No shock: experts say workload is a massive issue for teachers

While Catholic employers in Tasmania and Victoria resist the need for action on teacher workloads, report after report declares overwork is the major driver of impending teacher shortages.

The Productivity Commission’s report into education, released in mid-September, found that teachers are “overly burdened with low-value tasks”.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare says the data in the report amounted to a teacher shortage crisis – “and that a big part of that is workload”.

Jordana Hunter, Grattan Institute education program director, said, “We are stretching teachers far too thin, we are asking them to do jobs that don’t relate to their expertise, and we are not supporting teachers with the right staff in schools.”

On 20 September, data from Australian Teacher Workforce Data (ATWD) survey of 32,000 teachers across the nation showed that “the current pace of teacher workforce growth will not keep up with increasing student demand”.

“Fewer people are entering the teaching profession, and workforce data in 2020 indicate more than a third (38%) of all registered teachers are aged 50 years and over, a factor that will contribute to future teacher shortages.”

Commenting on the ATWD survey, Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) CEO Mark Grant, said, “the data still tell us that there simply aren’t enough people entering the initial teacher education pipeline to meet current and future shortfalls.”

“It’s important we start working on the short- and longer-term solutions now, because we know today’s teacher shortages will precipitate tomorrow’s principal shortages”.

ATWD data shows that nationally in 2020 teachers working full-time reported working 55 hours in a typical week, or 45% more hours than they’re being paid for. Part-time teachers working a four-day week reported working 40% more hours than they are being paid for. 

“With an ageing workforce and a shortfall in new entrants, retention measures will be extremely important to prevent future teacher shortages,” Mr Grant concluded.

Ms Hunter says, “governments need to get serious about tackling teacher workloads” by reducing the “unnecessary administrative burden” on education staff.

“From chasing down permission slips to ordering classroom materials, teachers tell us they are drowning under the weight of paperwork, little of which has any impact on their students’ performance.

“Teachers spend about a third of their working hours on teaching-related activities outside the classroom, such as lesson preparation and marking. Too much of this time is unproductive.

“Last year, Grattan Institute surveyed more than 5000 teachers across the country. More than half reported having to “reinvent the wheel” when it came to lesson preparation, a poor use of their time. On average, teachers estimated they could save three hours a week if they had access to high-quality curriculum resources, so they didn’t need to make their own.”

None of this is news to IEU members who are fighting for workload measures to be incorporated into their Agreements in Tasmanian Catholic schools and in many Victorian Catholic schools.

In Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS), employers dragging their heels on taking education staff seriously on workload issues face getting a taste of just how much their staff does for nothing when the No More Freebies campaign kicks off at the start of Term 4.

The campaign involves staff refusing to perform any work beyond that legally required of them. The (MACS) group of employers has refused offer the same working conditions to overworked staff that now apply in Diocese of Sale and government schools.

Having already waited over 500 days for a new Agreement, these exhausted workers can’t for more unheeded reports and summit talkfests. They need action from their employers immediately.

Wodonga Catholic College staff rally before work.