Working Conditions Of Teachers Research Articles

Points of Incompatibility Between the Turkish Education System and Human Resources Management

This study aims to explain the reasons for the difficulties in the implementation of Human Resources Management (HRM) in the Turkish education system by revealing the incompatibilities between them. A literature review and document analysis on official statistics, laws, and newspapers were conducted. First, we reviewed the implementation of HRM functions in Turkey. After that, we tried to reveal its basic features by examining the factors that led to the emergence of HRM in the historical process and the new forms it took over time. In addition, we examined the effects of neoliberal policies on the working conditions of teachers in public and private schools. We discussed the working conditions of teachers in public and private schools in Turkey separately. As a result of the review, we argue that acting in line with the efficiency/success target and the contradictions between Industrial Relations and HRM are among the main reasons for the incompatibility between the education system and HRM in Turkey.

Poll Points: Public perceptions of teacher working conditions

Most Americans express compassion for public school teachers. About three-quarters say they are undervalued in society, 66% say teacher salaries in their community are too low, and 58% think teachers in their area are overworked.

The prevalence of anxiety and related factors among primary and secondary school teachers in Hanoi, Vietnam, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The working conditions for teachers in Vietnam were characterized by increased workload and pressure, burdening teachers' well-being. The study aims to investigate anxiety prevalence and identify some related factors among primary and secondary school teachers in Hanoi after the first COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. This paper analyzed data of 481 teachers working at ten primary and secondary schools in Hanoi city. Anxiety was measured using the anxiety component of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scale 42 items. Multivariable logistics regression was performed to examine anxiety-related factors using SPSS 20.0 at a significant level p less than 0.05. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms was 42.4% and similar between primary and secondary school teachers. More secondary teachers reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms than primary teachers did (31.6% and 27.7%). Primary school teachers who felt discomfort with their supervisor's assessment, high responsibility for student safety, and ever thinking of leaving their current job were more likely to report anxiety symptoms (OR (95%CI) = 2.8 (1.2-6.5), 3.6 (1.0-12.8), and 2.6 (1.3-5.4), respectively). Meanwhile, the discomfort of caring for many students or problematic students, repetitive work, and disagreement with coworkers were risk factors of anxiety among secondary school teachers (OR (95%CI) = 2.6 (1.2-5.8), 3.2 (1.1-9.2), 3.4 (1.3-8.8), and 3.7 (1.1-12.6), respectively). In conclusion, the prevalence of teachers with anxiety symptoms is on the rise, caused by the characteristics of the job and professional relationships. Tailored support for teachers in different grades is necessary to improve and prevent teachers' anxiety.

Teacher Working Conditions and Dissatisfaction Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

With a goal of contextualizing teacher job dissatisfaction during the first full school year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we contrast teachers’ experiences with the decade and a half leading up to the pandemic. We draw on nationally representative data from the Schools and Staffing Survey and National Teacher and Principal Survey from the 2003–04 to 2020–21 school years. Through descriptive and regression analysis, we show that (1) increases in teacher dissatisfaction beginning in the 2015–16 school year persisted into the 2020–21 school year, (2) levels of dissatisfaction during the pandemic were not equal across subpopulations of teachers, and (3) positive working conditions consistently predicted lower job dissatisfaction, including in the 2020–21 school year.

Identifying an educational praxis of culturally relevant female school leadership in urban Pakistani schools

ABSTRACT Using a culturally relevant leadership lens, this phenomenological study looks at the lived experiences of two female urban school leaders in Pakistani private schools. It highlights the structural enablements and barriers they faced across two different periods – the 1990s and the 2020s providing reflectively-nuanced insight into female school leadership in a Pakistani context. The findings from this small-scale study recommend further enhancing and developing female school leaders’ skills through targeted leadership development programmes and mentoring experiences that assist in developing their strong educational praxis as they create their own practice architectures. The findings contribute towards current educational leadership literature through a feminist approach to understanding how Pakistani female school teachers and leaders can exercise educational praxis within their school systems. It is anticipated that this approach will contribute towards the discourse on improving the working conditions for female teachers and school leaders working within this developing world context.

