Teachers stressed by staff shortages: survey

It’s not only the province’s health care system that’s experiencing severe staff shortages.

The province’s public school system is also plagued by a lack of teaching staff, leading to increased workload, burnout and mental health struggles, says a new survey released by the B.C. Teachers Federation on Wednesday.

These findings come from the first annual B.C.T.F. membership survey, which also collected demographic data on members.

Of the 3,068 teachers who participated in the survey, 384 are in the Okanagan.

B.C.T.F. President Clint Johnston said the findings show a critical need for school districts and the provincial government to introduce meaningful strategies for recruiting and retaining teachers before they burn out because they can’t continue to plug the gaps in the system. He also said the school district needs to do more.

“Teachers are doing their best to make it work, but without significant staffing increases, the pressures on them are unsustainable. Our public educators believe passionately in providing students with the best education possible and could do so much more with the full support of school districts and the B.C. government,” he said.

“The B.C. government has introduced some positive hiring and training strategies for nurses, doctors, and other professions that played pivotal roles during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added. “Now it’s time to fix the teacher shortage.”

Student outcomes are impacted by the shortage, the survey says, and many of British Columbia’s public school teachers say student needs in a number of key areas may not be met. Public school teachers are experiencing higher stress and workload this year compared with last and say they’re concerned by lack of preparation time leading to significant gaps in meeting students’ needs.

Of those surveyed, 81.5 per cent reported experiencing direct impacts from teacher shortages in their schools or districts. Some of the biggest impacts reported were being unable to get their students the support they need (62.3 per cent), loss of preparation time (41.6 per cent), and not taking personal or sick leave days when they needed them (35.9 per cent).

Compared with the same time last year, nearly two-thirds of survey respondents said their overall workload had increased and they are experiencing more stress. About 35.8 per cent said their workload was about the same or less, and 34.4 per cent reported the same or lower stress levels.

While 45 per cent reported good or very good physical health and 37 per cent reported good or very good mental health, roughly 40 per cent reported their physical or mental health was worse than in 2022.

A full copy of the survey is at bctf.ca