Working Conditions Of Teachers Research Articles

Gênero e qualidade de vida percebida: estudo com professores da área de saúde

The rapid process of change in the global economy in recent years and the organization of labor have influenced gender relations in the teaching profession. These transformations have been disadvantageous for women, leaving them in a situation of occupational overload. The scope of this study was to analyze the working conditions of female teachers in higher education in the health education area in the city of Vitória, State Espírito Santo, and their implications on health and quality of life. This is qualitative research into data gathered from interviews upon which Bardin content analysis was also employed. This technique revealed three categories: leisure, rest and health; sense of loss of social and family interaction; and perceived quality of life. The results show that insufficient leisure time may lead to sleep disturbances predisposing the individual to psychic illness; overwork; significant alterations in labor organization compromising social and family interaction with repercussions on health and quality of life. The work performed by female professors in the health area contributes to the onset of illness, with pejorative effects on their family, love, social, environmental and professional lives, with consequent loss of quality of life.

Effective middle school teacher teams: a ternary model of interdependency rather than a catch phrase

The introduction of middle schooling in Australia has brought about changes to the working conditions of many teachers including finding themselves in teacher teams. The formation of such teams has been identified as critical to Australian middle school reform with teacher teams underpinning several of the fundamental components of a middle school philosophy. For teachers, however, changing their previous practice is a challenging task. Imposed changes often demand new knowledge and skills that teachers are unlikely to have met in their own education or developed in their preceding classroom work. However, changes in teaching practices must be complemented by changes at the school level. That is, individual learning must be supported by concurrent organisational learning. Using structured interviews and participant as observer field notes, this study focused on identifying factors at individual, team and school levels that could enable or hinder the successful implementation of teaching teams. At an individual level, we found that it took time for teachers to learn and perfect the necessary new forms of instruction. At a team level, team processes were shown to need administrative support (i.e. resources both human and physical), and at a school level, the norms and customs that shape a school’s culture were shown to either promote or frustrate teaming practices.

Physical education and sport teachers’ health: from expressed ill-being to hindrances of action

The researches that specifically analyse the working conditions of teachers are few in the ergonomic literature. Our research relates more specifically to teachers of physical education and sports in french context of college. The research project described here includes both a quantitative exploratory survey (218 respondents) and qualitative case studies (interviews and observation), using the general framework of Activity Ergonomics. The results of this exploratory work tend to emphasize the importance of collective and organizational dimensions in the experience of teachers' physical education and sports. Specifically, in a perceived context of degradation of working conditions and accumulation of constraints, the collective and local ability to negotiate the various constraints on the activity appears to be a protective factor. This power to act, these margin of manoeuvre could be a relevant topic for future research.

Prevalência de sintomas osteomusculares em professores de escolas públicas e privadas do ensino fundamental

OBJETIVOS: Diante da preocupação com a saúde e as condições de trabalho dos professores, este artigo objetivou verificar a prevalência de sintomas osteomusculares em professores do ensino fundamental de escolas públicas e privadas. MÉTODOS: A amostra foi composta por 320 professores de seis escolas. Para a pesquisa, fez-se uso de um questionário sociodemográfico, de um check-list para avaliação ergonômica, e do questionário nórdico para avaliar os sintomas osteomusculares. Para análise dos dados utilizou-se o programa SPSS® 10.0. RESULTADOS: Dos participantes, 89,7% referiram algum sintoma nos últimos 12 meses. As áreas mais acometidas por estes sintomas foram: coluna dorsal 54,1% (173), pescoço 50,9% (163) coluna lombar 49,1% (157). Os sintomas impossibilitaram 36,6% dos professores de exercer suas atividades normais. Observou-se também que a condição ergonômica do local de trabalho é considerada ruim pelos professores. CONCLUSÃO: Concluímos que a prevalência de sintomas osteomusculares nos professores é alta e as condições ergonômicas são consideradas inapropriadas, podendo interferir diretamente em sua saúde.