The Role of Teacher Trade Unions in Preventing Staff Victimisation: Voices from the South African Teachers

Teacher Trade Unions remain an integral part of stakeholders within the basic education sector and the school organogram. However, research pertaining to the role that can be played by Teacher Unions in preventing staff victimisation remains restricted globally, and with no enquiry arising within the South African milieu. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the lived experiences of teachers regarding the role of Teacher Trade Unions in preventing staff victimisation, in the District 10 schools of the Province of Gauteng. The researchers used a qualitative approach, grounded in phenomenology as the research design. The sample consisted of five teachers who belong to various unions and data was collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The data collected was analysed using thematic content analysis. The study revealed that teacher unions were found to be the main perpetrators of staff victimisation particularly when it comes to promotional positions. The study concluded that for teacher unions to protect teachers’ rights, they should not be aligned with political parties. The study recommended that teacher unions should instead conduct training and workshops on pro-social behaviour, peaceful conflict resolution and how teachers are supposed to protect themselves from retribution and threats. The study aims to advance scholarship on the role of teacher unions in creating safer working conditions for teachers. Keywords: Teacher Unions, Socio-Ecological, Violence, Victimisation.

The problem of technical teacher training in modern conditions

Introduction. The article deals with the problem of selecting the content of the training of future teachers of general technical disciplines. It is proved that in conditions of multi-vector technical development, and turbulence associated with the transition to a multi-polar world order, the content of this training should change rapidly. Not only the given invariant of this content is important, but also the methodology of its formation.Aim. The present research aims to formulate the problem of developing the content for technical teacher training.Methodology and research methods. The developed methodology foundations for the selection of optimal content for technical teacher training are based on activity, competence-based, transfessional and transprofessional approaches. The empirical base was obtained using a distance questionnaire to technical teachers from 26 universities. The following theoretical methods were applied: retrospective analysis of the working conditions of teachers of technical disciplines; analysis of scientific and methodological literature on the problem of combining subject-professional and pedagogical training of a technical teacher; analysis of disciplines from professional training programmes in the Russian universities.Results. The analysis of vocational training programmes of technical and pedagogical universities made it possible to compare them with each other and to correlate the disciplines of the general professional block and elective courses to the main current directions of the Russian technical development in the current conditions. This made it possible to identify the content of the professional activity of the future technical teacher, as well as to indicate the possibilities for changing this content both in technical and pedagogical universities in order to more accurately match it with the existing tasks of technical development of the state. As a result of a retrospective analysis, a historically formed “portrait” of a technical was described. The following problems were indicated: “physical and technical snobbery” as unwillingness to enter the humanities and pedagogical field of professional activity from the physical and technical content of their subject; a low level of methodological knowledge and skills; lack of erudition in technical fields among young teachers; low professional self-esteem.Scientific novelty consists in the fact that for the first time the analysis of the disciplines of the general professional module and elective courses of technical and pedagogical universities of Russia revealed their correlation with the main directions of the development of science, technology and engineering.Practical significance. The conducted research allowed the authors to raise questions about the selection of the content of technical teacher training. This should help in the formulation of the principles of content selection to develop its methodology.

Teachers' perspectives on the adoption of a Chatbot in the teaching and learning process

Chatbots are programs that, with respect to the principles of Artificial Intelligence, have the ability to engage in a conversation either through the use of text messages or through oral speech and offer services such as assisting program users, guiding web visitors, customer service, product advertising, or even answering questions about a specific subject matter. Considering the usefulness and proven benefits of Chatbots in numerous areas of daily life, a careful study, regarding the utilization / adoption of Chatbots in the teaching/learning process, is necessary. The introduction of Chatbots in the field of education, attributing to them the role of a teacher assistant who, on the one hand, will be available 24/7 to the students, supporting the learning process and answering their questions and, on the other hand, improving the working conditions of teachers, offering them more free time and the opportunity to add more quality features to their teaching work, constitutes a great challenge. In that context, the results of a relative research are presented, where teachers in secondary education after having tested Chatbots at a pilot stage, express their opinions.

Educational policies and their impact on the Basic Education Development Index of the State of Amapá: case studies

This research deals with educational policies and their impact on the Basic Education Development Index (Ideb), with the aim of analyzing the measures adopted by the State of Amapá to increase the Basic Education Development Index in the Irmã Santina Rioli and Nilton Balieiro schools. Machado and its effects on student learning. This is qualitative research, using the technique of focus groups and interviews aimed at teachers, managers and the Basic Education Coordinator of the State Department of Education of Amapá. It was verified that there is a lot to be done to improve student performance, highlighting the need to expand the number of vacancies and improve working conditions for teachers, through the creation of learning laboratories, availability of digital devices with internet access, adapting the career plan of education professionals.

