A survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the U.K. has found that 76 per cent of recently recruited, new teachers are thinking about quitting their job due to overwhelming amounts of work.
The findings have also revealed that of the newly qualified teachers (NQTs) questioned, 73 per cent admitted that they were considering leaving the profession totally.
The survey of 886 NQTs and students found that 79 per cent did not feel that they had a satisfactory work-life balance. The high amount of work required of the NQTs was the most common reason for being unhappy in their role.
Closely following the heavy workload as the reason for NQTs being unhappy with their job, was the lack of respect and negative portrayal of teachers in the press (30 per cent).
Over 25 per cent of NQTs stated that they were not happy with their role in teaching due to the expectation that teachers should be increasingly participating in out-of-hours activities.
Approximately half of the NQTs questioned claimed that they work between 6 to 10 hours at the weekend during term time. A further 28 per cent claimed to work more than 10 hours. Only 2 per cent (one individual in fifty) revealed that they do not work at all during the weekend.
Of the respondents, a quarter cited the challenging behaviour of pupils as the reason why they were considering quitting. This figure aligns to some degree with that of Ofted’s chief inspector, Michael Wilshaw, who has suggested that bad behaviour in schools is the main reason why some 40 per cent of teachers do actually go on to leave their position in their first 5 years of teaching.
The survey also found that a quarter of NQTs did not think that they would still be teaching in five years’ time and 53 per cent felt the same when the period was extended to a decade.
This post originally appeared on VoicED.org.uk and was republished here with permission.
