Why do Teachers Need More Than a Pay Rise?

Education provides both a basic academic education, as well as a common political and social philosophy, to all young people. The Latin term 'in-loco-parentis' best describes the professional role that teachers play in the life of their students; being responsible for a child when their parents are absent, which in this scenario, when the child is attending school. While the interpretation of this role has in the past broadly reflected the predominate societal values, current political debate and changing social structures are a constant challenge for teachers and school leaders.

Education is changing and evolving as our society grows. A recent enquiry recognised that community and systematic expectations are consistently impacting on teacher workload. The increasing working hours of teachers and school leaders was identified in a recent Sydney University study. School leaders work 62 hours per week, while classroom teachers reported working 55 hours per week. A pay rise alone will not ease the increasing work of teachers and school leaders.

The 2021 independent inquiry 'Valuing the teaching profession' reported two-thirds of teachers say they are reconsidering their future in the profession due to workload, and three-quarters of teachers and school leaders said they felt stressed frequently or all the time at work. The authors concluded that all aspects of the work of teachers have grown in volume and complexity. Systemic changes to processes, funding and support for teachers and school leaders must be practical and part of future salaries agreement. 

Professional disengagement is highlighted by the startling figure quoted in recent news items that 70% of teachers are considering leaving the profession soon. The NSW Department of Education has identified that the number of unfilled positions has doubled since 2012. Education economist Adam Rorris found that 11,000 teachers will need to be recruited before 2031.  

Teachers create the resources to support and engage students in learning. Student outcomes are identified in the pools of data. Data collection has become the metric that informs external validation, school assessment, and the measure of value that teachers add to student performance. Students are now seen as a unit of productivity.

Data entry consumes school time, extending workdays into nights and across weekends. The introduction of high stakes testing has increased the requirement to collect, analyse and draft school improvement plans. Data entry is managed through compliance tasks and are continuing to change the work in schools. Healthy work and life balances are significantly disrupted as the workload of school leaders and teachers has become more challenging.

Teacher Unions, independent reviews and Government briefings have clearly identified several factors that are contributing to industrial action, shortages in staff and the profession in crisis. Factors include, uncompetitive salaries, the intensification of teachers' work and the profound changes in the work and workload of teachers and school leaders.

Improved salaries are an important recognition of the profession. In addition to a pay rise, teachers and school leaders are calling for improvements to working conditions, increased time for preparation and collaboration and an urgent reduction in administration and compliance workloads.

The Queensland government has stuck an historic deal with the Queensland Teacher Union that addresses and improves salary and working conditions. The significant improvements to salary and working conditions reflect the vital work of teachers and school leaders in that state. Importantly, this agreement speaks clearly to point that teachers need more than a pay rise.

A democratic, equitable and just society that is prosperous, cohesive, and culturally diverse must value the work of teachers and school leaders. The path towards achieving this goal will require the earnest and ethical collaboration of all stakeholders to address school leader and teacher workload, salary, and future recruitment.

Image by Duong Nhan