Poll Points: Who supports raising teacher pay?

The PDK poll shows that a majority of Americans support raising teacher salaries, even if it means higher taxes. This infographic shows how the data breaks down by party and perceptions of teacher working conditions.

Teaching is (not) a career priority for student teachers: Empirical evidence from Indonesia

Initial Teacher Education (ITE) plays a crucial role in preparing future teachers for the teaching profession. Indonesia has over 420 ITE with various qualities. Despite a significant number of teacher graduates from ITE, previous studies found that student teachers joining ITE do not necessarily mean they want to become teachers. However, the number of student teachers prioritising teaching as their career intention remains unknown. This mixed-methods explanatory sequential design study seeks to determine the portion of student teachers (N=409) of private and state universities in Indonesia who view teaching as a career priority and explore in-depth the rationale of student teachers’ who intend or do not intend to become teachers (N=14). The study found that student teachers who choose to become a teacher as their career priority are low (25,4 % in the private university and 37% in the state university). Even though the findings indicate that the low interest in the teaching profession is not static and likely to change, a small portion of student teachers interested in becoming teachers might impact the teacher competencies and retention rate. The findings suggest that teacher working conditions in Indonesia may be one possible reason for the small portion of student teachers prioritising teachers as a career. Further discussion of the findings and context analysis will also be included.

DEPRESSION IN SCHOOL TEACHERS DURING THE PANDEMIC PERIOD

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, strict lockdown measures imposed, among others, a remote teaching format in many countries, causing an unprecedented shift in school-related activities. As a result, all classes had to switch quickly and unpredictably from a face-to-face teaching format to a remote one, contributing to creating a turbulent work environment for teachers. In Brazil, reports of anxiety, depression, and other problems related to the mental health of teachers are increasingly frequent, especially with the return of face-to-face classes, after two years of the pandemic, and the consequent return to the problems in the teaching structure present in the country since well before the public health crisis. However, the extent of the changes caused in the health and work conditions of basic education teachers in the pandemic period is still unclear, an issue that motivated the investigation and analysis of the main aspects of depression in school teachers in the pandemic period. For this, this review integrates results of studies on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health, with the selection of 7 studies, whose results indicate that depression in school teachers can be influenced by several factors, such as anxiety and stress. generated by pressure for results, occupational stress, Internet Addiction Disorder and Burnout. In addition, the gender issue can also be a risk factor for depression in teachers, as women are more susceptible to developing the disorder.

Relationship Among Teachers’ Occupational Interests, Job Satisfaction and Performance in Government Secondary Schools in North Central Nigeria

This study investigated the relationship among teachers’ occupational interests, job satisfaction and performance in government secondary schools in North-Central Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive survey design using teachers in government secondary schools in the North-Central Geopolitical zone of Nigeria. A sample size of 384 teachers comprising 153 males and 231 females participated in the study through stratified random sampling procedure. Three instruments were used for the study – Vocational Interests Inventory (VII) Job Satisfaction Inventory for Teachers (JOSIT) and Teachers Job Performance Inventory (TEJOPI). The reliability of the instruments was determined through test re-test method using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient which yielded reliability indices of 0.92, 0.84 and 0.81 for VII, JOSIT and TEJOPI respectively. One research question and three hypotheses guided the conduct of the study. Data generated was analyzed using mean scores and standard deviation for the research question. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for hypotheses one and two while Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test hypothesis three. The findings revealed that teachers in government secondary schools in North-Central Nigeria were dissatisfied with their jobs as reflected in the sectional mean of 2.712. The findings further revealed that a significant relationship existed between occupational interests and job satisfaction but not with job performance. The findings further indicated that there was no significant relationship between jobs satisfaction and Job performance. The researcher recommended among other measures, that government as the major employer of labour should ensure periodic improvements in the working conditions of teachers to enhance their job satisfaction and boost productivity.

