Pandemic a struggle for many educators

Principals and teachers have felt unhappy, overworked and unsupported during the Covid-19 pandemic, new research from the Education Review Office shows.

Wellbeing and workloads have been negatively affected by Covid19, with principals of smaller schools and younger teachers struggling the most.

The report showed the impact didn’t stop at the school gates. Just 57 per cent of teachers reported being satisfied with their lives, compared with 86 per cent of New Zealanders overall.

It was worse for those in Auckland. During the Delta outbreak, principals reported that stress and exhaustion were very high, especially for teachers with young families or those living alone.

ERO deputy chief executive Ruth Shinoda said findings from June and July showed Auckland hadn’t recovered from the impacts of Covid-19. ‘‘That just seems to have magnified in the most recent lockdown – a lot more pressure, a lot more stress.’’

Shinoda was surprised by how much wellbeing had decreased from 2020 to 2021 – from 62 per cent of teachers saying they were happy at work to 56 per cent.

Teachers under 35 years old were three times as likely to say they were not happy at work, compared with those over 46 years.

Only 57 per cent of principals in small schools were happy at work, compared with 72 per cent of principals in very large schools.

The research included surveys of almost 1800 principals and 686 teachers after last year’s lockdown, as well as interviews with staff at 740 schools during and after last year’s lockdown.

There were follow-up surveys in winter 2021 of more than 1200 principals and 427 teachers, as well as 27 interviews with school leaders during the 2021 lockdown.

Shinoda said teachers were ‘‘putting themselves on the line’’ for their communities. ‘‘That’s what’s burning them out.’’

One principal wrote: ‘‘I feel like there is a huge responsibility on principals to ensure everyone in the school has good and supported wellbeing. As a beginning principal . . . there wasn’t a lot in place to ensure my wellbeing was looked after.’’

In June and July this year, a third of teachers and a fifth of principals felt their workload was manageable. That had worsened from last September, when 42 per cent of teachers and 26 per cent of principals felt their workload was manageable

At the same time, principals and teachers reported feeling less supported this year than they did last year.

ERO’s recommendations included preparing for a mix of distance and classroom learning, planning for Covid-related staff absences next year, and providing more wellbeing support.