-133446-1epioku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many teachers are evaluating how long they plan to stay in the profession.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakMasksReaction/9e3e6314e70341f3897080cee13954cc/photo">AP Photo/David Goldman</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As omicron wanes, teachers’ urgent feelings to leave may ease.</p>
<p>Changing personal circumstances may also influence teachers’ decision to leave. Many teachers depend on employer-provided health insurance and would want to find a job with comparable benefits. <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/4/6/22368846/teacher-turnover-quitting-pandemic-data-economy">A veteran Florida teacher who considered quitting</a> explains: “I need my health insurance, especially as I’m recovering from COVID. And I need the paycheck.”</p>
<p>Some teachers are keeping their jobs while they figure out their next steps. For example, one <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/02/teachers-are-getting-ready-to-quit-due-to-the-pandemic.html">North Carolina teacher</a> says she is thinking about going back to school for a new degree outside of education.</p>
<h2>Likelihood of departure</h2>
<p>Based on our research, we think it unlikely that most teachers who say they plan to leave teaching as soon as possible will actually leave this school year.</p>
<p>However, if even one-third of teachers who say they’re leaving the profession do so, that would be significantly more than the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/slc">8% of teachers who leave in an average year</a>.</p>
<p>Teachers are clearly sounding the alarm about stress, burnout, dissatisfaction with school and district leadership, and other working conditions – even if they do stay in their jobs.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-150ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178286/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite signals of increased turnover, the past two years have not experienced mass departures from the teaching profession.Christopher Redding, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, University of FloridaAllison Gilmour, Assistant Professor of Education, Temple UniversityElizabeth Bettini, Assistant Professor of Special Education, Boston UniversityTuan D. Nguyen, Assistant Professor of Education, Kansas State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1614882021-06-27T12:35:24Z2021-06-27T12:35:24ZAdvice for teachers on how to use the summer to protect their hearts from burnout<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407780/original/file-20210622-27-zc6dgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C370%2C5760%2C3449&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protecting the "heartwork," of educators means protecting their emotional and mental health based on recognizing that holistic and passionate investment in work is an asset that also implies vulnerability. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s not uncommon to hear teachers and other educators talk about being <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/10/05/ontario-teachers-say-theyre-june-tired-but-its-only-october-such-is-the-toll-of-covid-19.html">“June tired”</a> — the way they typically feel in June after a full school year. But this year, educational workers may be experiencing a new, and much deeper, form of fatigue. </p>
<p>Teachers, principals and other school staff spent this past year perpetually shifting between <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/covid-19-pandemic-high-school-students-calgary-isolation-online-1.5989164">in-school and online classrooms</a>, worrying about <a href="https://edsource.org/2021/veteran-teachers-surveyed-worry-about-covids-long-term-harm-on-california-students/649275">vulnerable kids</a> and often <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/teachers-worry-high-school-grads-will-struggle-in-post-secondary-education-due-to-pandemic-1.6025671">feeling guilt or hopelessness</a> about <a href="https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/alberta-to-provide-45m-for-students-set-back-by-covid-19-learning-loss-1.5446694">students’ learning loss</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-prevent-teacher-burnout-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-139353">How to prevent teacher burnout during the coronavirus pandemic</a>
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<p>Daily school routines included constantly wiping everything down, vigilance with enforcing social distancing, learning and instantly implementing novel approaches to in-person and online instruction — all while trying to maintain a calm and positive classroom environment and covering curriculum. </p>
<p>For the past 18 months, with a research team, I have been investigating the scope of compassion fatigue and burnout in Alberta’s educational workers. In education, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1995-97891-001">compassion fatigue</a> is the cost of caring, or the emotional and mental exhaustion experienced by a caregiver who deals with students who have experienced a traumatic event. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205">Burnout is the result</a> of long-term unmitigated stress, and both mental health problems are occupational hazards in caregiving professions. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/Publications/Research/COOR-101-30%20Compassion%20Fatigue%20Study.pdf">This research study</a> included three online surveys, with over 4,000 respondents and <a href="https://www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/Publications/Research/COOR-101-30-2%20Compassion%20Fatigue-P2-%202021%2006%2018-web.pdf">53 in-person interviews</a> to help understand the scope and experience of educational workers with these phenomena.</p>
<p>One main finding was that compassion fatigue was impacting the emotional health <a href="https://www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/Publications/Research/COOR-101-30-2%20Compassion%20Fatigue-P2-Draft%20Report%20-%202021%2004%2007.pdf">of 53 per cent of survey respondents and that 80 per cent of respondents were experiencing two or more symptoms of burnout</a>.</p>
<p>The interview and qualitative survey data also indicated that educational workers were relying too heavily on self-care personal routines, like taking a bath or walking their dog, when faced with difficult and challenging workplace problems. System-wide interventions, such as administrators and policy makers taking steps to reduce educators’ daily workloads, increasing supports for inclusive classrooms and permission to take a break during the school day, are needed. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Chart showing that compassion satisfaction can become compassion fatigue when workplace hazards are unmitigated." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407695/original/file-20210622-16-1djzoxo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407695/original/file-20210622-16-1djzoxo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407695/original/file-20210622-16-1djzoxo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407695/original/file-20210622-16-1djzoxo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407695/original/file-20210622-16-1djzoxo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1021&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407695/original/file-20210622-16-1djzoxo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1021&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407695/original/file-20210622-16-1djzoxo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1021&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The study found the occupational hazards in education are compounded by toxic workplaces, heartbreak related to supporting students or colleagues through trauma and a lack of coherent training.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Astrid Kendrick and Alberta Teachers Association</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>HEARTcare for educators</h2>
<p>The research team started to call <a href="https://www.edcan.ca/articles/teacher-emotional-well-being/">protecting educational workers’</a> emotional and mental health as protecting their <a href="https://theconversation.com/heartbreak-becomes-burnout-for-teachers-when-work-is-turbulent-111148">“heartwork,” based on a recognition that educators’ holistic and passionate investments in their careers is a tremendous asset that also implies vulnerability</a>. We also proposed “HEARTcare” planning: an acronym that stands for scHool, systEm, individuAl, pRofessional, educaTional worker. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404590/original/file-20210604-23-ad5vm2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404590/original/file-20210604-23-ad5vm2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404590/original/file-20210604-23-ad5vm2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404590/original/file-20210604-23-ad5vm2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404590/original/file-20210604-23-ad5vm2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404590/original/file-20210604-23-ad5vm2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404590/original/file-20210604-23-ad5vm2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Responding to educator burnout requires responses that consider comprehensive school health and policy as well as supporting individuals and strengthening educational worker communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Astrid Kendrick and Alberta Teachers Assocation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>HEARTcare planning suggests that workplace wellness is the collective responsibility of all levels of the educational system including school-based staff, school district leaders and personnel, elected and appointed government officials, teacher associations, educational support organizations and support staff unions.</p>
<h2>Schools are workplaces</h2>
<p>From educational assistants to teachers to school leaders and facility operators, school systems employ adults and can have either a positive or toxic culture. Showing compassion and empathy to colleagues and supervisors is the first step for considering the many dimensions of education that can be mobilized to protect teachers’ passion and hearts from burnout.</p>
<p><em>“I think the most challenging piece (during the COVID-19 shutdown) was that providing supports did not feel genuine because … we know that those families or those students and those teachers were struggling enormously. At times, it felt like you were just putting band-aids on things.” (Amber, school district leader)</em></p>
<p>While much attention has been paid to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2018.01.012">influence of schools on students</a>, individual schools do not operate in isolation from the local community, businesses or provincial government. </p>
