Australian teachers more stressed while remote teaching
Working from home has left Australian teachers with increased levels of stress and anxiety, a recent Tes report has found.
The research, carried out between 7 and 12 May this year, found that 62 per cent of respondents reported an increase in stress, with 84 per cent reporting an increase in workload.
However, there were also some more encouraging findings, with 83 per cent of teachers agreeing that online learning had enabled students to “take ownership of their learning journey”.
In addition, 71 per cent believed that online learning could “improve education delivery”.
The research and subsequent report, conducted with the help of Tim Waley (who has more than 30 years of principal experience in Australia and overseas), surveyed 435 teachers from a mix of government, independent and Catholic schools.
Communication is key
The report concludes that “communicative, empathetic, and supportive leadership teams helped school staff manage changes more readily”.
It also recognises the “need for leadership teams to provide space and time to adjust”.
According to Hunter Valley Grammar School principal Paul Teys, who was consulted on the findings of the report, having a two-way communication process was imperative as staff adjusted to online learning.
“We took on feedback from teachers regardless of how positive or negative it was and identified that many struggled with the move to online learning. What we found most important was explicit, steady instruction from the leadership team about our response and approaches.”
A brighter future
Despite the sudden adoption of technology during lockdown causing stress and anxiety levels to rise, education consultant Tony Vallance believes that things will improve in the long term.
“I have seen schools weather the online learning storm well if they already had a universal platform in place,” he says.
“I recommend a less-is-more approach to help to deal with teacher stress and anxiety. That is, a clearly communicated approach from leadership about realistic expectations, scaffolded support, and mentoring for staff struggling with technology.”
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