In her 20 years in education, Jennifer Merriman has seen a trend in the field toward solving problems by giving already overburdened teachers more work. Ta.
That ultimately goes against teacher well-being, which researchers say is one of the most important pillars of school success. The findings of the University of Oxford Center for Wellbeing Research are detailed in the following document: new report The project was commissioned by the International Baccalaureate Organization, where Merriman serves as global director of research, policy and design.
“I think schools need to get creative if the workload is already overwhelming teachers,” Merriman said. They must check the box. ”
The researchers said that schools have a strong interest in improving teacher well-being, stating: 2022 Gallup Poll They found that 44 percent of U.S. K-12 workers feel burnout at work “all the time” or “very often.” Focusing only on teachers, they had the highest burnout rate of all school staff at 52%.
sparse research field
Merriman said the International Baccalaureate has announced that it will focus on teacher health after the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has had on schools, finding that there is little research on the topic. The decision was made to conduct a detailed investigation. The paper is the second in a trilogy commissioned by the organization, the first of which deals with student wellbeing.
“The pandemic hit and everyone suffered: students and their families, parents, teachers, school administrators,” she says. “[The Wellbeing Research Centre] These really help us understand the science behind happiness. How do we define it? What are the drivers or determinants of well-being? And what can we do at the IB or globally to actually improve the well-being of our students and teachers?”
Researchers found that the report divided ‘teacher well-being’ into three main factors: job satisfaction, personal factors such as physical health, and school-level factors such as work-life balance and class size. We developed what we call a classification framework.
The report warns that this area of research is still in its infancy and the teacher health promoters identified in the report may not be exhaustive, but it hopes to improve support for teachers. It provides a framework for starting a dialogue at the school you are considering.
Researchers also identified school-level factors that increase teacher job satisfaction as school climate, pay satisfaction, supportive professional relationships, job security, continuous learning, and workplace recognition. was identified.
Happiness and student success
The ultimate goal is for schools to “talk about what really matters to teachers and staff, and to understand the local context and the factors that drive school satisfaction for educators.” says Merriman.
According to some poll data, more than half of teachers I considered quittingMerriman said it was important for the entire education sector to improve workplace wellbeing before teacher attrition became a potential crisis.you may already feel that way some regions of the country By 2022, teacher turnover will reach 24 percent.
“I think one of the things that we all intuitively felt and really came through in the report was the boundaries between teachers and students,” she says. “The most important element, and the one who contributes the most to students’ academic and well-being outcomes, is the teacher within the school. there is no.”