Mind the gap: Early-career teachers’ level of preparedness, professional development, working conditions, and feelings of distress

In the first years of a teaching career, teachers experience high levels of distress, and the attrition rate appears to be high. Early-career teachers do not always feel well prepared for their job and feel insufficient support during their first experiences as a teacher. Induction programs, professional development, and school support could equip early-career teachers with the additional teaching repertoire they need and improve their well-being. The current study aimed to contribute insights into the importance of the level of preparedness, professional development, and working conditions for early-career teachers’ well-being. Based on multi-level regression analysis of TALIS 2018 data of more than 77,000 teachers in 24 European countries, the impact of the level of preparedness, professional development, and working conditions have been examined on teachers’ feelings of distress during their first years of teaching. Early-career teachers have been divided into two groups: novice teachers (with no more than 2 years of teaching experience) and advanced beginners (with between 2 and 5 years of teaching experience). These two groups were compared with mid-and late-career teachers (with more than 5 years of teaching experience). Level of preparedness and professional development variables were only weakly related to teachers’ feelings of distress, whereas working conditions were strongly related to early-career teachers’ feelings of distress. In particular, high workload and classroom discipline issues were strongly and positively related to teachers’ feelings of distress. Differences between the two early-career teacher groups and the group of mid- and late-career teachers were marginal. Yet, additional research is needed into the quality and the variety of initial teacher education and induction programs to come to more rigorous conclusions about the potential effects of different programs.

Burnout and technostress during the COVID-19 pandemic: the perception of higher education teachers and researchers

The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts on working conditions of teachers and researchers, jeopardizing their mental health and increasing the risk of burnout and technostress. The purpose of this study was to assess the experiences of burnout and technostress among higher education teachers and researchers during the pandemic. A total of 333 participants responded to an assessment protocol which included the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) and the Computer-Induced Distress scale (CID). The protocol was disclosed via email during a 2-month period and data was collected using Microsoft Forms. The results verified the prevalence of burnout and technostress, confirmed the existence of significant differences between sociodemographic groups and found correlations between the BAT and the CID. The findings indicate moderate levels of burnout and technostress, suggest several influence factors to their development, and show a relationship between burnout and technostress. Implications of this study are discussed, reenforcing education, training, decent work, and wellbeing as the main challenges for human being to support a sustainable development. As there are few studies in this area, there is a need to pay more attention to mental health issues and needs among teachers and researchers, such the ones related to burnout and technostress, to promote their well-being, as well as to education for sustainable development.

Prospective Classroom Teachers' Reasons for Choosing the Teaching Profession and Their Preferences for Their Work Lives

This research examined the factors that affect the decision of prospective classroom teachers to choose teaching as a profession and their preferences regarding work-life. A case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, was employed in this study The participants consisted of 20 prospective classroom teachers who took the teaching practice course in the 2021-2022 academic year at a state university. A semi-structured interview form was used in data collection and the data was analyzed through content analysis. Findings revealed that prospective classroom teachers' preference for the profession is influenced by their love for the profession, working conditions, love and interest shown by their former teachers, and communication with children. Their preferences are also influenced by their discovery that they can teach children something, their desire to contribute to the development of future generations by serving people in the basic education stage, their families’ supportive behaviors, and their experiences of the profession in their university years. In terms of their preferences for their work lives, most of the teacher candidates expressed a desire to become classroom teachers and work in this field, while it was found that some teacher candidates experienced dilemmas regarding their work lives due to studying or working in different fields. This research emphasizes the need to improve working conditions for teachers and develop teacher training programs that focus on teacher candidates' affective aspects.

Psychological capital as a mediator of job satisfaction and burnout among teachers in special and standard education

ABSTRACT Teaching is a stressful profession, and rates of departure are high. We examined whether teachers’ levels of psychological capital (PsyCap), a concept integrating four positive psychological resources (hope, self-efficacy, resilience, optimism), affects their job satisfaction and burnout. Israeli schools are now required to be inclusive; consequently, teachers in standard educational settings teach children with special needs, despite a lack of training. Our sample comprised 123 Israeli teachers: 56 from special education schools and 67 from standard education system. As hypothesised, higher levels of PsyCap were correlated with higher job satisfaction and lower burnout among all teachers. Also as hypothesised, there were differences in job satisfaction and burnout: special education teachers reported more job satisfaction and less burnout. Both groups had similar levels of PsyCap, thus not supporting our hypothesis. The findings suggest the need to rethink working conditions for teachers in standard education when classes are required to be inclusive. As it is possible to improve PsyCap through intervention programmes, researchers and policymakers may consider designing and testing interventions for teachers.

