Teacher Workload

Educational Issue - Ed 2500

Aaron, Cam, Rebecca, and Corbin
 Should there be a cap on the
number of hours a teacher may
work in a week?
- Essential Question 1
- What does the in-school and out-of-school workload
look like for an average teacher in an average week?

- Essential Question 2
- How is this addressed by the ATA and the
government?
Introduction
- Playbuzz (https://www.playbuzz.com/corbins13/education-2500)
- Get to know the class and their opinions.
- Expectations vs Realities

- Now that we have seen

what our class thinks,
lets go more in depth.
 In-school factors affecting teacher workload
-Special days e.g. (Canada 150) -District and government mandated
assessments
-Classroom composition
-Personalization for students.
-Meetings/ Staff meetings
These are just a few that could make you lose
-Supervision recesses and lunches time to teach the curriculum.
-Access to resources

-Colleagues doing their share or not doing it

-Parents trying to help but making it harder

Unsustainable Workload in School
Living on the edge of chaos-Respondents in workload study

- Primary school teachers feel a sense of frustration from those in power who tend
to prioritise teacher time and what they need to see and when.
- A sense of hopelessness that most teachers recognize- the job is never done.
- Teachers have a feeling of just doing as much as possible in the time they have.
But there is always more to do and never the end in sight.
Major Factors: Special days
Throughout the school year there are days or even
weeks that disrupt teaching time from key elements
that results in kids falling behind in their learning.

With the extreme pressure and workload, teachers

are stressed and students get bumped from the
front of their minds. The idea that students come
first can be forgotten. So, with the immense amount
of hours in school and out of school that teachers
put in, it could actually backfire and hurt the
students learning.
Major Factors Continued Classroom Composition
-No matter where you teach you will
always have classes with kids through
your career that will require high needs.
Hand in hand with undercut funding and
lack of teacher assistants this will create a
significant increase for in school
workload .

-Even the spread of ability in your

classroom you will have to tailor it for
particular students especially if you have
a large class or split grade classes
workload .
Out-of-school Workload
According to a national study on work-life balance, some 98% of teachers in Alberta take work home to complete on
evenings and weekends. On average, resulting in nearly an additional 14 hours of work outside their normal 41 hours
in-school.
This ame study found that the typical Alberta teacher engages in work-related activities 60.8 hours per week.

According to the 2013 TALIS report Alberta teachers averaged about 10 hours per week more professional time than
their international cohorts. The major portion of that difference resulting from approximately 25% more hours actually
spent teaching above the international average and double the number of hours in extracurricular activities.

On Average, in the Calgary Public Teachers Local teachers reported working 56 hours per week, of those 19 were spent
on direct instruction and another 35 on other activities like supervising, clerical work, attending meetings, marking,
reporting, and planning. An additional hour of extracurricular activities per week was also reported. For many teachers
some weeks included nearly an additional 10 hours of extracurricular activities while for some others even up to an
additional 20 hours.
Work-Life Balance
The high workload of teachers has other further costs, as shown by findings from a 2013 national study on work-life balance:

- 70% of Alberta teachers reported high levels of work role overload, twice that of others in similar professions
- A mere were satisfied with their workload and the amount of time they devote to work while 60% are dissatisfied with the same
- 80% reported high levels of overload while 70% reported high levels of perceived stress
- High levels of depressed mood were reported by 47% of teachers
- Alberta teacher are 2 times more likely than the rest of the sample to report experiencing high levels of conflict between work and family
- High levels of agreement with the statement "Work interferes with family" were reported by 75% of respondent teachers. This rate more than
- 30% reported high intent to turnover, half of which think of leaving their current situation several times a week or more and the other 15%
think of leaving once a week.
- 1 in 10 have turned down a promotion due to work-life issues.
doubles that of the whole remaining sample of Albertan employees
- About 40 % report high job satisfaction while 15 % are dissatisfied and another 48% had mixed feelings

Although, according to TALIS, 92% of teachers are satisfied with their jobs and 90% report that the advantages of being a teacher clearly
outweigh the disadvantages

Responses from teachers to surveys conducted in the Rocky View Local (ATA) showed that 48% of respondents said they were experiencing
difficulty maintaining balance between their work and personal lives.
Teacher Workload Game
Do you feel stressed??
Talking Points
- Mundane tasks
- Time devoted to non-core teaching tasks
- Extracurricular activities
- Not bad, but still quite difficult to balance
- Managing personal life with professional life
- The government expects a certain amount of time and dedication from you, regardless of your
extracurricular activities.
- Overcrowded curriculum
- Teacher Autonomy vs Isolationism

- Government write up requirements at Father Leonard van Tighem (current issue)

ATA and Teachers Union
- Before 2013, an outline was made for transforming Albertas schools based on 12
dimensions that needed to be rethought.
- Before these 12 dimensions could be changed, however, it was recognized that
teacher workload had to be addressed.
2013
- 2013: framework for lowering workload
- Government to look into reducing unnecessary tasks
- Established cap of 907 hours of instruction
- complications
- Many teachers are at risk for work burnout
- Expired August 2016
- Review at 3 levels
2016
- 2016: several teachers from ATA feel that the goals have not been met and an
effort has not been made.
- Teachers have brought to light again the workload issue, as it has not been
resolved. Many teachers feel that their workload has even increased in the
timeframe.
- Malatest study is conducted/released, and confirms findings of the TALIS study
- Eight locals have filed grievances because the effort has not been made to reduce
unnecessary tasks
- Teachers feel that some school boards made honest efforts to reduce tasks, but
others have made no meaningful change.
Conclusion
- Now that youre more educated on the matter, if you were on the committee that
decides whether or not there should be a cap, what would you vote?
- Should there be a cap on the number of hours a teacher may
work in a week?
- https://www.playbuzz.com/corbins13/cap-on-weekly-educa
tion-hours
- Talk with a group member about what youve learned or how
your opinion changed.
 References
A Great School For All - Transforming Education in Alberta. (2012). Alberta Teacher's
Association. Retrieved June 14, 2017.

Bridges, S., & Searle, A. (2011). Changing workloads of primary school teachers: I seem to live
on the edge of chaos. School Leadership & Management, 31(5), 413-433.
doi:10.1080/13632434.2011.614943

Couture, J. (2013). Teachers spend 10 hours more per week on work than other professionals. ATA News,
47(13), 6.

Couture, J. (2011). Conditions of professional practice deteriorating-ATA. ATA News, 46(8), 4. Retrieved
from https://search.proquest.com/docview/916550875?accountid=12063

Hare, C. (2016). Association pursues workload grievances. ATA News, 50(9), 4-4,6. Retrieved
from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1761610657?accountid=12063

M. Rogers-Olson, Personal communication, June 12-13, 2017

References Continued
OECD (2014), TALIS 2013 results: an international perspective on teaching and learning, OECD
Publishing, Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264196261-en

Teacher workload. (2013). ATA News, 48(1), 4. Retrieved from

https://search.proquest.com/docview/1441325379?accountid=12063

Teghtmeyer, J. (2011). Take a break, you deserve it. ATA News, 46(8), 2. Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/916550634?accountid=12063

Teghtmeyer, J. (2016). No surprises in teacher workload study. ATA News, 50(16), 2. Retrieved
from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1789137230?accountid=12063

Thomas, G. (2012). Teachers, transformation and Albertas great schools. ATA

Magazine, 93(1), 52-53. Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1118239158?accountid=12063