Time use, time poverty and work intensification - PowerPoint Presentation

1. Time use, time poverty and work intensificationGreg ThompsonPresentation to the Queensland Teachers’ UnionJune, 2021

2. The email revolution

3. Teachers’ work and the problem of responsibilisationA defining problem for contemporary teachers and teacher unions/associationsThe problem of teachers’ time can be summarised as consisting of two related phenomena: Workload vs work intensificationWorkload is a measure of how much work is completed in a given periodWork intensification is a measure of how difficult, rapid, stressful or complex a task is, or decision-making is, in a given periodThese may be thought of as two axes of the same problem – that of time povertyTime poverty is an age-old problem that seems to have come prevalent in many professions (law, dentistry, medicine, veterinary science, teaching and so on)Its causes are complex and multifaceted

4. The time poverty graphWhat this shows is that time poverty is the relationship between a) the amount of work a teacher does, or perceives that they have to do, and b) the intensity of that work, which may be expressed as the number, complexity or stakes associated with decisions that need to be made over a given time period.An increase in either can leave individuals feeling ‘out of time’, an increase in both workload and intensity makes this more likely.

5. What we know in Australia: TALIS 2018The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) conducted TALIS 2018 in Australia on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education, and the Australian State and Territory Departments of Education. The main survey for TALIS 2018 was conducted in 31 OECD countries and economies and 17 partner (non-OECD) countries and economies. In Australia, a nationally representative sample of 4,000 teachers and their principals from 200 lower secondary schools was randomly selected to participate in the study.

6. TALIS 2018 Continued…“Australian teachers reported working more hours than on average over the OECD (45 compared to 39 hours) and spent a lower proportion of that time on teaching (19.9 hours, or 44% of their time compared to the OECD average of 20.6 hours, or 53% of their time). The number of hours of work has increased for Australian teachers over the last five years, and all of this time seems to have been in face-to-face teaching.” (p.xii)“A little more than one-third (34%) of Australian principals’ working time was spent on administrative tasks and meetings, while one-quarter (25%) of their time was spent on leadership tasks and meetings. Prior OECD research identified curriculum and teaching-related tasks and meetings as a key component of instructional leadership and supporting teaching. This activity typically involves developing a school curriculum, observing classes and mentoring teachers, designing or organising professional development activities for teachers or being involved in student evaluation. Australian principals, on average, spent about 11 per cent of their time on these activities, significantly lower than the OECD average of 16 per cent, and lower than any of the high-performing PISA countries.” (p.xiii)

7. TALIS 2018 Continued…“Australian schools and classrooms are more diverse, and so potentially more challenging, than is the average for the OECD. Thirty-six per cent of teachers teach in schools in which there are more than 10 per cent non-native speakers, and 36 per cent teach in schools in which there are at least 10 per cent of students with special needs.” (p.xiv)“Twenty-five per cent of teachers work in schools in which more than 30 per cent of the students come from socioeconomically disadvantaged homes, 41 per cent in schools in which more than 10 per cent of students are immigrants or from a migrant background, and 62 per cent in schools in which at least 1 per cent of the student population are refugees.” (p.xiv)

8. TALIS 2018 Continued…“Incidents related to school safety are a particular concern to Australian principals compared to the OECD average. Intimidation and bullying of students is a particular issue, with 37 per cent of principals reporting that this occurs at least weekly in their school. Also of concern is the relatively high incidence of intimidation or verbal abuse of teachers or staff.” (p.xv)

9. What we know in QueenslandConducted by ACER for the QTU.Survey conducted in 2018.12 204 respondents, representing 31 per cent of QTU members.

10. Queensland Continued…Full-time primary teachers responding to the survey worked an average of 44 hours in a typical week. Full-time secondary teachers responding to the survey worked an average of 44 hours in a typical week. Full-time teachers in special schools responding to the survey worked an average of 46 hours in a typical week. Overall, 14 per cent of teachers (one in seven) worked more than 60 hours in a typical week. (p.xi)

11. Queensland Continued…Only one-quarter of teachers believe that their workload is often or nearly always manageable, and fewer believe they have a good work-life balance. Teachers in combined primary-secondary schools are somewhat more positive about these two aspects of their workload. 51% of primary teachers look forward to the school day compared to 42% of secondary teachers. (p.xiii)

12. Queensland Continued…Two-thirds of teachers consider leaving the teaching profession—at least some of the time. 80% of those who consider leaving do so because of the non-teaching requirements: monitoring, assessment, recording, reporting and accountability. One-half of those considering leaving do so because of the school’s leadership. (p.xiv)

13. Global Report on the Status of TeachersConducted at the end of 2020 on behalf of Education International.A triennial survey of teacher unions, this will be the third Report, following the 2015 and 2018 Reports. A survey of teacher unions regarding the status of teachers in their jurisdictionsIncluded questions on workload, work intensification, and the impact of COVID.Release is immanent, but there are a few key takeaways.

14. TakeawaysThere is ongoing concern regarding precarious employmentThe majority of unions worry about generational renewal of teachers, as they don’t feel that teaching is viewed as an attractive career by young people, that attrition remains too high because of work-related issuesThe majority of unions report that teachers’ work conditions have declined over the last three years, evident in increased workload Concern about workload, work intensification, teacher stress and teacher wellbeing are universal, regardless of the size of the union, its relationship with government or the level(s) of education it represents. A tentative hypothesis here is that the nature of teaching is changing/has changed. This needs urgent research to find out what, specifically, is changing in teacher practice.The privatisation of various aspects of education systems remains a concern for unions.

15. COVID19COVID-19 has had an extreme impact on many jurisdictions:Many unions reported a more positive representation of teaching by media and governments during COVID-19, often because of the success in shifting teaching and learning online when schools closed or the status of teachers as essential workers if schools remained open. In some instances, managing online learning at home may have impressed upon parents the skill, expertise and energy necessary to provide learning opportunities. Workload, and work stress, was perceived to have increased for teachers during this period. Even after school lockdowns ended, workload did not appear to have lessened, increasing concerns regarding teacher stress and wellbeing.There was concern that, as a result of COVID-19, teachers on casual and short-term contracts were not paid over the lockdown. This was particularly true for those teachers working in privatised schools, particularly in the EI Region of Africa.

16. Time use, time poverty and work intensificationOverall, I’d say that the issue of time poverty is going to be very significant for individual teachers/principals, unions, and systems moving forward.This extends to understanding the digital tools that are being used to try to make teachers’ work more efficient, to free time up.Of concern is that teaching is becoming a profession where work-life balance becomes problematic, making it less desirable, increasing attrition, stress and health.Work is becoming a ‘private matter’, occurring out of sight, off campus, and labour safeguards are being eroded.One challenge is to frame the problem as more than workload (ie how much time is spent per week) to pick up on the problem of intensification. The QUT/QTU ARC Linkage partnership is an important first step.

17. QTU ARC LinkageLP190101301: Time-Use, Time Poverty and Teachers’ WorkAbstractEducation systems and teacher unions have long expressed concern regarding the intensification of the demands of teaching and school leadership. Challenges with retaining early career teachers and recruiting new teachers are often blamed on increasing teacher workload and associated burnout. The primary aim of this study is to investigate teachers’ work intensification. This will provide important information for systems, unions and schools and suggest areas for intervention at the school and system level. The secondary aim of this study is to examine how teachers manage the intensification of their work, with a particular emphasis on commercial digital tools marketed to them as time saving devices.