Friday the 5th: Teacher stress

Key points:

Educators have never had an easy job, but teacher stress and burnout are at unprecedented levels in schools across the country.

Getting new hires and maintaining educator retention remains a challenge, and teacher stress appears to have skyrocketed in the wake of the pandemic as teachers juggle learning loss, student mental health, behavioral issues, equity and more.

Let's take a look at some of the main factors affecting the well-being and stress of teachers today:

teacher stress

Unfortunately, teacher burnout is not a new phenomenon. But since the global pandemic and its complete disruption of the education system, teacher stress is no longer seasonal but an ever-present state for many teachers, leading many to examine teacher burnout statistics. And even with the return to in-person learning, we continue to see how deeply teacher burnout affects every aspect of the classroom, from academic results to teacher and student well-being, to staff shortages and abandonment of the profession by the educators. Read more.

Why is teacher burnout so high?

The American Federation of Teachers partnered with Educators Thriving for a year-long study that culminated in a new report, “Beyond exhaustion” detailing practical, research-based solutions to improve the chronic levels of stress and burnout that plague teachers and support staff in K-12 schools and contribute to widespread teacher shortages. The report highlights the numerous challenges educators face and the causes of teacher burnout, and proposes a number of strategies and solutions to address them, including several factors that reliably predict educator well-being: responsive leadership and supportive culture, acceptance , adaptability, personal well-being. human being and a professional growth orientation. At the center of these solutions is a call for connection, collaboration, and commitment from leaders to support the well-being of educators so that they, in turn, can support their students. Read more.

Why has teaching become so stressful?

Teaching has always been a stressful profession, but since the pandemic it has become even more so. Almost three out of four teachers They say they experience frequent work-related stress and 59 percent say they are exhausted. The effects of teacher stress are causing many to leave the profession, and this is affecting the ability of school systems to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers. In fact, new research suggests that the teacher shortages many districts have experienced since COVID have only spread got worse in many cases, and they were not just a function of the pandemic. Read more.

Why are so many teachers resigning right now?

While they find their work meaningful, most education professionals experience burnout higher than the national average, according to a study. recent study. In fact, more than 20 percent plan to switch to a related field and more than 30 percent are looking to change careers entirely. Seventy-five percent of respondents believe their workload has been affected by staff shortages and 70 percent say the industry's workforce has not yet recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Sometimes the reasons involve teachers resigning due to student behavior. Read more.

Can teachers recover from burnout?

In today's educational environment, there appears to be extremely high levels of stress, burnout, and generally low staff morale. Many educational leaders seek to identify the stages of teacher burnout. In education, where student success is closely tied to the motivation and dedication of teachers and staff to go the extra mile, raising employee well-being is not only human, but a crucial component of improving morale. of the employees. Several things can be done to improve employee morale by intentionally focusing on well-being. Read more.

Laura Ascione is the editorial director of eSchool Media. She graduated from the prestigious Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

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