The impact of the world financial crisis on Romanian educational system Case study on teachers’ professional motivation

Romania is included in the category of countries where, because of the economic crisis, the education funding was reduced, the working conditions of teachers have worsened, wages were reduced, and professional training has similarly been reduced. All these problems are beginning to be increasingly reflected in the teachers’ lower professional motivation, a situation that can have unpleasant repercussions in terms of quality of the educational process. The study we conducted aimed at evaluating the motivational system of the Romanian school teachers, trying to identify the factors that underlie the increase of professional motivation and satisfaction as fundamental elements of quality performance. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Daylighting Strategy for Sustainable Schools: Case Study of Prototype Classrooms in Libya

Over the last few years, topics related to sustainable development and energy saving in Western countries led to several research projects aiming to promote the amount of natural daylight used in school buildings. The same issues arise now in Libya, especially those concerning the use of natural daylight. The promotion of natural daylight in the classrooms saves electrical energy and improves the working conditions for both teachers and students. The extreme solar heat in Libya has always been an imperative factor in relation to building heat. Especially during the period from June to August great care is given to avoid overheating while still preserving the use of natural daylight. The present research aims to propose and to test several architectural devices that can be integrated into educational building designs, allowing the penetration of natural daylight while respecting the traditional aestheticism and creating a comfortable school environment.

Empowerment, Leadership, and Teachers' Intentions to Stay in or Leave the Profession or Their Schools in North Carolina Charter Schools

Teacher attrition and migration plague many American schools. The situation is even more dire in charter schools across the country. On average, teacher attrition is 15 to 40% higher in charter schools than in traditional schools. This study examined the relationships among teacher empowerment, school leadership, and intentions to stay in or leave the profession within North Carolina charter schools using data from the North Carolina 2006 Teacher Working Conditions survey. Results indicate that leadership is a stronger predictor of teachers' intentions to stay in or leave the profession or to migrate to a different school/district or state.

Keeping our teachers! Investigating mentoring practices to support and retain novice educators

For this study the researchers used data from the 2006 North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions survey to investigate the possible relationship between mentoring and intentionality with respect to beginning teachers’ intentions to remain in the profession. The sample consists of 8838 teachers who were mentored during their first two years of teaching. To determine whether the quality of mentoring is related to teachers’ intentions to stay or leave the profession, mentor matching, degree of support, and frequency of interactions were variables examined. Beginning teachers who were matched by grade level, who received assistance with the supports investigated, and who met with mentors at least once monthly for the specified activities were more likely to commit to remaining in the profession than their peers who had received less support.

Exercício docente na escola: relações sociais, hierarquias e espaço escolar

Este artigo apresenta análises formuladas sobre as condições objetivas de trabalho dos professores, relacionadas ao espaço escolar, às dificuldades por eles enfrentadas no trato com os alunos, à existência ou não de autonomia na condução das tarefas em seu cotidiano e ao estabelecimento de hierarquias nas relações estabelecidas na escola. Trata-se de parcela de resultados obtidos quando da realização de pesquisa para elaboração de tese de doutorado. Os dados foram coletados em 2005, por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com dez professoras do ciclo I do Ensino Fundamental em duas escolas públicas estaduais paulistas, além de direção, coordenação, pais e alunos. A análise das condições de trabalho dos professores evidenciou que socialmente essa função não possui prestígio. No entanto, mesmo sendo função desvalorizada socialmente e em face às difíceis condições objetivas a que estão submetidos como, por exemplo, a falta de autonomia para a condução de seu trabalho, para os professores exercer docência significa valor, não só em razão de ganhos econômicos advindos com o salário recebido, mas especialmente em decorrência do capital simbólico que capitalizam nas relações de distinção estabelecidas na escola. Além disso, exercer a docência significou elevação concreta do capital cultural dos professores, ao se levar em consideração suas famílias de origem.

A Dime a Day: The Possibilities and Limits of Private Schooling in Pakistan

This paper looks at the private schooling sector in Pakistan, a country that is seriously behind schedule in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Using new data, the authors document the phenomenal rise of the private sector in Pakistan and show that an increasing segment of children enrolled in private schools are from rural areas and from middle-class and poorer families. The key element in their rise is their low fees - the average fee of a rural private school in Pakistan is less than a dime a day (Rs.6). They hire predominantly local, female, and moderately educated teachers who have limited alternative opportunities outside the village. Hiring these teachers at low cost allows the savings to be passed on to parents through low fees. This mechanism - the need to hire teachers with a certain demographic profile so that salary costs are minimized - defines the possibility of private schools: where they arise, fees are low. It also defines their limits. Private schools are horizontally constrained in that they arise in villages where there is a pool of secondary educated women. They are also vertically constrained in that they are unlikely to cater to the secondary levels in rural areas, at least until there is an increase in the supply of potential teachers with the required skills and educational levels.

