Factors affecting secondary teacher wellbeing in England: Self-perceptions, policy and politics

Abstract

After the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the NEU (2021) report states that one in three teachers plan to leave the profession in the next 5 years. As previous studies published by the DfE focusing on workload have not affected the wastage rate of the profession, there is something deeper at work which needs to be explored. A critical theory, mixed-methods approach is used to gain a breadth and depth of understanding of the attitudes of 55 respondents to a survey and 17 participants in semi-structured interviews. All data collection was carried out in secondary schools in Lincolnshire, where teacher pay is good in comparison with the county average of workforce pay. These methods aim to test the assumption that concerns about workload and pay are causing teachers’ discontent. The findings reveal that teacher attitudes towards their working lives are complex owing to individuals trying to internalise the values of both traditional and new professionalisms. Owing to this, teachers can appear contradictory in their demands and tolerance of the demands of the profession and themselves. The characteristics of neoliberal management including transactional leadership, competition and ambivalence to processes in favour of outcomes, do not match traditional professional values of dedication, expertise and working for the greater good.