Up to 48 per cent of educators feel stressed either “most of the time” or “fairly often”, according to a new report.
The results are part of the inaugural ASG-ACE Teachers Report card, which surveyed teachers on a range of issues, including testing, curriculum, stress and wellbeing.
The joint initiative between the Australian College of Educators (ACE) and ASG surveyed 380 teachers with varying degrees of experience, ranging from school principals to part-time teaching staff.
Among the findings are that one in five teachers have considered leaving the profession in the past three months.
Other areas include that almost half of educators (49 per cent) believe there is too much standardised testing (eg NAPLAN), while three per cent of teachers believe there is too little.
Teachers in faith-based schools say they have the worst work-life balance, with 74 per cent reporting a typical week is “less balance than they would like” or “not balanced at all”.
Yet despite these challenges, nine out of 10 teachers maintain a sense of pride about their profession and speak positively about their jobs to friends and family.
“This is not surprising as teaching is widely acknowledged as a profession that is driven by passion,” the report read.
Other findings include that nearly six in 10 (59 per cent) teachers agree having the opportunity to get promoted is important, but more than half (55 per cent) think it rarely happens.
“The opportunity for promotion appears more prevalent in secondary schools with 80 per cent of preschool teachers and 68 per cent of primary school teachers revealing promotion was ‘limited’ or ‘very limited’ compared to 51 per cent of secondary teachers.”
“These results correlate with the finding that one in five teachers (21 per cent) have seriously thought about leaving the profession in the past three months.”
The report concluded that the current rate of teacher retention was “unacceptable” and it was essential the views of teachers were heard by decision makers, policy makers and key stakeholders to help improve this outcome.