Los maestros de Educación básica en México (D.F.) ante la reestructuración del sector educativo

En el presente trabajo se abordan las formas en las que la reestructuración en el sector educativo en México que, se ha traducido en la implementación de políticas educativas “modernizadoras”, ha incidido en la reconfiguración de las condiciones laborales de los maestros de educación básica en México y con ello se ha afectado la manera en que acometen su labor. La reestructuración en curso ha seguido las pautas marcadas por organismos internacionales como el BM y el FMI, destacadamente, entre otras, nuevas políticas de retribución diferencial del trabajo docente. Asimismo, se analizan las estrategias con las que los profesores de educación básica de la Ciudad de México han afrontado las consecuencias que ellos viven como negativas de la reforma educativa para su trabajo y la educación pública.

A Dime a Day: The Possibilities and Limits of Private Schooling in Pakistan

A Dime a Day: The Possibilities and Limits of Private Schooling in Pakistan

Qualidade da educação: cinco lembretes e uma lembrança

O texto examina o aparente consenso sobre a má qualidade da Educação Básica no Brasil. Destaca cinco aspectos da questão, cinco lembretes sem cuja consideração não parece possível vislumbrar alternativas de ações concretas, tendo em vista o enfrentamento dos problemas: a existência de ilhas educacionais de boa qualidade, que têm sido ignoradas pelas políticas públicas; a ineficácia dos múltiplos instrumentos de avaliação, cujos resultados limitam-se a inspirar manchetes espetaculares; a falta de articulação entre os diversos níveis de ensino; a parca autonomia da unidade escolar, que deveria constituir a unidade fundamental na relação entre o poder público e a rede de ensino; a falta de ações explícitas no sentido da melhoria das condições de trabalho dos professores. Um artigo seminal escrito por Anísio Teixeira, em 1953, constitui uma fecunda lembrança que parece corroborar grande parte dos lembretes anunciados.

The Cost, Satisfaction, and Achievement of Primary Education- Evidence from Francophone Sub-saharan Africa

Low teacher motivation and its detrimental effect on student achievement are central problems of many education systems in Africa. Using standardized data for student achievement in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar and Senegal, this paper analyzes the empirical links between various policy measures, teacher job satisfaction and primary education outcomes. It appears that there is only very limited evidence for the effectiveness of intensively debated and costly measures such as reducing class size, increasing academic qualification requirements, and increasing teachers salaries. Other, simpler measures such as an increased provision of textbooks are both more effective and less costly. It also appears that teacher job satisfaction and education quality are not necessarily complementary objectives. Especially those measures ensuring control and incentive related working conditions for teachers, significantly increase student achievement while reducing teacher job satisfaction. In addition, teachers' academic qualification beyond the "baccalauréat", while beneficial for students' learning, tends to lead to a mismatch between teachers' expectations and professional realities, and thereby reduces teachers' job satisfaction.

The contrasting discourses in the professional lives of educators in Vancouver, Canada

This study investigated the relationship between education policy changes and the working conditions of teachers and school leaders in Vancouver, Canada. We found that policy does shape educators’ discourse about their work conditions. This shaping manifested itself in the emotions teachers experience as they attempt to construct their identity as professional educators. Apparent contradictions emerged in educators’ discussions of their work conditions, particularly their contrasting reports of feeling satisfied with their working environment, yet concerned about issues related to workload and recognition. Two different discourses, the political and the professional, emerged at a deep level of practice. These discourses express conflicting emotions about teaching and teachers’ identity struggles in a context of rapid policy changes. The political discourse is framed around a partisan response to policy changes. The professional discourse focuses on engagement in satisfying educational activities. This study proffers a different conclusion to other studies implying a lack of understanding of practice by policy reformers. It suggests that, while teachers are very aware of policy changes, frequently engaging in a partisan critique thereof, they nevertheless temper that critique with a professional discourse shaped by pedagogical concerns in the local context. This concern with the classroom context enables them to focus their energies on constructing their sense of professional identity that frequently leads them to reinterpret policy initiatives from a local educator’s perspective. While the political discourse has trappings of despair, the professional–pedagogical contains glimpses of hope.

