Aussie teachers are the second most stressed in the world despite spending less than half their time in class, OECD report finds

Many Australian educators are at breaking point despite spending less than half of their working week actually teaching, a global report shows. Three key factors are to blame.

Australia has the second most stressed teachers in the world, plagued by administrative red tape, marking and lesson planning, a new global study has found.

Teachers only spend 20 out of their 46.5-hour working week in front of the class, spending 8.4 hours planning lessons, 5.7 hours marking and 4.7 hours on admin, among other tasks, according to a new OECD snapshot.

The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) survey of teachers and principals from 55 nations, shows Australia’s teacher stress levels are second only to Canada.

The research, released on Tuesday, is the largest international survey of teachers and principals.

A total of 34 per cent of Australian teachers in lower secondary years are stressed “a lot”, compared to the OECD average of 19 per cent, with younger teachers stressed more than older ones about classroom discipline in particular.

The stress rate has increased from 25 to 34 per cent since the last TALIS survey in 2018.

The survey also shows Australia is among the top three OECD schools for teacher shortages, with 41 per cent of secondary principals reporting they don’t have enough educators- almost double the global average of 23 per cent.

Shortages are most pressing in public schools and those with disadvantaged students.

One in three teachers now believes the disadvantages of being a teacher outweighs the benefits, down from one in 10 four years ago.

Younger teachers are more likely to be stressed than those aged 50 and above, with one in five teachers under 30 saying they will leave the profession within five years. This share has increased by 7 percentage points since 2018.

Overall, only one-third of teachers agree or strongly agree teachers are valued in society – higher than the OECD average but down by 11 per cent since 2018.

In Australia, the most commonly reported sources of stress are: having too much administrative work to do (69 per cent), having too much marking (50 per cent), and keeping up with curriculum or program changes in their school (46 per cent).

A new OECD report has found Australia has the second most stressed teachers in the world.

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In other insights from the snapshot, only 55 per cent are happy with their salaries, 77 per cent have non-teaching work experience and teachers in private schools are more likely to say their principal has good professional relationships with staff.

The report found two-thirds of teachers use AI at work, with those who don’t use it reporting they don’t have the skills or the school lacks the technology.

This is despite the fact that eight out of 10 teachers in Australia – along with Norway and Sweden – think digital resources can distract students from learning.

Those having input into the results include Bob Gates from Killara High School and Carol Zimmerman from Caboolture State (Primary) School, Australia.

Organisations that provided data included the Australian Council for Educational Research.

Originally published as Aussie teachers are the second most stressed in the world despite spending less than half their time in class, OECD report finds