<p>Individual educators may try to act as a buffer between their students and ineffective policy, the effects of poverty and racism or inadequate funding for social services. But these forces also directly affect educational caregivers’ own abilities to stay emotionally and mentally well. </p>
<p>Without the support of provincial and district policy-makers to address the conditions that cause children’s marginalization or their own overwork, educational workers can feel helpless or hopeless, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4924075/">key risk factors for compassion fatigue</a>.</p>
<h2>Self-care and expert help</h2>
<p>Of course, while the larger systemic picture matters, individuals should investigate their own sources of stress and distress, and access the supports and resources available to them when they feel overwhelmed, angry or distant from the children, youth and colleagues in their circle of caring. </p>
<p>Educational workers also need to accept that being a good teacher or leader does not mean accepting that overwork and burnout are “just part of the job.”</p>
<p>While several respondents and interview participants admitted to accessing help from medical professionals, many expressed that a stigma was attached to admitting need for expert help. </p>
<p>However, those who did get help or took a leave to recover from trauma noted that these actions were integral to their return to positive mental health. </p>
<p><em>“I’ve given my heart, my soul, my blood, sweat and tears, and I’m only a number. If we don’t learn to take care of ourselves first, there is no way we can take care of kids.” (North, teacher)</em></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher washing down desks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408199/original/file-20210624-29-3t8fg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408199/original/file-20210624-29-3t8fg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408199/original/file-20210624-29-3t8fg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408199/original/file-20210624-29-3t8fg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408199/original/file-20210624-29-3t8fg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408199/original/file-20210624-29-3t8fg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408199/original/file-20210624-29-3t8fg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grade two teacher Nancy Poirier washes the desks in her classroom at the Willingdon Elementary School in Montréal in August 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Educational workers are worth it!</h2>
<p>This summer, educators who are feeling emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted need to rest. Listen to your heart and do what you need to do to feel well. </p>
<p><em>“I let my work phone die over the summer, and I didn’t look at it at all. So that was good. It was a good way to set a boundary.” (Melanie, school leader)</em></p>
<p>If you are a teacher, leave your course planning until later. Turn off your worry-for-students-and-their-future brain and attune to yourself, your family, friends and what revitalizes you.</p>
<p>If you’re in a position of leadership, give yourself and your staff permission to leave their laptops at work and avoid sending work emails for as much of the summer as possible. Sending out the back-to-school committee agenda and checklist can wait.</p>
<p>If you are in upper management, consider that this upcoming year is not a great time for <a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-what-will-it-take-for-lagrange-to-heed-criticism-of-draft-curriculum">piloting a draft curriculum</a>, implementing radical policy changes or changing report card software. Give yourself and your staff a chance to breathe and focus on the students next fall, not new programming.</p>
<p>Becoming “June-COVID-tired” was built over 18 months of hard work, enormous stress and pressure. Educators need permission to do what it takes this summer to restore, repair and reignite their hearts’ work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161488/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Astrid H. Kendrick receives research funding from the Alberta Teachers Association and the Alberta School Employee Benefits Plan for the Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Emotional Labour Study.</span></em></p>“June-tired” has taken on a whole new meaning for educators this year. What can be done this summer to help them recharge and recover?Astrid H. Kendrick, Director, Field Experience (Community-Based), Werklund School of Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1549302021-03-15T20:20:38Z2021-03-15T20:20:38ZProvinces should act fast to avert a teacher shortage now and after COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388634/original/file-20210309-15-1yp5e7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C197%2C5991%2C3943&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students watch as a teacher participates in a solidarity march with colleagues to raise awareness about COVID-19 cases at École Woodward Hill Elementary School, in Surrey, B.C., Feb. 23, 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-new-data-show-ontario-on-track-for-a-third-wave-as-variant-takes-over/">concerns about COVID-19 variants</a> and predictions of a third wave loom, many experts believe <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/schools-should-stay-open-even-if-there-s-a-3rd-wave-of-covid-19-experts-say-1.5921474">schools must stay open</a>. The pressures for schools to stay open or reopen has existed <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-coronavirus-closures-reopening-schools-demands-collaboration-137964">since late spring 2020</a>. </p>
<p>Teachers have faced immense pressure from politicians, health-care professionals, parents and even the general public. On the one hand, we have seen advocacy and awareness from child development professionals and politicians <a href="https://www.sickkids.ca/en/news/archive/2021/statement-on-deferring-in-person-school-attendance">that schools are essential to support the well-being of students</a>. Politicians and <a href="https://www.oecd.org/education/The-economic-impacts-of-coronavirus-covid-19-learning-losses.pdf">policy researchers</a> have also noted that schools are essential to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/11/us/virus-teachers-classrooms.html?">vitality of the economy</a>. Yet, at the same time, <a href="https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/teacher-unions-sound-alarm-over-employee-safety-fears-on-classroom-return">provisions to minimize the risk of contracting COVID-19</a> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/covid-19-variant-sask-schools-doctor-1.5903035">have been wanting</a>. </p>
<p>This is the case while even before the pandemic, teachers were already showing signs of being stretched thin. Research from Alberta shows <a href="https://theconversation.com/4-steps-to-teacher-recovery-from-compassion-fatigue-and-burnout-during-covid-19-and-beyond-151407">an uptick in reports of mental health distress from teachers, educational assistant and administrators</a>. Ontario teachers have been taking <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontarios-teachers-education-workers-using-more-sick-days-now-than">more sick days</a> than they did almost ten years ago, a situation that many have related <a href="https://thewalrus.ca/the-epidemic-of-teacher-burnout/">to increased classroom demands</a>. </p>
<p>The increased pressures of the pandemic are taking their toll on teachers. Many teachers’ <a href="https://vox.ctf-fce.ca/mental-health-check-in-survey/">emotional well-being and metal health are suffering</a>: the Canadian Federation of Teachers conducted a survey in the fall of more than 15,000 teachers and found that 70 per cent of them reported being “very stressed, struggling to cope and increasingly feeling unhappy.”</p>
<h2>Substitute teachers and viral transmission</h2>
<p>Teachers are concerned about being <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7654887/covid-schools-teachers-cdc-study/">vectors for COVID-19 transmission</a>, as are substitute teachers who often work in different schools. </p>
<p>Across the country, in places like <a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/substitute-teachers-say-they-dont-want-to-risk-extra-covid-19-exposure">Alberta</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/sask-ndp-substitute-teachers-1.5699626">Saskatchewan</a>, <a href="https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/local/nstu-covid-rules-softening-for-where-substitutes-can-teach-in-nova-scotia-524759/">Nova Scotia</a> and <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/ontario-substitute-teachers-left-out-of-covid-19-conversation-group-says/">Ontario</a>, substitute teachers do not have paid sick leave or employer-paid medical benefits.</p>
<p>The number of available replacement teachers has been significantly reduced, even though the need for them is greater. And in <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-school-boards-put-out-calls-for-staffing-help-amid-teacher-shortage/">many areas</a> there is an extreme <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/shortage-substitute-teachers-1.5847788">shortage of substitute teachers</a>. </p>
<p>Across Canada, education ministries and school boards have the monumental task of averting a crisis. If next year sees a departure of those who are emotionally exhausted, and there is an inadequate supply of new teachers or substitute teachers to mitigate what could easily be a higher than usual attrition rate, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-the-covid-19-grading-curve-schools-rethink-expectations-for-students/">student learning will suffer</a>. </p>
<p>There needs to be a commitment to develop and implement supports to address increased levels of teacher stress and anxiety to ensure they don’t leave the profession prematurely. In some provinces, teacher attrition in the first five years of a teacher’s career <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1050747">can be as high as 40 per cent</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students in a Grade 1 class wear masks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389636/original/file-20210315-17-cd5v0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389636/original/file-20210315-17-cd5v0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389636/original/file-20210315-17-cd5v0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389636/original/file-20210315-17-cd5v0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389636/original/file-20210315-17-cd5v0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389636/original/file-20210315-17-cd5v0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389636/original/file-20210315-17-cd5v0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grade 1 students wear masks as they attend class at Honoré Mercier Elementary School in Montréal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Teacher shortage</h2>