Big change question

The author reflects on the issue about the tendency of teachers to sacrifice the learning rights of students in their aim to achieve their working rights. She emphasizes that this claim is false by citing the situation of public schools in England. She presents that the improved working conditions of teachers have contributed to the improvement in the opportunities for children to learn.

Who dares to disconnect in the age of uncertainty? Teachers’ recesses and ‘off‐the‐clock’ work

This article addresses teachers’ use of their professional time. With the support of substantive grounded theories from two separate studies—focusing on two ‘invisible’ parts of teachers’ work: recesses and off‐the‐clock work—we aim to conceptualize some patterns in contemporary work of teachers and discuss them in the light of changing working conditions in a time of insecurity. Our findings indicate differences in how teachers handle a work environment characterized by uncertainty and provide an elaborated explanation of how recent changes in working conditions have affected teachers’ apprehension and work performance. The discussion points to novel means to understand and re‐frame reasonable and sustainable working conditions for teachers.

Teams and Collegiality in Educational Culture

In recent decades modern educational organisations have become heavily influenced by new management theories and their new ways of organising staff in teams. This trend started in private organisations with a new organisational agenda but has migrated to public organisations with the introduction of new public management (NPM) in state and municipal institutions. The working conditions for teachers have changed due to the organisational transformations and new demands for the teacher, such as flexibility, self-management and teamwork. In this article, the author suggests that, from her discussions with teachers, and her former work on personal development in work life, there seems to be a conflicting understanding of collaboration which could be grasped by exploring the distinction between the notion of teamwork and the notion of collegiality.

Voice Complaints, Risk Factors for Voice Problems and History of Voice Problems in Relation to Puberty in Female Student Teachers

The aim of the study was to estimate voice complaints, risk factors for voice complaints and history of voice problems in student teachers before they embarked on their professional teaching career. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was performed among female student teachers. The response rate was 72% and 457 questionnaires were analyzed. Voice complaints at the moment and/or during the past year were reported by 39.6% subjects. Subjects with voice complaints had significantly higher VHI scores than subjects without voice complaints. In comparison to subjects without voice complaints, overall, subjects with voice complaints reported more frequently that vocal loading factors, physical factors, environmental factors and psychological factors had a negative influence on their voice. Subjects with voice complaints reported more frequently a history of voice complaints during puberty and before puberty in comparison to subjects without voice complaints. Voice complaints in student teachers apparently had a multifactorial genesis and with roots during puberty or before puberty. Logistic regression analysis revealed that intensive voice use, emotions and history of voice complaints during puberty were the most discriminating set of risk factors for voice complaints. Subjects with voice complaints in comparison to those without voice complaints reported more frequently that they would develop a voice problem due to future teaching and that future teaching would have a negative influence on their voice. Around three quarters of subjects with and without voice complaints reported that attention paid to their voice during their training was sufficient. However, subjects with voice complaints were observed to report the need for a refresher course on voice use more frequently than those without voice complaints. The findings call for more intensive voice training for student teachers to cope with the vocal, physical and psychological demands of the teaching profession. Authorities should take responsibility to monitor and improve working conditions of student teachers and teachers.

Dewey’s conception of vocation: existential, aesthetic, and educational implications for teachers

I offer a close reconstruction of John Dewey’s account of vocation in Democracy and Education, bringing out the existential and aesthetic dimensions of Dewey’s idea that vocations constitute perceptual environments for their practitioners. Although Dewey offers this idea to teachers only as an insight about student development, I contend that its most powerful educational implication concerns the growth of teachers. Picking up where Dewey left off, I investigate to what extent teaching constitutes an educative environment for teachers. I conclude that, while the environment of teaching is an exceedingly rich one, the basic working conditions of teachers and the ethos of education often frustrate their attempts to interact with this environment. I conclude with a critique of some of the forces that narrow the range of what teachers notice, feel, and learn in the course of their work.