Genel Eğitim Okulunda Özel Eğitim Öğretmeni Olmak: Çalışma Koşullarının İşe Yabancılaşmaya Etkisi

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to find the effect of working conditions of special education teachers, who work in general education schools, on the work alienation levels. The issues that differentiate the working conditions of special education classes from others are various special conditions, such as the way break times are used, the requirement to have two teachers in a class and the needs to have special physical materials and arrangements. Method: Phenomenology pattern, one of qualitative research methods, was used in the study. Study data were collected through semi-structured interview technique and the data were analyzed through descriptive analysis technique. 20 special education teachers working in the city center of Diyarbakır during 2019-2020 academic year participated in the study. The study group was determined through snowball and criterion sampling methods. Findings: When the study findings were examined, it was found that the teachers have intensive amount of work alienation. It can be claimed that special education teachers are experiencing alienation in isolation level at most and senselessness level at least. It was concluded that working conditions have an effect on work alienation of special education teachers. Discussion: It is understood that special education teachers feel themselves unhappy, alone and isolated in the organizations they work, they are required to work in an environment, where no one understands them, they believe that they will not receive the support they need from their managers, they experience a conflict of authority within the class and they have problems in following the rules of organization. Thus, it was found that they experience many symptoms of work alienation. It is recommended to hire supporting staff to takeover the responsibility of care of students from these teachers and ensure that special education teachers work under the same conditions with their colleagues.

Interplay between leadership and school-level conditions: A review of literature on the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)

We combined network analysis and meta-analysis to systematically review the literature on the Teaching and Learning International Survey, focusing on the interplay between leadership practices and school-level conditions. Our initial network analysis utilized 83 nodes (variables in the reviewed studies) and 214 ties (variable associations), whereas our subsequent meta-analysis employed 21 selected variable associations. Results suggested that leadership practices interplayed with school-level conditions through multiple, interconnected variable associations with a range of effect sizes. First, variables concerning teacher working conditions and teacher qualifications indicated relatively smaller effects than teacher self-efficacy. Second, the association between teacher self-efficacy and teacher collaboration indicated the strongest effect among other variable associations, followed by the relationship between collective teacher perceptions of distributed leadership and teacher job satisfaction. Third, variables regarding teacher perceptions of the principal's leadership effectiveness had larger effect sizes than the principal's self-assessment of their leadership practices. Results further suggested teacher self-efficacy and teacher collaboration as the two most prominent variables that would potentially play a bridging role between leadership practices and school-level conditions. We provide implications for educational leadership practices and research.

What is the problem and how can we solve it? School authorities’ perceptions of the shortage of teachers in Sweden

The lack of fully trained teachers is a national challenge in Sweden despite numerous attempts by authorities to approach the issue from a long-term perspective. The proportion of fully trained teachers needs to increase by just over 50% by 2035, and the imbalance will continue for many years to come. Many actors such as the media and politicians have participated in the debate, but not those who are significantly forced to handle, control, and lead in resolving the current situation and who have an overview of the problems at a structural level, namely, the school authorities (school authority in the school system according to the Education Act (Skollagen 2010: 800) can be a municipality, county council, state, or individual who is responsible for the activities in the school. In this text, the most responsible head of a municipality in the educational department has responded to the survey). This study covers 55 school authorities’ views on national tendencies and possibilities of solving this problem using an enactment policy theory. The empirical data are based on a web survey and analyzed through thematic content analysis. The result shows deep concerns about the accelerated problem, the challenges of finding fully trained teachers, and negative attitudes toward the profession. Possible solutions are higher salaries, flexible solutions to becoming teachers, higher status, and better working environments. The school authorities’ perceptions of possible solutions are to some extent consistent with ongoing political initiatives. Neither do they emphasize an overall picture of the working conditions for teachers, nor the far-reaching consequences of all political reforms. In summary, their actions are interpreted as quite re-active, nonlinear, and ad hoc solutions and less proactive perceptions and actions. This can possibly be explained by the fact that the state sets limits on economic initiatives.