<p>Reasons <a href="https://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/teacher-supply-goes-from-glut-to-scarcity-in-a-few-short-years/">cited for the reduced</a> number of currently available teachers include the rising number of teacher retirements, reduced funding to teacher education programs and the reduction in applicant interest as a result of being told there were no jobs.</p>
<p>COVID-19 has only made teacher shortages worse. As September 2020 approached, <a href="https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/some-teachers-resigning-retiring-early-instead-of-returning-to-classroom-1.5096879">some teachers chose to prioritize their health and families</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/teacher-questionnaire-pandemic-1.5775805">took leaves or did not return to the profession</a>. Others <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1ob3rw6Ix4">chose early retirement</a>, and some, who under normal circumstances might have registered as substitute teachers, chose not to. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-are-on-the-front-lines-with-students-in-the-coronavirus-pandemic-149896">Teachers are on the front lines with students in the coronavirus pandemic</a>
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<p>Additionally, prior to the pandemic, a teacher might have taken one day off for a cold, returning the following day. Now they must get a COVID-19 test. The president of the Saskatoon Teachers’ Association relayed in January that this has meant taking on an average of <a href="https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/as-coronavirus-wears-on-sask-education-students-to-help-shore-up-substitute-teacher-supply-1.5263251">two days to schedule and two more days for the results</a>. That’s a minimum of four days off with the best-case scenario of a negative test result. </p>
<h2>Growing safety concern for schools</h2>
<p>A Saskatchewan school board noted that in December 2020, it experienced a <a href="https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/teacher-shortages-leave-regina-divisions-uncertain-as-classes-resume">chronic shortfall of replacement staff due to more employee absences and a reduced pool of available substitute staff</a>. Staffing availability is a growing safety concern.</p>
<p>Saskatchewan and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-100-ottawa-morning">Ontario</a> are now offering <a href="https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/as-coronavirus-wears-on-sask-education-students-to-help-shore-up-substitute-teacher-supply-1.5263251">final-year bachelor of education students</a> temporary teaching permits to substitute teach. </p>
<p>Manitoba has created a 30-hour <a href="https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?item=50203">program that teaches basic classroom skills</a> for people who hold a limited teaching permit to address staff shortages. Prince Edward Island has <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-substitute-teachers-fee-change-1.5482889">removed the annual fee</a> for a temporary non-certified substitute teacher permit to encourage more people to apply. In Québec, British Columbia and Ontario, school boards are imploring <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-school-boards-put-out-calls-for-staffing-help-amid-teacher-shortage/">retirees and non-certified instructors</a> to fill the gap.</p>
<h2>Risking one’s life?</h2>
<p>Teachers entered the profession to help students learn. That hasn’t changed. But many feel now like they are being asked to risk their own lives, and those of their family members. </p>
<p>The emotional weight of the risks educators are exposed to <a href="https://vox.ctf-fce.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Doc-13-1-Pandemic-Research-Report-Teacher-Mental-Health-Check-in-Survey.pdf">is increased by the uncertainties</a> they encounter daily. These include shifting public health or school policies, fluctuating attendance or increased duties such as covering other classes and teaching combined classes to cover for absent teachers. Such changes to routines have not only reduced the preparation and planning time required to meet students’ needs, but have also increased teachers’ risk of viral exposure. </p>
<p>Even though education is a local and provincial matter, we recommend the establishment of an expert national roundtable that listens to educators to develop a more comprehensive national framework. Such a framework should consider both the pre- and post-pandemic well-being of educators. We need to approach pandemic educational recovery with a national strategy, looking backward to the factors shaping how we got here, and forward in anticipation of what may come.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154930/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Provinces have struggled to mitigate the COVID-19 health concerns of full-time and substitute teachers. The need for substitutes has increased, but fewer are available.Nathalie Reid, Director, Child Trauma Research Centre, Sessional Lecturer Faculty of Education, University of ReginaJerome Cranston, Dean & Professor, Faculty of Education, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1536422021-02-28T19:06:30Z2021-02-28T19:06:30ZTeachers are expected to put on a brave face and ignore their emotions. We need to talk about it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386316/original/file-20210224-3587-lgfb9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-female-teacher-sitting-on-bench-447182140">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian universities enrol thousands of people to become teachers. Some who <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959475208000674">choose to study</a> education are motivated by a desire to make a difference to the lives of young people, while others are looking for job security and intellectual fulfilment. </p>
<p>A course in education <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards">encompasses a broad range</a> of cognitive and technical skills aligned to professional teacher standards. Yet, what is largely missing from a teaching degree is what to do with emotions as a teacher. </p>
<p>Despite all the theory, training and practical experience, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00098655.2017.1323519?journalCode=vtch20">research shows</a> teachers’ professional lives can be highly demanding, pressured, stressful and at times, emotionally exhausting. </p>
<p>In doctoral <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81668">research</a>, I followed pre-service teachers throughout their course. I found there exists an invisible rule book that defines what teachers can and cannot do with their emotions.</p>
<h2>Emotional labour is hard work</h2>
<p>Our teachers recently started the school year. Many are likely facing a range of emotional challenges including working with difficult students and communities, managing increasing administrative control over their work and standardisation reforms. All these can result in substantial mental health issues. </p>
<p>One Australian <a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-are-more-depressed-and-anxious-than-the-average-australian-117267">study found</a> increasing numbers of teachers suffer from persistent anxiety and depression. Up to 50% burn out or <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13664530.2014.945129">simply leave</a> in the first five years of their career. </p>
<p>Early <a href="http://ojs.wiserpub.com/index.php/SER/article/view/588">studies are showing</a> the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 are further exacerbating the stresses facing Australian teachers. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/exhausted-beyond-measure-what-teachers-are-saying-about-covid-19-and-the-disruption-to-education-143601">'Exhausted beyond measure': what teachers are saying about COVID-19 and the disruption to education</a>
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<p>Because teaching is emotionally demanding, teachers experience what is known as “<a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/137261/">emotional labour</a>”. This is when teachers have to manage, suppress or feign their emotions as part of the work. Like other forms of labour, doing so can become exhausting. </p>
<p>Understanding these facts is a fundamental part of learning to become a teacher. I’ve come to know this through years of researching teacher emotions, specifically focused on those learning to teach. </p>
<h2>Putting on a mask</h2>
<p>I spoke with and collected questionnaires from almost one hundred education students in a large Western Australian university. I wanted to find out how someone who wants to become a teacher learnt what they <em>should</em> or <em>should not</em> be doing with their emotions in secondary schools.</p>
<p>I found pre-service teachers learnt about the rules for emotional behaviour from expectations and assumptions about teacher’s work, which was confirmed when they began training in school placements. </p>
<p>From interviews, focus groups, diary entries and questionnaires, I have summarised some of the unwritten rules these teaching students spoke of: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Don’t ever cry in front of students, because if you do, they will see you as weak and eat you alive.</p>
<p>Don’t lose your temper, shout or get angry, because if you do, students will lose respect for you.</p>
<p>Don’t show your emotional vulnerability, especially not to other teachers, because if you do, they might think you are not right for the job.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many pre-service teachers explained they worked at “hiding” or “suppressing” their vulnerable emotions from students and other teachers. </p>
<p>Some said they put on a “mask”, “a brave face” or “façade” to show they were “professional” and could “control” their emotions. </p>
<p>One participant experienced “intense frustration” during school placement in trying to manage and engage a group of behaviourally difficult students, which led to her feeling “emotionally overwhelmed”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386317/original/file-20210224-15-146sgsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman holding a smiley face in front of her head." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386317/original/file-20210224-15-146sgsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386317/original/file-20210224-15-146sgsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386317/original/file-20210224-15-146sgsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386317/original/file-20210224-15-146sgsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386317/original/file-20210224-15-146sgsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386317/original/file-20210224-15-146sgsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386317/original/file-20210224-15-146sgsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Teachers says they have to wear a mask to hide their emotions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/successful-female-designer-expressing-happiness-help-633478925">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>She hid these emotions from her supervising teacher, telling me she did not want to “appear weak”. So she held back her tears because she would “hate” being the “little woman that cries at work, who gets upset”. </p>
