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.
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.
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.
Interviews and surveys with hundreds of teachers and school administrators reveal the effect of persistent staffing shortages on school personnel – and on students.
Many teachers are sick of pretending they are “doing OK”. They feel pressured to be unrealistically positive in the face of irrefutable evidence that everything is not great.
Newly qualified teachers who aren’t involved in a good induction program are more likely to leave the profession within their first five years of teaching. And most don’t get these inductions.
Workplace stress among academics has long been higher in Australia and New Zealand than overseas, and research suggests the flow-on impacts on students could fuel a vicious cycle of negative feedback.
Addressing children’s and youth’s needs requires the expertise and support of educational assistants, school psychologists and all workers who collaborate to build caring school communities.
Math instruction is stuck in the last century. How can we change teaching methods to move past rote memorization and help students develop a more meaningful understanding – and be better at math?