A survey of 1,788 teachers by the National Education Union (NEU) found that 44 percent of them planned to retire by 2027, while a fifth claimed they would quit within the following two years.
52 percent of workers said their workload was “unmanageable” or “unmanageable most of the time,” up from 35 percent in 2021, which influenced their choice.
Those contemplating a departure were also swayed by the public and government’s lack of faith in educators.
Pay and responsibility were also listed by teachers as factors.
“I am desperate to get out of education due to workload, constant monitoring and paperwork,” one teacher said.
More than seventy-three percent of respondents to a study stated that schools were having difficulty filling vacancies, resulting in a double-up of posts.
“People leave and then their responsibilities are added to another role,” a teacher explained.
As one person put it, it’s like “everything is pared to the bone”.
Sixty-six percent of secondary school teachers say that since March 2020, the shortage of teaching assistants and support workers has become worse.
TAs are being expected to cover more courses than ever before since there are “far too few,” according to one.
In a statement by Dr Mary Bousted, NEU’s joint general secretary, “This is simply unsustainable and can only lead to burnout.”
Workload has played a leading role in many of the “contributing factors,” she said, noting that the government should not just accept this as a problem.
“Teaching remains an attractive and fulfilling profession,” stated a representative for the Department of Education. More than 461,000 teachers are now employed in schools throughout the United States – 20,000 more than in 2010.
Our policies and actions have been improved as a result of our proactive collaboration with the sector to better understand the factors that contribute to teacher and leader workload and well-being.