<p>This shows there exists a demand for teachers to behave in ways they believe to be acceptable. All these pre-service teachers have learnt to keep a hold of their “inappropriate” emotions in front of other teachers or risk being perceived as incompetent and unprofessional. </p>
<h2>Let’s talk about it</h2>
<p>Navigating the emotional rules of learning to teach is a significant aspect of becoming a teacher, yet it goes largely unrecognised in an initial teacher education course. </p>
<p>Such labour in teaching <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X18308722">can have personal costs</a> and lead to emotional exhaustion, depression and anxiety.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-are-more-depressed-and-anxious-than-the-average-australian-117267">Teachers are more depressed and anxious than the average Australian</a>
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<p>If we are to ensure thousands of newly enrolled teachers are to thrive in their courses and careers, we must make the invisible emotional rules of the profession seen and heard. </p>
<p>I believe if pre-service teachers can come together with teacher educators to explore these emotional rules, they could build resilience to confront the many emotional challenges of modern teaching.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153642/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Saul Karnovsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Teachers’ professional lives can be highly demanding, pressured, stressful and at times, emotionally exhausting. But there’s an unspoken demand they suppress their emotions and just get on with it.Saul Karnovsky, Lecturer & Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Course Coordinator, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1531292021-02-12T13:18:10Z2021-02-12T13:18:10ZHow US Education Secretary nominee Miguel Cardona can stop the teacher shortage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383819/original/file-20210211-21-8qlx3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C22%2C5020%2C3314&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. Secretary of Education nominee Miguel Cardona testifies during his confirmation hearing.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/secretary-of-education-nominee-miguel-cardona-testifies-news-photo/1230952226?adppopup=true">Susan Walsh/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Editor’s note: <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/who-is-the-new-u-s-education-secretary-miguel-cardona/">Miguel Cardona</a> – President Joe Biden’s choice for secretary of education – faces <a href="https://joebiden.com/education/">several urgent and contentious priorities</a>, including reopening schools safely, addressing systemic racism within schools, and reversing the ever-growing teacher shortage. Here, four experts explain how to recruit more people to become educators in the nation’s public schools.</em></p>
<h2>1. Increase pay and reduce class sizes</h2>
<p><strong>Bob Spires, associate professor of education, University of Richmond</strong> </p>
<p>The <a href="https://tsa.ed.gov/#/home/">teacher shortage</a> has <a href="https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/coming-crisis-teaching">become a crisis</a> in the United States. In 2018, there was an estimated <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/low-relative-pay-and-high-incidence-of-moonlighting-play-a-role-in-the-teacher-shortage-particularly-in-high-poverty-schools-the-third-report-in-the-perfect-storm-in-the-teacher-labor-marke/">shortage of over 100,000</a> K-12 teachers. Meanwhile, the demand for K-12 teaching jobs is expected to continue to increase <a href="https://www.educationcorner.com/job-outlook-for-teachers.html">5% per year</a> through 2028.</p>
<p>Part of the reason for the shortage has to do with pay and working conditions. On average, teachers make <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/low-relative-pay-and-high-incidence-of-moonlighting-play-a-role-in-the-teacher-shortage-particularly-in-high-poverty-schools-the-third-report-in-the-perfect-storm-in-the-teacher-labor-marke/">roughly 20% less</a> than other college graduates, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank that focuses on worker issues. A majority of teachers <a href="https://www.epi.org/press/59-percent-of-teachers-take-on-additional-paid-work-to-supplement-their-pay/#:%7E:text=News%20from%20EPI%2059%20percent,work%20to%20supplement%20their%20pay&text=For%20these%20teachers%2C%20moonlighting%20made,teachers%20in%20high%2Dpoverty%20schools">work additional jobs</a> – either within or outside their schools – to supplement their pay. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, class sizes continue to grow, which teacher unions say <a href="https://www.cta.org/our-advocacy/class-size-matters">negatively affects teachers and students</a>, despite statements to the contrary <a href="https://educationpost.org/betsy-devos-wants-larger-class-sizes-and-fewer-teachers/">by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos</a>. Peer-reviewed research bears out that smaller classes are <a href="https://nepc.colorado.edu/newsletter/2016/06/class-size">academically, socially and economically beneficial</a>, especially to low-income and minority students.</p>
<p>To curb the shortage, I believe educational leaders and policymakers must take proactive steps at the local, state and federal levels to increase pay and resources for teachers, and alleviate pressure by reducing class sizes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Teacher at desk in school classroom" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382280/original/file-20210203-15-5vp7oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C6%2C4415%2C2955&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382280/original/file-20210203-15-5vp7oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382280/original/file-20210203-15-5vp7oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382280/original/file-20210203-15-5vp7oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382280/original/file-20210203-15-5vp7oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382280/original/file-20210203-15-5vp7oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382280/original/file-20210203-15-5vp7oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Even before COVID-19, teachers were reporting ever-increasing levels of dissatisfaction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/judy-chan-a-teacher-at-yung-wing-school-p-s-124-prepares-news-photo/1271416170">Michael Loccisano/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Improve morale and recruit diverse teachers</h2>
<p><strong>Doris A. Santoro, professor of education, Bowdoin College</strong></p>
<p>During the pandemic, teachers’ work has been filled with <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/02/07/reopening-schools-debates-teachers-fear-covid-19/4413729001/">uncertainty and anxiety</a>. Their ways of finding <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-teacher-demoralization-isnt-the-same-as-teacher-burnout/2020/11">meaning and value</a> as educators have been upended through necessary safety measures that have radically altered their work. </p>
<p>There are no romantic “before times” for most public school educators. Before COVID-19, teachers were reporting <a href="https://pdkpoll.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/pdkpoll51-2019.pdf">ever-increasing</a> levels of dissatisfaction. Schools were already facing continuing teacher shortages, with one estimate as high as <a href="https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.27.3696">109,000 teachers working without certification</a> in the U.S. in 2017-18. <a href="https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/teacher-turnover-brief">High teacher turnover</a> both <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2019/04/29/teacher-turnover-and-the-disruption-of-teacher-staffing/">disrupts student learning and can degrade the work environment</a> for those who remain.</p>
<p>These conditions may indicate the demoralization of a profession. And yet the profession could become better appreciated as a result of this pandemic. Families are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/03/27/teachers-deserve-make-billion-dollars-shonda-rhimes-plus-other-homeschooling-parents-appreciating-educators/">learning firsthand</a> about the demands of teaching as many students learn from home.</p>
<p>Significant <a href="https://www.ecs.org/50-state-comparison-teacher-recruitment-and-retention/">state and local efforts</a> are underway to recruit educators to eliminate the teacher shortage. Some of these efforts focus on <a href="https://ccsso.org/resource-library/vision-and-guidance-diverse-and-learner-ready-teacher-workforce">attracting teachers</a> who are Black, Indigenous or other people of color. Nationwide, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/27/americas-public-school-teachers-are-far-less-racially-and-ethnically-diverse-than-their-students/">only 20% of teachers</a> identify as people of color, while the population of students of color is over 50%. </p>
<p>Policymakers, education leaders and teachers will need to confront the historic and current reasons for these shortages, including the <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/65-years-after-brown-v-board-where-are-all-the-black-educators/2019/05">mass dismissal of Black teachers and principals</a> after Brown v. Board of Education, and classroom practices that leave many teachers of color <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/black-teachers-feel-pigeonholed-report-finds/2016/11">feeling devalued and alienated</a>.</p>
<h2>3. Bring back joy</h2>
<p><strong>Diane B. Hirshberg, professor of education policy at the Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage</strong></p>
<p>For several decades now, teachers have been judged on how well their students do <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar08/vol65/num06/Testing-the-Joy-Out-of-Learning.aspx">on standardized tests</a>.</p>
<p>These efforts have led teachers to use lessons that are <a href="https://nepc.colorado.edu/newsletter/2015/12/reversing-deprofessionalization">narrow and often scripted</a> and that focus mostly on core subjects.</p>
