Moira Hulme, Gary Beauchamp, Carole Bignell and Jeffrey Wood

The teaching workforce in and beyond Europe is facing unprecedented challenges. Many European school systems are facing teacher shortages as recruitment targets are missed and the number of teachers leaving the profession before retirement increases. Challenging employment conditions in 2022 and 2023 saw industrial action by teachers in France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

The European Trade Union Committee for Education has expressed concern about the declining attractiveness of the teaching profession and the need for adequate pay, and equitable and sustainable workloads.

In this article we summarise research commissioned by the Educational Institute of Scotland in response to workload concerns expressed by teachers in Scotland’s schools.

The research was undertaken in spring 2024 by a consortium from the University of the West of Scotland, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Birmingham City University. The project examined the number of hours teachers spend on work-related activity inside and out of the classroom, at school and at home.

We approached workload not just in terms of the number of working hours, but also intensity and manageability. We were keen to explore the relationship between excess workload, teacher stress and career intentions.

The following research questions were addressed:

• What are the main activities that constitute teacher workload?
• What is the balance of this workload over the working week?
• What extra hours do teachers work beyond their contractual hours?
• Where do workload demands come from outwith class contact time?
• What are the main reasons for failure to achieve a 35-hour working week for teachers?

Methods

We gathered the data via an online time use diary followed by forty semi-structured interviews. A survey link was distributed to EIS members currently employed in schools. 1,834 teachers recorded the full range of work-related activities undertaken in the week commencing 4th March 2024.

A volunteer teacher panel, with a range of roles and varied length of experience, helped to improve the diary design and reduced the risk of partial completion by respondents. Incomplete responses due to absences from school were excluded.

A close match was achieved between the survey respondents and the general teaching population in Scotland (gender, age, main role in school, phase, length of teaching experience, contract type, local authority).

During follow-up interviews, teachers were able to explain the drivers of their workload and the impact of working hours on their professional and personal lives. Flexibility was offered in terms of the mode of remote interview – telephone or online video call – to accommodate interviewee preferences, availability and location.

Findings

On average, participating teachers reported working 46 hours in the target week. This is an increase on the eight additional hours reported in the 2022-23 EIS member survey. Two decades after the Teachers’ Agreement, teachers in Scotland continue to work well beyond their contracted hours and working hours are rising.

Work beyond teachers’ contracted hours was the strongest predictor of perceived stress, irrespective of sector or role. 

On average, teachers reported spending 11.39 hours in the week outside of contracted hours on work-related activity undertaken in the morning before work, into the evening and at home at the weekend. The challenges of personalised planning to meet diverse learner needs, escalating behavioural and attendance issues, and reduced support across children’s services extends and intensifies the work of teachers.

Work beyond teachers’ contracted hours was the strongest predictor of perceived stress, irrespective of sector or role. There is a direct relationship between the level of work undertaken in evenings and weekends and reported job satisfaction. As teachers work longer hours outside their contracted hours, they are increasingly likely to experience lower levels of job satisfaction. Many teachers reported being caught in a continuous cycle of ‘catching up’ that constrained possibilities for reflection and strategic professional development.

Interviewees reported negative effects of extended working hours on family life, including reduced participation in social and leisure activities, less time spent with their own children, and increased pressure on partners; several questioned whether teaching could be regarded as a family friendly occupation.

Workload was cited as an important contributing factor influencing teachers’ career decisions i.e., whether to seek promotion, move schools, move into education-related work, or exit the profession.

Conclusion

Non-teaching tasks with less direct links to educational benefit for learners were most likely to be perceived as contributing to workload burden.

This research provides new evidence on how statutory and actual working time is spent and the factors that explain teachers’ time use in Scotland. The findings confirm a marked divergence between actual working time and the time that is recognised by employers.

Non-teaching tasks with less direct links to educational benefit for learners were most likely to be perceived as contributing to workload burden. Teachers report a reduction in autonomy over the use of time in face-to-face and non-teaching tasks (i.e., working time inflexibility). Routine administrative activities restrict the time available for relationship building and pastoral care.

As a result, teachers contend with difficult choices between what they perceive to be high value core work and other directed activity. Excessive working hours and limited task discretion have important implications for professional identity, motivation, and career intentions. A policy focus on teacher workload and wellbeing is necessary if teaching is to remain an attractive and sustainable career choice.