Scottish teachers’ weekly working hours are on the rise from levels that were already “well beyond” their contracted hours, independent academic research for the EIS teaching union has found.
The research, published today, shows that on average teachers work more than 46 hours weekly - or 11 hours and 23 minutes above their 35 contractual hours.
This is almost the same as the figure to emerge from University of Glasgow research in 2005-06 (45 hours) and an increase on the 43 hours reported in the 2022-23 EIS member survey.
This month also saw publication of an EIS survey of home economics teachers that highlighted their struggles with “relentless” workload,
Today’s report states: “Two decades after the [McCrone] Teachers’ Agreement, teachers in Scotland continue to work well beyond their contracted hours and working hours are rising.”
It also underlines the knock-on effects of excessive workload, with high stress levels affecting every part of teachers’ lives.
Three main reasons for excessive teacher workload
The research identifies three main drivers behind workload that cannot be completed inside contractual hours: planning and preparing lessons; preparation of resources; and marking and feedback for pupils.
The research was released today to coincide with the start of the EIS annual general meeting in Dundee. It was carried out in March and April, with over 1,800 teachers across all 32 Scottish local authorities taking part in a one-week workload diary-keeping exercise; 40 teachers shared their views in detailed follow-up interviews.
The EIS describes the results as “stark”, with general secretary Andrea Bradley highlighting the ”growing problem” of “unmanageable workloads” that undermine teachers’ health and safety at work.
Other findings include:
- Work beyond teachers’ contracted hours is the strongest predictor of stress, irrespective of sector or role.
- A direct relationship between the level of work undertaken in evenings and weekends and reported job satisfaction: as teachers work longer hours outside of their contracted hours, they are increasingly likely to feel less happy about work.
- Main-grade teachers commented on the challenges of completing data entry for tracking, monitoring and reporting within their contracted hours, especially around standardised assessments.
- Interviewees consistently reported increasing use of teaching time to address low-level and serious disruptive behaviour, as well as administrative follow-up activities outside lessons to report incidents and communicate with parents, carers, colleagues and others.
High-quality education dependent on well teachers
The University of the West of Scotland’s Professor Moira Hulme, who led the research, said: “The quality of education in Scotland’s schools depends in no small part on the professional capacity and wellbeing of its teachers.
“Teachers in Scotland work well beyond their contracted hours and working hours are rising. The workload of teachers has intensified as they address diverse learner needs and escalating behavioural and attendance issues with contracting resources.”
Dr Jeffrey Wood, senior lecturer in psychology at Birmingham City University, said: “The biggest issue is teachers not getting time for planning and preparing resources while at school. They’re consistently working hours they shouldn’t be, and that fact is dictating how stressed they are in all aspects of their daily lives - not just at work.”
Gary Beauchamp, a professor of education at Cardiff Metropolitan University who was also involved in the research, said: “This extensive study, involving 1,834 teachers and detailed interviews, provides a robust and high-quality dataset on the growing challenges of teacher workload in Scotland.
The research “highlights the urgent need to address the escalating workloads and resource challenges faced by teachers”.
Professor Beauchamp added: “Despite these challenges, the research shows teachers are working hard in their own time to overcome them to ensure quality education for all students.”
Array of pressures ’cementing the workload crisis’
Ms Bradley called for the research to be “taken seriously and tackled immediately, by local authorities and Scottish government, to ensure that teachers have manageable workloads and can stay well at work”.
She added: “The impact of reduced teacher and support staff numbers - combined with an ever-increasing diversity of learner needs, escalating pupil behaviour and attendance issues, unnecessary bureaucracy, a cluttered curriculum, and extended pupil wellbeing duties - are cementing the workload crisis in teaching.
“The Scottish government manifesto set out a number of actions - in particular an extra 3,500 teachers and a reduction in class-contact time to 21 hours - but these promises are yet to come to fruition.’’
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