<p>For many teachers, this has <a href="https://www.today.com/parents/teacher-quits-over-emphasis-standardized-tests-it-takes-joy-out-2D79439972">taken joy</a> out of what they do.</p>
<p>Giving teachers a canned curriculum and requiring them to follow a schedule and materials developed by people from a different state – or by a big publishing house – can leave teachers feeling as if their own expertise is <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ986817">not recognized or valued</a>. Also, this takes the creativity out of teaching and connecting with students, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/11/20/why-todays-college-students-dont-want-to-be-teachers/">diminishes the gratification</a> that comes from seeing their efforts and expertise transform the lives of their students. </p>
<p>Reversing the teacher shortage, in my view, will require Secretary Cardona to push for a system that fosters innovation, rewards expertise in teachers’ careers and uses standardized tests to inform – but not dictate – teacher practice. This requires collaboration among teacher education institutions, states and the Department of Education to transform both teacher preparation and classroom practice. It will require significant investment and patience, but I believe the payoff both for students and the economy will be profound.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382534/original/file-20210204-14-1nqume2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C20%2C6876%2C4879&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Teacher hugs a young student outside a classroom" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382534/original/file-20210204-14-1nqume2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C20%2C6876%2C4879&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382534/original/file-20210204-14-1nqume2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382534/original/file-20210204-14-1nqume2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382534/original/file-20210204-14-1nqume2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382534/original/file-20210204-14-1nqume2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382534/original/file-20210204-14-1nqume2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382534/original/file-20210204-14-1nqume2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For some teachers, standardized testing regimes have taken some of the joy out of classrooms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kelly-harper-left-one-of-four-finalists-for-the-national-news-photo/1137246325?adppopup=true">Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Build education leadership</h2>
<p><strong>Richard L. Schwab, professor of educational leadership and dean emeritus, University of Connecticut</strong></p>
<p>To boost student achievement and teacher morale, <a href="https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/pages/how-leadership-influences-student-learning.aspx">research shows</a> you need highly educated and experienced school principals and district leaders. </p>
<p>Thriving businesses invest heavily in <a href="https://www.harvardbusiness.org/what-we-do/leadership-development-training-what-we-do/">leadership development</a>. They commit to training employees who show leadership potential. As in business, effective leaders in education require the right skills and proper support. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/pages/launching-redesign-university-principal-preparation-programs.aspx">Researchers have identified</a> five components of effective principal training programs. They include a coherent curriculum, supervised experiences, active recruiting, cohort structure and continuous engagement with participants.</p>
<p>Examples of programs working with local school districts to do it differently include ours at the University of Connecticut <a href="https://ucapp.education.uconn.edu/">Administrator Preparation Program</a>, University of Washington’s <a href="https://www.danforth.uw.edu">Danforth Educational Leadership Program</a>, University of Denver’s <a href="https://morgridge.du.edu/programs/educational-leadership-policy-studies/certificate">Ritchie Program for School Leaders</a> and the <a href="https://education.uic.edu/academics/programs/school-leadership">Urban Educational Leadership Program</a> at the University of Illinois at Chicago. They are highly selective and seek to recruit high-potential district educators. Their faculty includes university scholars teaching alongside seasoned practitioners, and they offer extensive clinical placements for participants, who must demonstrate competence as instructional leaders.</p>
<p>Secretary Cardona – who was himself an adjunct professor in Connecticut’s APP program – can help expand such programs nationally, for example by creating seed grants that encourage school-university partnerships and making graduate student loans forgivable to help qualified teachers pursue leadership positions.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153129/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diane B Hirshberg's research on teacher supply, demand, turnover and salary issues in Alaska has been supported by the Alaska State Legislature and the University of Alaska. Other research on education policy issues has been funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ford Foundation.
Diane Hirshberg was founding director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Doris Santoro is a Fellow with the National Education Policy Center. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard L. Schwab is faculty member with the Department of Educational Leadership in the Neag School of Education where the UCAPP program mentioned is located. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bob Spires does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Four experts weigh in on ways to replenish the US teacher workforce and curb burnout.Bob Spires, Associate Professor of Education, University of RichmondDiane B Hirshberg, Professor of Education Policy, University of Alaska AnchorageDoris A. Santoro, Professor of Education, Bowdoin CollegeRichard L. Schwab, Raymond Neag Endowed Professor of Educational Leadership and Dean Emeritus, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1498962021-01-10T13:47:41Z2021-01-10T13:47:41ZTeachers are on the front lines with students in the coronavirus pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377670/original/file-20210107-19-22gh7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C422%2C1953%2C1374&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Children arrive by bus at Portage Trail Community School in North York, Ont., Sept. 15, 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.ctf-fce.ca/canadian-teachers-experiencing-a-mental-health-crisis">Anxieties among Canadian teachers</a> are heightened. Confronted with rising second wave COVID-19 cases, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-schools-covid-reopening-1.5864561">some provinces extended</a> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-weighs-extending-school-closures-past-jan-11-parents-worry-1.5862544">holiday school closures</a>. Meanwhile, many teachers have had to put aside <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/teacher-questionnaire-pandemic-1.5775805">concerns about their own health and safety</a> with in-person learning. </p>
<p>In Canada, teachers <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/should-teachers-education-workers-be-given-covid-19-vaccine-priority-1.5234025">aren’t currently among the first in line to be vaccinated</a>. <a href="https://www.ctf-fce.ca/teachers-and-education-workers-on-the-vaccine-priority-list/">The Canadian Federation of Teachers has been calling for teachers to be considered front-line workers</a> and given priority for vaccination, citing concerns with poor ventilation and insufficient physical distancing, among other issues.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/improving-building-ventilation-can-help-us-control-the-spread-of-covid-19-during-the-winter-months-151562">Improving building ventilation can help us control the spread of COVID-19 during the winter months</a>
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<p>Teachers have been in a constant state of unease since schools closed in March. With little in the way of preparation or training, they were called upon to move their classrooms and teaching online. Alongside <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-teachers-concerned-about-their-health-quality-of-education-as-they">this growing unease</a>, they had to adjust their home spaces. Some had to teach online alongside supporting their own children’s participation in virtual classrooms.</p>
<p>When teachers returned to classrooms in September, they were required to <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-how-do-you-teach-in-a-pandemic-masks-face-shields-and-patience">juggle new safety protocols</a>, help create socially distanced classrooms and oversee children’s health practices such as handwashing. Some have had to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hybrid-in-class-online-teaching-1.5762022">improvise hybrid in-class routines where they teach while some children attend virtually</a>. </p>
<p>This past school term, we held focus group discussions with 20 teachers in one of the Atlantic provinces to ask how teachers felt about their roles as educators and about the teaching challenges in a pandemic. This was part of a larger <a href="https://www.ulapland.fi/EN/Webpages/Teacher-Education-for-Social-Justice-and-Diversity/Projects/ADVOST">research project in collaboration with teachers and researchers in Canada, Finland and the United Kingdom that promotes children’s voices and digital storytelling</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher in a face shield." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377614/original/file-20210107-23-r0lak7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377614/original/file-20210107-23-r0lak7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377614/original/file-20210107-23-r0lak7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377614/original/file-20210107-23-r0lak7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377614/original/file-20210107-23-r0lak7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377614/original/file-20210107-23-r0lak7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377614/original/file-20210107-23-r0lak7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A teacher wearing protective equipment greets students in the schoolyard at Philippe-Labarre Elementary School in Montréal, Aug. 27, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Emotional, physical strain</h2>
<p>Teachers we interviewed about their classroom experiences expressed fears for their own health and families, worries about the impacts of social distancing in classrooms and concerns about insufficient teaching tools and resources.
