Teachers Having to Work Harder Than Any Other Professionals教師比其他任何職業都辛苦

趙麗萍 審訂/曲磊

Teachers are working harder than ever before and more than any other occupation， according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Oxford Review of Education authored by researchers from UCL.

The proportion who say their job demands a very high level of input is nine in ten which represents an increase of two-thirds （90% vs 54%） over 25 years， according to the findings taken in 2017 and based on more than 800 teachers in British schools.

This compares with just 44% of people in all other occupations who agree they have to work very hard. Only health and social services managers and legal professionals come close to the levels of work intensity faced by teachers.

The data reveals for the first time how this drop in job quality goes beyond just pay and hours. Training， the influence teachers have over their tasks and work-related well-being have also declined.

An increasing percentage of teachers say they often or always come home from work exhausted （72% in 1997 vs 85% in 2017） which again is higher than any other professional over the same period （44% vs 45%）.

The study author Professor Francis Green from the UCL Institute of Education says the findings suggest a link between declining work well-being and decreased job quality， independent of the long hours teachers work. He says reforms are needed to address the issue which is a possible factor in declining teacher retention rates.

“The most striking aspect of job quality is teachers’ high work intensity and intensification.

“Compared with other professionals and all other occupations， teachers work more intensively and this has risen to unprecedented levels.

“Any improvement in teachers’ job quality achieved in a post-COVID-19 environment should be beneficial. Not only for teachers， but also for schools and the pupils who depend so much on the quality of teaching.”

Studies to date have focused on pay and hours， but Professor Green analyzed work intensity as well as other additional factors such as the control staff have over their work and training.

His research was based on Skills and Employment Survey （SES） series data from 1992 to 2017. The SES collects information on what people including school teachers do at work， the skills they use and how they work in Britain.

A total of 857 teachers aged 20 to 60 and working in nursery， primary， secondary and special schools were asked about job quality and overall work satisfaction. The majority were female （72%） and living in England （86%） with a minority in the private sector （13%）.

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council， the study not only found teachers are having to work extremely hard physically and mentally， but also increasingly at very high speed （16% in 1992 vs 58% in 2017）. Overall， those in Scotland reported the lowest work intensity anywhere in Britain. Private school teachers also said their job demands are lower but were more likely to say training quality was poorer.

In addition to work intensity， key findings that illustrate job quality has decreased for teachers include：

· The proportion of teachers with a great deal of influence over how they perform tasks fell from just under half （48%） in 2012 to less than a third （31%） in 2017. Those wanting more control over how they did their job rose from 15% to nearly a quarter （24%）.

· High work strain increased from virtually no reports in 1992 to more than a quarter saying this was an issue （27%） in 2017. Teachers had double （16% vs 9%） the likelihood of other professionals of experiencing this type of stress.

· A high level of involvement in decision-making fell markedly （45% in 2012 vs 10% in 2017）.

· Participation in training reduced （92% in 2006 vs 86% in 2017）， as did the quality with less than a third （31% in 2017） agreeing their skills improved significantly compared with two in five （41% in 2006）.

In contrast， teachers reported greater satisfaction levels than other professionals about their promotion chances which have increased notably， and for job security which has remained high.

Other positives include the fact job quality has not declined in terms of hours worked， nor has real pay declined over the long-term， apart from between 2006 and 2017.

However， the study offers no direct evidence to explain why job quality has declined for teachers. Another limitation is the SES data does not include physical working conditions or social support.

據倫敦大學學院研究人員在同行評審期刊《牛津教育評論》上發表的研究論文稱，現在教師的工作比以往任何時候都辛苦，而且沒有什么職業比教師更勞碌。

2017年對英國800多名在職教師進行的調查發現，認為工作需要大量投入的人數占比為9/10，25年間增幅為2/3（由54%增長到90%）。

而其他職業中，認為自己工作必須非常賣力的人數比例，相較之下只有44%。只有衛生和社會服務管理人員以及法律從業者面臨與教師相當的工作強度。

這些數據首次揭示了工作質量的下降不僅僅在于薪資和工作時長。在培訓、教師對教學的話語權以及工作幸福感方面，情況也已變得糟糕。

越來越多的教師反映他們經常或總是在下班回家時身心俱疲。這一人數比例（1997年為72%，2017年為85%）也高于同一時間段的其他行業（1997年為44%，2017年為45%）。

該研究論文的作者、倫敦大學學院教育研究院的弗朗西斯·格林教授表示，研究表明，工作幸福感下降與工作質量下降兩者間存在關聯，它們都與工作時間長無關。他指出，必須進行改革來解決這一問題，因為它可能是教師留任率下降的原因。

“關于教師工作質量，最令人震驚的一點是教師工作強度大，并且正在加劇。

“與其他從業者和其他任何職業相比，教師工作強度更大，而且已經大到了前所未有的地步。

“在后疫情時期，教師工作質量的任何一點改善都會大有裨益。受益的不僅有教師，還有學校，以及非常依賴教學質量的學生。”

目前為止，研究集中于薪資和工作時長方面，而格林教授從工作強度，以及諸如教師對教學的掌控權、教師培訓等其他方面進行了分析。

他的研究基礎是1992年至2017年發布的技能和就業調查（SES）系列數據。SES搜集的信息涵蓋教師等英國職場人士的工作內容、工作技能以及工作方式。

一共857名20至60歲的幼兒園、小學、中學和特殊學校的教師參與了工作質量和總體崗位滿意度調查。大部分受訪者為女性（72%），且居住在英格蘭（86%），少部分（13%）在私立學校工作。

該研究由英國經濟與社會研究理事會資助，它發現教師不得不身心俱疲地拼命努力，而且其工作強度不斷急速增長（1992年為16%，2007年為58%）。總體而言，蘇格蘭地區教師的工作強度在整個英國是最低的。私立學校的老師也反映工作不那么累，但大多數人表示，接受的培訓質量較差。

除了工作強度外，證明教師工作質量下降的重要發現包括：

· 對如何教學擁有較大自主權的教師比例由2012年的近半數（48%）下跌至2017年的不到1/3（31%）。而想要擁有更多工作自主權的教師比例從15%上升至近1/4（24%）。

· 1992年幾乎沒有教師指出工作壓力大，而2017年超過1/4（27%）的教師表示壓力大是個問題。教師面臨高壓力的可能性（16%）是其他職業人士（9%）的兩倍。

· 教師對決策的參與度顯著下降（2012年為45%，2017年為10%）。

· 參加培訓的教師人數減少（從2006年的92%下降至2017年的86%），培訓質量也出現下滑。2017年不到1/3（31%）的教師認為他們的教學技能得到顯著提高，而這一比例在2006年為2/5（41%）。

相比之下，由于晉升機會顯著增加，且工作穩定性一直很高，教師在這兩方面的滿意度要高于其他職業。

其他積極發現還包括以下事實：工作質量沒有因為工作時長這個因素而下降;除了2006年至2017年，教師的實際工資在長時間內也沒有減少。

然而，該研究沒有提供直接的證據來解釋教師工作質量下降的原因。該研究的另一個缺陷是SES沒有列入工作環境及社會支持方面的數據。

（譯者單位：魯東大學）