After an uptick in morale last year, teachers nationally are saying that their mental health has worsened and that they are less satisfied with their careers than they were a year ago, according to new research.
The findings come from an annual report released this week by the EdWeek Research Center, which surveyed 1,487 public school teachers and 131 private school teachers between January and March of this year, on behalf of Merrimack College.
Teacher job satisfaction appeared to reach an all-time low in 2022, with 12 percent of public school teachers saying they were very satisfied with their jobs as they grappled with the fallout from disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though job satisfaction climbed last year, it slipped slightly this year to 18 percent of public school teachers saying they were very satisfied, and is still much lower than it was decades ago.
The results come as classrooms are facing increased scrutiny and politicization, students are grappling with mental health concerns and increasing behavioral challenges, and teachers’ pay remains low.
Even as educators report more difficult work environments, though, they report having minimal or nonexistent programming to support their mental well-being, according to the survey.
“Unfortunately, it’s not getting better,” said Tim Pressley, a professor of psychology at Christopher Newport University. “Teachers were burned out, had no job satisfaction, low morale during the pandemic, and that has just continued as we’ve come out of this pandemic.”
Here are five key takeaways from the report.
1. Teachers want better working conditions and higher pay
Past surveys have found that teachers are experiencing poor mental health. However, teachers often point to changes in working conditions—and compensation—as things that would improve their mental health, according to the report.
Financial stress is a top concern for educators. An increasing amount of public school teachers—70 percent, up slightly from 67 percent from last year—say that a raise would help reduce their financial stress, thereby supporting their mental well-being. Raises are requested more frequently by new teachers, who are usually paid the least, the report said.
Also high on teachers’ lists: fewer administrative burdens, like meetings and paperwork. Public school teachers wanted smaller class sizes and additional classroom supports, like paraprofessionals. Private school teachers were more likely to want to spend less time doing lunch, hall duty, or supervisory tasks.
2. Teachers are increasingly concerned with student discipline
Student behavior since the pandemic has increasingly become a concern for educators. Though some districts are pushing for more punitive approaches—like a teacher’s bill of rights—there are concerns that exclusionary disciplinary measures—detention, suspension, or expulsion—disproportionately impact students of color and students with disabilities.
More public school teachers wanted to see more support for dealing with student discipline issues. Elementary (74 percent) and middle school (71 percent) teachers, and teachers in suburban districts, are more likely to say that more support for dealing with discipline would help improve their mental health.
In the survey, teachers wrote in open responses that they felt they weren’t able to discipline students. Even when misbehaving students are sent out of class, they come back with snacks and don’t change their behavior, teachers said.
3. Negative impacts on mental health vary by age and race
Black and Hispanic public school teachers are less likely to say their mental health is affecting their teaching, whereas roughly half of white teachers say it’s having a negative impact, according to the report. In fact, Black teachers have some of the highest morale on the job, according to the Education Week State of Teaching survey, a different poll.
Meanwhile, younger teachers—Generation Z—are more likely to say that their mental health is negatively affecting their jobs than their older counterparts, with one early career respondent reporting requesting a yearlong leave of absence due to the toll on their mental health. Baby Boomers, who are ages 60 to 78, say their mental health has the lowest impact on their teaching.
4. Administrator support has an impact on well-being
Only a small amount of educators say that mental health programming for teachers is extensive, according to the report. A larger amount—22 percent of public school teachers, and 24 percent of private school teachers—say their schools don’t offer any type of mental health programming.
Staff were more likely to say their principals provided a lot of concrete support this year compared to last year, but still, more than a quarter of the respondents said the administration did not provide any support at all.
Survey results also suggested that positive support from building leadership was not the norm. Eleven percent of public school teachers said their principals provided “a lot” of support of their mental health, whereas 1 in 3 teachers said their principals offered no support at all. Multiple teachers reported in open responses that their principals had negative impacts on their well-being.
A smaller handful of respondents shared stories of how district and school leaders could contribute positively, showing that they can enhance well-being and satisfaction, according to the report.
5. Student and teacher mental well-being is connected
Student mental health has become a more pressing concern following the pandemic’s disruptions, with schools feeling less equipped to support students’ needs. Teachers who say their own mental health is negatively affecting their work are more likely to say that students’ mental health can also have a detrimental impact on learning, according to the report.
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There are some positives: Compared to last year, a smaller percentage of teachers report that students’ mental health concerns are negatively affecting learning and behavior. But a larger share of teachers also report that students’ mental health declined over the course of the school year, rather than improving.
A majority of teachers recommended at least one student receive intervention or counseling services last school year, and roughly half of teachers said their schools needed more counselors, psychologists, and social workers. Teachers in the South, in high school, or who were new to the field were less likely to make referrals, as were Black and Hispanic teachers.
More than half of teachers said students’ mental health may generally improve if parents received more guidance for supporting student mental health at home.
In an open-ended question, a majority of teachers—83 percent—said they should be expected to support students’ mental health and refer students to professionals when needed, but the most common response was that teachers should not replace mental health professionals.