Teachers relayed that there has <a href="https://www.edcan.ca/well-at-work/well-at-home/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA3NX_BRDQARIsALA3fILr_RxweOfmX4vQyY8aRTvmueUnQgyVDhq4X04MjVu0YPeQYtgKkLwaAirTEALw_wcB">been no change in the tools they are provided to support children’s educational and mental health needs</a>.</p>
<p>Caught in <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-classrooms-air-quality-and-covid-19-what-steps-are-canadian-school/">the crossfire of health advisories and government or school board indecisiveness or inaction</a>, teachers were often left standing ill-equipped and feeling unsupported in the front lines of this pandemic. </p>
<p>In interviews, teachers described their emotional and physical strain. One stated handwashing regulations had “shredded her hands to bits.” </p>
<p>Another anguished teacher with compromised health feared for students’ emotional needs. Some young students with <a href="https://edi.offordcentre.com/partners/canada/edi-in-ontario">varying levels of physical independence and emotional maturity</a> or still learning home and school boundaries frequently touch teachers or require hands-on help. The teacher knew she needed to sharply dissuade physical proximity and this could be overwhelming for some students.</p>
<p>Even teachers who were well prepared and experienced in responsive teaching were not ready for a pandemic, and the resulting pivot to teaching online. The range of teaching approaches they have developed has been vast, from <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/parody-video-survivor-winnipeg-covid-19-1.5546788">homemade and interactive videos</a> to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/hamilton-outdoor-school-covid-19-1.5742066">taking learning outdoors</a>. </p>
<h2>Concerns for students</h2>
<p>During our focus group discussions, teachers brought forth powerful metaphors.</p>
<p>In one of our in-person but distanced sessions, one teacher brought a Rubik’s cube and explained that while she knew teaching in a pandemic could be done, she had no idea how to solve the puzzle. The cube resonated with all the teachers as an analogy for their frustrations. </p>
<p>Another shared a set of Matryoshka nesting dolls that represented the layers of curriculum, protocols and the many levels and complexities of teaching. Each doll opened to reveal another problem. The teacher explained that the last doll represented the children in her classroom <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/federal-deficit-on-track-to-exceed-381b-as-spending-increases-in-wake-of-second-covid-19-wave-1.5209807">who seemed to be given the smallest priority on the national stage, amidst discussions of the national economy and other priorities</a>.</p>
<p>Her response sparked emotion in the group. Other teachers recalled the social inequities some children face daily, and brought to mind students who they knew would be affected by the absence of school-provided breakfast and lunches during the lockdown. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A set of nesting dolls." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377473/original/file-20210107-21-1hollll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377473/original/file-20210107-21-1hollll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377473/original/file-20210107-21-1hollll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377473/original/file-20210107-21-1hollll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377473/original/file-20210107-21-1hollll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377473/original/file-20210107-21-1hollll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377473/original/file-20210107-21-1hollll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One teacher used a set of nesting dolls to explain the interconnectedness of teaching issues and to discuss how the smallest doll represented the children whose needs were not prioritized.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>New demands</h2>
<p>During our meetings and interviews in October, teachers relayed how they navigated the new demands. By our December interviews, our conversations were dominated by teachers’ experiences of constant stress and anxiety. One teacher pointed to “teacher fatigue,” and how the many extra safety procedures and protocols were wearing teachers down. She likened it to “death by a thousand cuts.” </p>
<p>All teachers had added many new elements to their front-line worker duties — extra handwashing, disinfecting desks, constant reminders to socially distance. All of these measures resulted in lost preparation time, lost class time or missed lunches.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A teacher teaching online." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377617/original/file-20210107-15-ong23v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377617/original/file-20210107-15-ong23v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377617/original/file-20210107-15-ong23v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377617/original/file-20210107-15-ong23v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377617/original/file-20210107-15-ong23v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377617/original/file-20210107-15-ong23v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377617/original/file-20210107-15-ong23v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teacher Angeliki Baladima gives an online lesson to students in Athens, Nov. 9, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While teacher education programs in Canada address teaching with digital tools, their focus is in-person classroom teaching. With the COVID-19 lockdown, Canadian teachers struggled. They searched for online teaching skills and approaches while creating meaningful digital engagement and learning strategies. </p>
<p>Teachers knew that it would not be possible for all children and families to have the means to wake up one day and go to school virtually. They knew children from vulnerable contexts were more seriously impacted by the pandemic: for example, digital access was not universal and <a href="https://www.edcan.ca/articles/e-learning-at-home">parents from lower-income households particularly faced challenges managing homeschooling with their own work</a>.</p>
<h2>Growing cohesion</h2>
<p>Discussions with teachers were also full of the optimism teachers are recognized for. Teachers mentioned instances of growing cohesion and community in the classroom, and how these vital connections were nurtured with students before and during present COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions. Another teacher mentioned how, as a result of parents following provincial advisories to keep sick children at home, occasionally smaller classes prevailed.</p>
<p>With the rise of COVID-19 cases, teachers are taking on this front-line fight as they continue to cultivate their learning about teaching online and in hybrid contexts and their <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/outdoor-classrooms-covid-nlesd-1.5718587">strategies for managing risks in schools.</a> </p>
<p>As teachers continue to teach in both physical classrooms and online, the uncertainties around the pandemic continue. If COVID-19 has any bright silver lining, it has made the public vitally aware of children’s socio-emotional needs and the critical and growing role of teachers as heroes in the pandemic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149896/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diane R. Collier receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Burke receives funding from SSHRC</span></em></p>Teachers’ optimism is strained when they know much more could be done to minimize COVID-19 safety risks in schools and to help them support student needs during COVID-19.Diane R. Collier, Associate professor, Department of Educational Studies, Brock UniversityAnne Burke, Professor, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of NewfoundlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1450852020-09-17T16:55:39Z2020-09-17T16:55:39ZStrong relationships help kids catch up after 6 months of COVID-19 school closures<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357764/original/file-20200913-14-1ls7zuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C204%2C3222%2C1967&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Five-year-old Maverick Denette, left, and his six-year-old sister Peyton, centre, talk with a teacher at St. Thomas More Elementary School in Mississauga, Ont., Sept. 9, 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Canadian children are now returning to their classrooms <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-how-different-provinces-have-handled-the-school-closures/">after schools shut down in March</a> to stem the spread of COVID-19. </p>
<p>Classrooms under strict health guidelines are <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/mask-mandates-class-caps-back-to-school-rules-by-province-1.5042739">very different to the settings children knew last spring</a>. The children may be different too, having experienced family stress brought about by fear, uncertainty or <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/08-04-2020-joint-leader-s-statement---violence-against-children-a-hidden-crisis-of-the-covid-19-pandemic">life-changing events related to the pandemic, such as family violence</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/20/03/harvard-edcast-learning-loss-and-coronavirus">Students’ learning loss</a> over the summer months has long been the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543066003227">subject of research concern</a> — some call it <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/summer-learning-loss-what-is-it-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/">the “summer slide</a>.” COVID-19 school closures have been almost three times as long as a summer vacation, prompting some to discuss a potential <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/experts-caution-covid-slide-looming-for-children-out-of-school-1.4923826">COVID-19 slide</a>. Researchers have projected <a href="https://www.nwea.org/blog/2020/covid-19-school-closures-could-have-devastating-impact-student-achievement/">that due to pandemic school closures some students may have lost a year’s worth of learning in some elementary grade subjects</a> — particularly more vulnerable students who have faced traumatic events during the shutdown. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1254840355591159811"}"></div></p>
