Gallup recently conducted interviews with former teachers and found changes in America’s K-12 education environment have resulted in a notable decrease in crucial aspects of educators’ engagement, such as understanding their expectations, utilizing their strengths daily, and feeling a sense of purpose in their work.
Due to the nature of their profession, K-12 teachers encounter distinct challenges. On average, they are less likely to have the necessary materials and equipment for their work, less likely to receive respectful treatment at work, and more likely to experience frequent burnout than workers in other fields.
The long-held assumption that K-12 teachers will remain in their role because they love working with kids is no longer valid. It’s time to rethink the day-to-day experiences of K-12 educators at work.
The former educators shared many stories about the connections they created with students
“I just really could connect with those kids and give them the love that they need.”
“You felt like you were a big part of their lives, because we knew that in a lot of cases school was the happiest part of their life …”
But they also recounted feeling burned out and underappreciated
“I’d go home, and I’d just collapse on the couch, and then I wasn’t energetic to interact with my family or do chores and stuff.”
“Just hearing that you’re doing a good job feels good, and I don’t know if I was hearing that enough to feel like all of the hard work that I was doing was being seen.”
Several of the former educators also described the ways in which administrators and parents can affect their role
“When you have an administrator who creates toxic work environments, like, it’s just not fun to be there, as much as you love kids, as much as you love your job.”
“[There is] much less support from parents today than what there had been in the past. I think there’s less engagement from parents, less recognition of just, ‘thank you for everything you do.’”
How to Fix the K-12 Teacher Experience
Motivated by the multifaceted factors contributing to educators leaving the profession, Gallup researchers reviewed data from nationally representative surveys. They pinpointed six crucial elements of the K-12 workplace that leaders can prioritize to distinguish their school or district from others.
1. Address Burnout
K-12 teachers are experiencing high levels of burnout compared to workers in other occupations. In 2023, 39% of K-12 teachers reported feeling burned out always or very often, while only 26% of workers in other fields reported similar feelings.
To address this issue, it is important to proactively tackle burnout by setting clear expectations, providing sufficient training and resources, and establishing realistic performance standards. By doing so, K-12 teachers are more likely to be actively involved in their work and less inclined to seek employment elsewhere.
2. Focus on Wellbeing
On average, K-12 teachers report higher life satisfaction than workers in other fields and are more likely to have overall thriving well-being. However, they also face the highest rate of workplace disrespect across all industries. According to a 2023 survey, 42% of K-12 employees reported being treated disrespectfully at work in the past month, and only 21% of educators strongly feel that their opinions count at work.
It is crucial to take the time to genuinely listen to educators’ experiences and find ways to offer support, as this will significantly contribute to enhancing their respect and overall well-being.
3. Discover Strengths
Over the past three years, there has been a 17% decrease in the percentage of K-12 teachers who strongly agreed that their work allows them to utilize their strengths every day.
When faced with new projects, tasks, or time commitments, it is important to shift the mindset from simply asking, “Who is available to do this?” to “Who is best equipped to do this?” This simple change in approach can have a significant impact. Employees who feel they have the opportunity to utilize their strengths daily are 57% less likely to experience frequent burnout.
4. Give Frequent Meaningful Feedback
The majority of K-12 teachers do not receive frequent meaningful feedback from their managers or administrators. Although administrators have demanding workloads, prioritizing regular interactions with educators can yield numerous benefits. Educators who receive frequent meaningful feedback are twice as likely to strongly agree that their manager removes barriers to performance and 2.1 times as likely to strongly agree that their manager invests in their development.
5. Appreciate Contributions
Only 24% of K-12 teachers strongly agree that they have received recognition or praise for their good work in the last seven days. Authentic, personal, and meaningful recognition is the most effective.
While education leaders may not have the time to observe and recognize every educator’s achievement, they can establish recognition as a vital part of the school’s culture. If leaders are unsure how to recognize educators, they can remove the guesswork by simply asking. Surprisingly, only 10% of employees have been asked how they prefer to be recognized at work.
6. Reimagine Career Growth
For numerous K-12 educators, the conventional career progression typically involves transitioning into an administrative or departmental leadership role. However, not all teachers aspire to pursue this path.
Classroom teachers can still experience career growth through strategic professional development, regular discussions about progress towards professional goals, and advancement within their current role, without being overwhelmed with tasks that could lead to burnout. K-12 teachers who strongly agree that their manager invests in their development are 8.7 times more likely to strongly agree that there is a well-defined plan for career growth at their school or district, compared to those who do not strongly agree.
What Do You Think?
Do the challenges and solutions presented here seem to match you experiences? Let us know in the comments.
