2023, How’s it Going?

Believe it or not, we have reached the midpoint of 2023, so it’s a good time to check up on how staff are feeling, their concerns and wishes.

Teaching isn’t easy and while there is plenty of negativity about, there are bright spots for those involved in the profession.

Despite the challenges, most Australian teachers find fulfilment in their work and feel confident in their teaching practice.

According to TES’ School Wellbeing Report 2023, most teaching staff have high levels of confidence in their teaching ability, 87 per cent of those surveyed said that they believe they are skilful workers, while only 2 per cent said that they don’t.

Three-quarters said they feel confident performing their roles, while only 12 per cent don’t (a number that has remained static from the 2022 survey). Teachers work hard in Australia, 76 per cent said that they really throw themselves into their work, compared with only 8 per cent who don’t.

Another positive finding is around teachers’ relationship with students, which are overwhelmingly positive.  A majority of 72 per cent agree that “On the whole, staff at my school have good relationships with the students.”

Now for the less positive findings, while it is work, there should be some sense of enjoyment and teachers are split down the middle as to whether they find their work to be fun, 40 per cent of respondents said that they find work fun, 38 per cent said that they don’t, a negative shift from last year’s results (46 per cent and 32 per cent respectively).

Do school staff find meaning in their work? Last year 48 per cent said that they were working towards goals that matter to them and 29 per cent said they weren’t, in the 2023 survey, only 44 per cent said they were, and 36 per cent said they weren’t.

Workload is an ongoing issue for staff in Australian schools, 57 per cent feel their current workload isn’t manageable, while only 25 per cent feel that theirs is. This is a negative change from last year, when the figures were 50 and 33 per cent, respectively. The teacher shortage is the issue here, remaining staff face higher workloads around teaching, marking, administration and parental expectations.

Workload is consistently cited as a contributing factor for those leaving the profession and schools are making efforts to ease the burden, with 46 per cent of those surveyed saying that meetings at their school have been streamlined, while 34 per cent have had timetabling software introduced to ensure the most efficient use of staff time and 30 per cent have seen behaviour management software implemented.

There is still some way to go in introducing efficiencies, 17 per cent of schools have introduced time saving edtech, 10 per cent use lesson planning software and 6 per cent have introduced reduced marking.

An issue with leadership in Australian schools has been identified, half (44 per cent) of respondents now feel that their leadership team doesn’t make good decisions, while only 34 per cent feel that theirs does. However, some 57 per cent of school staff said that their school has a vision for the future (up from 53 per cent last year), while only 23 per cent said that theirs doesn’t.

Communication or lack of it is key here; around half of respondents (48 per cent) said that information isn’t shared effectively between staff at their school, compared with only 39 per cent who said the same in 2022. Only 30 per cent of staff feel that information is shared effectively nearly 10 per cent down from 41 per cent in 2022.

Staff voice is falling on deaf ears, 54 per cent said they feel they don’t have a voice about how things go in their school, compared with 44 per cent in 2022. The number who feel that they do remained largely stable at 28 per cent in 2022 and 27 per cent in 2023.

Whether staff feel as though their careers are being supported and developed seems to be split down the middle, 46 per cent disagree with the statement “There are opportunities for me to develop in my role”. Some 48 per cent disagree with the statement “There are opportunities for me to know how well I am doing at work.”