<p>The amplification of the effects of <a href="https://www.nwea.org/content/uploads/2020/05/Collaborative-Brief_Covid19-Slide-APR20.pdf">learning loss</a> is an <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-there-is-a-reading-crisis-in-canada-the-pandemic-will-make-it-worse/">important consideration</a>. But directing attention to missed learning should not mean overlooking the powerful contribution of relationships, well-being and mental health to student success — an elevated priority for children who have experienced fear and trauma related to the pandemic. How school districts respond may have a lasting effect on this generation.</p>
<h2>Excessive stress prevents learning</h2>
<p>Educators can alleviate some of the negative consequences of excessive stress and enhance children’s well-being through <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315680019">positive and attuned relationships</a> — relationships where educators are <a href="https://www.first5la.org/parenting/articles/ages-stages-attachment-and-attunement/">tuned in, aware of and responsive to children’s emotional needs as they are being expressed</a>. Well-being is a required condition upon which achievement is built.</p>
<p>The growing international body of evidence on the impact of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30186-3">social isolation</a> on the mental health and well-being of young people has led to calls for school systems to take a <a href="https://services.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2020/pediatricians-educators-and-superintendents-urge-a-safe-return-to-school-this-fall/">balanced approach</a> to reopening, addressing children’s <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/children-and-young-people%E2%80%99s-mental-health-during-covid-19-policy-statement">mental health</a> as well as their educational needs. </p>
<p>Children experiencing increased stress, anxiety <a href="http://angusreid.org/covid19-kids-opening-schools/">and worries</a> as a result of the pandemic are operating in a state of high alert. This affects their ability to regulate emotions and impulses, and to attend to, reflect upon and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10195112/">remember information</a>, as well as to engage in constructive relationships with others. </p>
<p>In a spring report for UNESCO, as children and their teachers were entering the new world of distance learning and isolation, renowned educator <a href="https://blogs.sl.pt/cloud/file/9a5cca76215b2eee0e852e791bb5c8f4/workprogress/2020/2020_Research_COVID-19_ENG.pdf">Armand Doucet and his colleagues argued that students needed to feel safe and have their basic needs met as a priority</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A boy and his mother seen from behind walking to school." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357765/original/file-20200913-18-mnoqb8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357765/original/file-20200913-18-mnoqb8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357765/original/file-20200913-18-mnoqb8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357765/original/file-20200913-18-mnoqb8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357765/original/file-20200913-18-mnoqb8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357765/original/file-20200913-18-mnoqb8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357765/original/file-20200913-18-mnoqb8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A student is dropped off at class by his mother at Elizabeth B. Phin Public School ahead of their first day of classes in Pickering, Ont., on Sept. 8, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Regulation of stress through relationships</h2>
<p>The ability to regulate students’ stress and anxiety through classroom relationships is a powerful tool to support academic outcomes.</p>
<p>Attempts to fulfil urgent academic expectations, without addressing children’s fundamental need for emotional safety, will exacerbate children’s feelings of stress and anxiety and even further challenge their ability to self-regulate. </p>
<p>When children experience this state of imbalance, they <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/ask_a_psychologist/2020/07/stress_can_lead_to_student_failure_new_research_success.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-new">perform more poorly in school</a>. Their bodies go into a state of fight-or-flight, with survival being the primary focus, leaving little room for learning. </p>
<p>Educators have been subject to the stresses of the pandemic too. <a href="https://vox.ctf-fce.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Teacher-Experience-Survey_OVERVIEW_EN.pdf">In a survey</a> of 17,352 Canadian educators by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, 44 per cent expressed concerns about their own mental health and well-being. </p>
<p>Here are three ways school systems and school leaders can support student emotional well-being to ground academic success.</p>
<p><strong><em>1. Foster teachers’ sense of personal and professional safety.</em></strong> In order for educators to attend to the well-being of their students, they must also prioritize their own well-being. </p>
<p>When school systems and school leaders provide reassurance of personal safety, opportunity to collaborate with peers and time to adapt their classroom practices, they contribute to educators’ sense of well-being. Research suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019675218338">perceiving that decisions and actions can impact life outcomes</a> is associated with lower work stress, greater likelihood of asking for support and positive thinking.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-prevent-teacher-burnout-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-139353">How to prevent teacher burnout during the coronavirus pandemic</a>
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<p>Teachers need to have agency to shape the learning environment, and to assess and address their students’ emotional well-being and readiness to learn before embarking on an ambitious plan to make up for lost academic time. When teachers feel safe and supported, they will be better positioned to support their students through responsive relationships. </p>
<p>In turn, students connect to teachers’ cues and feel soothed and safe. Through the important co-regulating responses of the educator-student relationship, children’s autonomic nervous systems (the primary mechanism <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response">behind the fight-or-flight response</a>) are calmed. This creates a state of readiness to engage and learn. </p>
<p><strong><em>2. Modify academic expectations</em>.</strong> Curriculum documents lay out expectations for each grade. There is no prescription for the timing of delivery, nor of the pacing. As professionals, teachers are well-aware of curricular expectations, and they modify pace and order to suit their class. Principals, vice-principals and any teachers in school leadership roles should recognize this need, and signal to teachers that this is OK. Teachers will plan to meet curriculum expectations as they always have, but there may be modification in their planned timelines particularly at the start of the year.</p>
<p>Encouraging teachers to set reasonable expectations and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26311196/">being kind</a> to themselves will also support positive mental health. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00330.x">Self-compassion</a> supports feelings of safety and security.</p>
<p>By accepting that things are different, and curbing the propensity to take on unrealistic timelines for improvement, educators can help students transition from a state of heightened stress to a more balanced state — a precursor to learning and success.</p>
<p><strong><em>3. Build relationships with families</em>.</strong> By taking an interest in how families are doing, and really listening, school-based educators take the lead on building more caring relationships with children and their homes. Home-school partnerships are crucial to understanding children’s well-being needs, and prioritizing them would help realize the pandemic’s catch phrase of collaboration and mutual support: “We’re all in this together.”</p>
<p>Making children feel emotionally safe and supporting their ability to self-regulate through positive relationships, and prioritizing teacher well-being and family connections, will support the quest for academic success. </p>
<p><em>This article was co-authored by Penny Patrician, who holds a PhD from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, and who works as an education consultant.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Bayrami does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The approach that schools take to addressing how to get students caught up in learning they missed due to COVID-19 school closures may have a lasting impact on this generation.Lisa Bayrami, Contract Lecturer, Department of Education and Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Lakehead UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1393532020-06-16T18:58:56Z2020-06-16T18:58:56ZHow to prevent teacher burnout during the coronavirus pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341554/original/file-20200612-153822-1fqtzug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=208%2C0%2C3776%2C2589&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teacher Céline Guérin explains two-metre distancing to students in the school yard of Marie-Derome School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., May 11, 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The term “<a href="https://www.hilltimes.com/2020/03/30/241159/241159">unprecedented times</a>” has become a hallmark for describing the context in which leaders must respond to changing needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective responses in education are dependent upon teachers as the front-line workers in classrooms, <a href="https://www.edutopia.org/article/burnout-isnt-inevitable">so it’s essential that administrators take care of teachers</a>. When they do so, they also take care of students. </p>
<p>When teachers don’t have the resources they need, and especially when sustained job demands are high, teachers experience chronic stress — and eventually burnout. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heartbreak-becomes-burnout-for-teachers-when-work-is-turbulent-111148">Heartbreak becomes burnout for teachers when work is turbulent</a>
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<p>Teachers who are burned out are <a href="http://www.research.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/2633590/teacher-wellbeing-and-student.pdf">less effective as teachers, have less supportive relationships with students</a> and, in turn, the students they teach have lower <a href="https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/05/22/high-teacher-stress-leads-to-poorer-student-outcomes.aspx">academic and</a> <a href="https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2017/06/07/how-teachers-stress-affects-students-a-research.html">social outcomes</a>. </p>
