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End of the rope
Survey says half of Australia ’ s teachers plan to leave .
By Emilie Lauer
Nearly half of teachers in Australian schools are considering quitting their jobs within the next 12 months due to heavy workloads , staff shortages and teaching out-of-field , a new survey has revealed .
A survey of 4000 Australian educators by the Black Dog Institute showed nearly 47 per cent of teachers are considering leaving , a jump from the 14 per cent reported in 2014 .
Head of Population Mental Health at UNSW Associate Professor Aliza Werner- Seidler said the data reflects a “ profession in crisis ”.
“ Teachers are working longer hours with fewer resources , and this pressure is building with an increase of burnout and time being taken off due to mental illhealth ,” she said .
Primary and secondary teachers from all states and territories in public , Catholic and private schools participated in the survey .
Among those surveyed , 89 per cent were women with a median age of 45 .
Around 70 per cent of teachers reported having unmanageable workloads , with 85 per cent reporting arriving at work earlier than required to meet job requirements .
Over three-quarters of educators said they were facing teacher shortages in their schools , with one-quarter reporting regularly teaching out-of-field .
More than 59 per cent of surveyed teachers reported severe stress , 52 per cent reported extreme depression , and 46 per cent had moderate to severe anxiety , which is four times higher than the general population .
More than 75 per cent of teachers indicated feeling burned out , and nearly 42 per cent of teachers reported being ‘ at the end of the rope ’ either ‘ often ’ or ‘ all the time ’.
Less than 20 per cent of educators said they were optimistic about the future .
“ It is clear teachers are not finding the mental health support they need ,” Professor Werner-Seidler said .
Data showed that 60 per cent of teacher absences in the previous month were due to a mental health or emotional problem .
Professor Werner-Seidler said low levels of teacher wellbeing impacts entire school communities .
“ Research has shown teacher wellbeing can also have an impact on student ’ s academic and emotional outcomes , and the emotional wellbeing and economic productivity of parents ,” she said .
“ It took 10 years to create this crisis , and it will take time to fix .
She said governments need to do more to retain teachers .
“ We need more targeted investment from both state and federal governments towards whole-of-school programs that promote better teacher mental health and the wellbeing of school communities .”
Last week , at an Australian Education Union conference in Melbourne , Education Minister Jason Clare said current teacher shortages were “ at crisis point .”
“ Not enough young people want to be teachers any more , and more and more experienced teachers are leaving ,” he said . “ Fixing this isn ’ t easy . It took 10 years to create this crisis , and it will take time to fix .”
In New South Wales , more than 3000 permanent positions in schools were vacant at the end of 2022 .
NSW Teacher ’ s Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said the situation was leading to an increase in behavioral issues among students .
“ Student and staff wellbeing are critical issues that must be addressed through a comprehensive government approach ,” Mr Gavrielatos said . ■
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