The recent Ideagen Education Risk Report - Looming Mental Health Crisis and Other Key Risks Affecting Schools in 2023 highlights a number of issues that schools are grappling with.
In this second article in the series, we focus on the Report’s findings regarding human resources issues.
The findings in the Report regarding human resources issues are:
Survey respondents, the largest share of whom held leadership positions in schools (48 per cent), ranked human resources concerns as their top priority. School leaders are facing the enormous challenge of keeping teachers in front of classes during a time of teacher workforce shortages and escalating levels of teacher stress and burnout. This has led many to refer to the situation as a teaching “crisis”.
98 per cent of respondents said they have been significantly impacted by staff workload concerns, and 92 per cent have experienced increased stress and burnout. Australia's school leaders are under immense pressure and are finding it difficult to manage these challenges while delivering high quality education to over 4 million students. The teaching profession is facing major challenges, including a shortage of teachers due to attrition and difficulty attracting new teachers, as well as a decline in appreciation and trust for teachers.
With cost-of-living challenges impacting employees across Australia, it is expected that financial anxiety will further contribute to the stress and burnout being reported by 92 per cent of respondents.
According to our survey, 89 per cent of respondents have been somewhat or greatly impacted by difficulties in attracting and maintaining high quality teaching staff. This finding aligns with data produced by The Educator and the Australian Teacher Workforce Data: National Teacher Workforce Characteristics Report over the past two years which indicate that:
So why do teachers want to leave their jobs? Monash University's 2022 survey highlights that teachers are most likely to quit their jobs due to issues related to workload pressure, burnout and wellbeing, as well as concerns over declining appreciation, respect and trust by the community. Moreover, the Monash University study reveals that 86 per cent of teachers believe that their workload is unmanageable, and 25 per cent report feeling unsafe in their workplaces mainly due to harassment and abuse by students and parents.
An analysis of 65,000 news articles from 1996 to 2020 highlighted the declining appreciation and trust for teachers. The research found that news articles commonly engaged in "teacher bashing" and that negative stories about teachers significantly outnumbered positive ones. Furthermore, there was a "fixation" on "teacher quality" as the primary factor in student outcomes, to the exclusion of teaching approaches, schools, and other relevant factors. The report also revealed that news articles portrayed teachers' work as "simple" and suggested that decision-making for teachers was easy, such as in the common refrain, "teachers should just do this...".
According to our survey, 91.4 per cent of respondents have experienced some level of impact from staff shortages in schools. The Federal Education Minister released figures, based on the Australian Government’s Department of Education modelling, predicting a shortfall of approximately 4,100 secondary school teachers between 2021 and 2025. This prediction has been widely reported in the media, along with concerns about teacher anxiety and burnout. The stresses faced by teachers within a climate of declining appreciation and trust has not gone unnoticed by prospective teachers and others considering teaching as a profession.
The teaching profession in Australia is facing a significant crisis, with school leaders struggling to manage human resource concerns such as teacher shortages and increasing levels of anxiety and burnout. It is crucial for schools to recognise the impact of these challenges and be proactive in supporting and managing the wellbeing of their staff. Attracting and retaining high quality teachers is also a major concern, with workload pressure, burnout and declining appreciation and trust among the key factors that cause teachers to consider leaving the profession. It is essential to address these issues to ensure that Australian students receive high quality education and the continuity of education is not disrupted.