<h2>National teacher survey</h2>
<p>We conducted a survey to learn how best to support teachers with coping during the pandemic. In May, we surveyed 1,330 teachers from across Canada, including every province and one territory. The survey included 92 questions related to burnout, efficacy, techno-stress, attitudes toward change, resources, demands and coping. </p>
<p>We hope our early findings can help shape how parents and administrators consider supporting teachers during this pandemic and potentially other waves of it. As we continue our research we will be interested to see how teachers show resiliency during the pandemic. Research shows that teachers under sustained stress <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.03.007">lose resiliency in three phases as they burnout, but a balance of job demands and resources can reverse this trend</a>. </p>
<p>Our survey questions used a scale to capture teacher views, and there were some opportunities for open-ended comments. We used purposeful sampling to select a subsample of teachers who represented the larger sample, and we interviewed them about their experiences teaching during COVID-19. Our results suggest five important themes.</p>
<h2>What we learned</h2>
<p><strong>1. Teachers’ concern for vulnerable students is one of the most stressful aspects of their jobs right now.</strong></p>
<p>First, we saw clearly that teachers have a caring role in the lives of students outside students’ academic work, and that teachers’ concern for their students is top of mind for them right now. </p>
<p>When we asked teachers to name the three most stressful aspects of their jobs in current conditions, and also when we interviewed teachers, the first concern expressed by many teachers was how they are using daily contact with students to reinforce established relationships and ensure students have adequate food, support and safety.</p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-food-banks-are-needed-to-feed-the-hungry-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-136164">More than food banks are needed to feed the hungry during the coronavirus pandemic</a>
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<p>Not being able to observe every child and youth each day intensifies teachers’ worries, as they aren’t confident that all their students are OK.</p>
<p>Of particular concern to teachers are children who have not been heard from and whose families have not responded to their teachers since schools shut down. Some teachers have gone so far as to go to students’ homes to check on them.</p>
<p>One teacher said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Now, there’s just more worry about how kids are coping and how their families are coping. … I’m not even really worried about what we’re teaching — that’s the last of my worries.” </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341556/original/file-20200612-153862-h7pj1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341556/original/file-20200612-153862-h7pj1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341556/original/file-20200612-153862-h7pj1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341556/original/file-20200612-153862-h7pj1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341556/original/file-20200612-153862-h7pj1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341556/original/file-20200612-153862-h7pj1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341556/original/file-20200612-153862-h7pj1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Teachers aren’t confident that all their students are OK.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p><strong>2. Teachers are seeing magnified inequities.</strong></p>
<p>Second, teachers are seeing that <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-shout-out-to-teachers-why-their-expertise-matters-in-the-coronavirus-pandemic-and-always-136575">inequities in access to learning are magnified</a>, and that these extend far beyond the <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/itse11/52191.html">digital divide</a>. </p>
<p>These trends were demonstrated in the open-ended responses as well as provided in detail in the interviews. </p>
<p>One teacher said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Students might not have a meal that day, so we’re reaching out to them and delivering food, and our division is working hard on getting technology to those kids and getting them hooked up to the internet.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Even students with internet access and devices are not all equally supported. </p>
<p>Some children need more academic supports because they have special educational needs or parents who do not speak the language of instruction, and teachers reported that not all children had equal access to that support when not in school. Some have no one to help them because their parents are working, busy with child care or are unavailable. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-distance-learning-poses-challenges-for-some-families-of-children-with-disabilities-136696">Coronavirus: Distance learning poses challenges for some families of children with disabilities</a>
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<p>Teachers recognize that they have a role to play in addressing the inequities and are providing learning materials in multiple ways in addition to online supports. In some cases, teachers were driving to students’ houses and teaching out of their vans, and in some divisions school bus drivers were redirected to drop off and pick up student work at their homes. </p>
<p><strong>3. When giving teachers initial resources, less is more.</strong></p>
<p>Our survey findings showed that the most successful approach for offering teachers resources are those that initially focus on only a few familiar teaching mechanisms and then gradually provide more complex options. Teachers who were flooded with websites, learning platforms and other resources often viewed them not as resources, but as demands, leading to more teacher burnout. </p>
<p>It may seem counterintuitive that offering many resources to bolster learning isn’t helpful during a stressful time, but this message was statistically significant within the survey results and borne out in interview data. </p>
<p>Teachers demonstrated the highest levels of coping when initially given reduced demands and the opportunity to focus on familiar strategies and expectations with students. Once they had settled into the new reality of their teaching roles, they were able to add more resources and view them as supports. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.03.007">Modelling predicts</a>, and our findings concur, that during the initial stages of workers’ exhaustion, it is more effective to decrease demands than it is to provide resources.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341557/original/file-20200612-153812-1mr9crw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341557/original/file-20200612-153812-1mr9crw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341557/original/file-20200612-153812-1mr9crw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341557/original/file-20200612-153812-1mr9crw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341557/original/file-20200612-153812-1mr9crw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341557/original/file-20200612-153812-1mr9crw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341557/original/file-20200612-153812-1mr9crw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Teachers who perceive collegial support are more successful in coping.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p><strong>4. Perceived support matters to teachers’ resiliency.</strong> </p>
<p>Survey data demonstrated that teachers who perceived high parental support or high administrator support coped better, and interviews verified these trends. </p>
<p>Many teachers described an initial period of uncertainty and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/nov/10/stressed-teachers-at-breaking-point-says-report">exhaustion</a>, where their efficacy and confidence dipped. </p>
<p>Teachers who sense scrutiny from parents and administrators during this time when their struggles are observed have more difficulty coping. Teachers who perceive collegial support, who set limits on their time and who practice <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-04-07-teachers-are-anxious-and-overwhelmed-they-need-sel-now-more-than-ever">self-understanding</a> are more successful in recovering efficacy and coping. </p>
<p><strong>5. Teachers are concerned about effectively engaging students through remote learning, and professional collaboration can help.</strong></p>
<p>Teachers expressed in interviews that they are concerned about finding ways to engage students through remote learning during the pandemic. Student engagement was highlighted as a significant concern in the open-ended survey responses as well. </p>
<p>Teachers noted that without classroom-based, consistent observation and monitoring, it is even more important that tasks and learning activities motivate the students to sustain their attention and focus. Some said that the collaboration of colleagues was important. When teachers worked together to develop theme-based, cross-curricular inquiry in their lesson planning, this resulted in more engaged students and also bolstered existing professional learning communities. </p>
<p>In order to ensure that our children get the best education possible both during distance learning and when returning to classrooms, <a href="https://en.unesco.org/news/teacher-task-force-calls-support-63-million-teachers-touched-covid-19-crisis">supporting teachers</a> and listening to their voices will be important to ensuring these essential members of the educational team remain resilient.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139353/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Sokal receives funding from SSHRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeff Babb and Lesley Eblie Trudel do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A cross-Canada survey of teachers shows teachers say one of the most stressful aspects of their jobs now is their concern for vulnerable students.Laura Sokal, Professor of Education, University of WinnipegJeff Babb, Associate Professor of Statistics, Department of Mathematics & Statistics, University of Winnipeg, University of WinnipegLesley Eblie Trudel, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, University of WinnipegLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.