‘Cruel Wellbeing’: Study Says Immediate Relief for Teacher Stress Not Available

School teachers march along Macquarie St towards NSW Parliament in Sydney, Australia, on May 4, 2022. (Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

Policies to improve teacher welfare are still lacking amid growing frustration over workloads, according to a new study.

It noted that discussions between teachers on social platform Reddit highlighted how “cruel” approaches to wellbeing intensify teacher stress, workload burdens, and suffering.

Teacher educator Saul Karnovsky from Curtin’s School of Education coined the term “cruel wellbeing” to describe the main approaches that rely only on positive thinking strategies for wellbeing while failing to consider harsh work conditions.

“The imposition of responsiblised wellbeing does not improve challenging workplace conditions nor address the wider political and economic contexts shaping these,” he said.

The teacher trainer defies wellbeing as how teachers feel physically, socially, mentally, and emotionally, which governments should address, in his opinion.

He said achieving it stems from collective action and acknowledgment of the “real challenges” teachers face.

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Teachers face challenges stemming from education policies and working conditions, he said, cautioning policymakers risk being seen as “out of touch” if they don’t consider these genuine concerns.

“We found Reddit was a forum through which teachers could express their concerns about issues like overwork and lack of attention from school leaders and policymakers,” he said.

The Curtin University study titled, “How teacher wellbeing can be cruel: Refusing discourses of wellbeing in an online Reddit forum,” analysed conversations on Reddit, where teachers openly discuss their experiences and challenges.

Ignoring Teacher Wellbeing and Turnover

Policies ignoring how work affects teachers can lead to decreased job satisfaction and an increased desire to leave the profession, the study authors picked up.

This is echoed in The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 2022 data which showed 5 percent of teachers plan to quit within a year, with 35 percent intending to leave before retirement, up from 26 percent in 2019.

AITSL found teachers’ top reasons for wanting to leave remain consistent over time: workload and coping, recognition and award, and classroom issues.

As a result, teacher wellbeing has entered political discourse, involving teachers and workplace practices, but not without criticism.

Discussions on Reddit show workplace wellbeing strategies usually prioritise organisational needs, focusing on following typical political and social norms.

“Our board at school and the department simply do not care about our wellbeing. They will consider anything and everything except addressing the root problem—the insane workload and student behaviour,” one teacher wrote.

They said teachers are merely told to “buckle up and get through these hard times.”

“As for the behaviour, the best we can do is send an email home (usually not responded to), call home (get yelled at by the parent) or pass the issue up the line to the deputy (who then repeats steps 1 and 2),” they said.

“It’s taboo to bring up the workload or the student behaviour that’s sent some teachers home crying.”

A New South Wales teacher responded, saying the main reason authorities avoided addressing the workload problem was because they “can’t do much.”

“The change needs to come from above the department: more money to hire more teachers to make conditions better.”

Notably, Mr. Karnovsky said it was important to include the perspectives of school leaders in these discussions, as the wellbeing programs they endorse may be an attempt to address complex issues with limited resources.

“Teachers do the most important job in the world,” Federal Education Minister Jason Clare MP recently affirmed.

“And the truth is we don’t have enough of them.”

There are some initiatives underway, such as government-funded initial teacher education scholarships and increased efforts to encourage more people to pursue a teaching career.

“But there is still a long way to go,” AITSL education policy expert Edmund Misson said, as many other experts weigh in about their approach to fixing initiatives.

Teacher Inductions, Toxic Positivity, Leadership Support

AITSL wants better induction experiences, noting inductions declined from 65 percent to 59 percent between 2020 and 2022 for early career teachers with 3 to 5 years’ experience.

“High-quality induction plays a role in supporting early career teachers to develop their practice, meet the challenges of workload and classroom management while helping them to manage their wellbeing and the demands of their role,” it said.

Brad Gobby, a senior lecturer in curriculum at Curtin University, added that addressing the emergence of toxic positivity as a significant influence in the lives of Australian teachers was crucial.

“Education administrators are reshaping workplace values and practices to maintain employees’ positivity, happiness and optimism in the face of irrefutable evidence that everything is not great,” he said.

“When relentless positivity takes hold in schools to deny negative experiences or stressors, there can be unethical and dangerous consequences for teachers. These include demoralisation and emotional fatigue, which contribute to teachers leaving the profession.”

Educational Psychology Professor Rebecca Collie weighed in, expressing hope for leadership support.

“Teachers who experience social supports, such as school leadership that encourages teacher agency and initiative at work—and positive relationships with both colleagues and students—consistently demonstrated higher rates of wellbeing and lower intentions to leave teaching,” she said.

She suggested promoting high-quality student-teacher interactions through ongoing support and feedback, assisting teachers in their professional learning and goal-setting to improve specific student relationships.

“Similarly, inviting teachers’ input in decisions and school policies and providing rationales for work tasks are some of the ways schools can support greater wellbeing,” she said.

“Promoting positive teacher wellbeing has huge benefits for our society and for our future generations.”