Teachers Having to Work Harder Than Any Other Professionals教师比其他任何职业都辛苦

赵丽萍 审订/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.

據伦敦大学学院研究人员在同行评审期刊《牛津教育评论》上发表的研究论文称，现在教师的工作比以往任何时候都辛苦，而且没有什么职业比教师更劳碌。

2017年对英国800多名在职教师进行的调查发现，认为工作需要大量投入的人数占比为9/10，25年间增幅为2/3（由54%增长到90%）。

而其他职业中，认为自己工作必须非常卖力的人数比例，相较之下只有44%。只有卫生和社会服务管理人员以及法律从业者面临与教师相当的工作强度。

这些数据首次揭示了工作质量的下降不仅仅在于薪资和工作时长。在培训、教师对教学的话语权以及工作幸福感方面，情况也已变得糟糕。

越来越多的教师反映他们经常或总是在下班回家时身心俱疲。这一人数比例（1997年为72%，2017年为85%）也高于同一时间段的其他行业（1997年为44%，2017年为45%）。

该研究论文的作者、伦敦大学学院教育研究院的弗朗西斯·格林教授表示，研究表明，工作幸福感下降与工作质量下降两者间存在关联，它们都与工作时间长无关。他指出，必须进行改革来解决这一问题，因为它可能是教师留任率下降的原因。

“关于教师工作质量，最令人震惊的一点是教师工作强度大，并且正在加剧。

“与其他从业者和其他任何职业相比，教师工作强度更大，而且已经大到了前所未有的地步。

“在后疫情时期，教师工作质量的任何一点改善都会大有裨益。受益的不仅有教师，还有学校，以及非常依赖教学质量的学生。”

目前为止，研究集中于薪资和工作时长方面，而格林教授从工作强度，以及诸如教师对教学的掌控权、教师培训等其他方面进行了分析。

他的研究基礎是1992年至2017年发布的技能和就业调查（SES）系列数据。SES搜集的信息涵盖教师等英国职场人士的工作内容、工作技能以及工作方式。

一共857名20至60岁的幼儿园、小学、中学和特殊学校的教师参与了工作质量和总体岗位满意度调查。大部分受访者为女性（72%），且居住在英格兰（86%），少部分（13%）在私立学校工作。

该研究由英国经济与社会研究理事会资助，它发现教师不得不身心俱疲地拼命努力，而且其工作强度不断急速增长（1992年为16%，2007年为58%）。总体而言，苏格兰地区教师的工作强度在整个英国是最低的。私立学校的老师也反映工作不那么累，但大多数人表示，接受的培训质量较差。

除了工作强度外，证明教师工作质量下降的重要发现包括：

· 对如何教学拥有较大自主权的教师比例由2012年的近半数（48%）下跌至2017年的不到1/3（31%）。而想要拥有更多工作自主权的教师比例从15%上升至近1/4（24%）。

· 1992年几乎没有教师指出工作压力大，而2017年超过1/4（27%）的教师表示压力大是个问题。教师面临高压力的可能性（16%）是其他职业人士（9%）的两倍。

· 教师对决策的参与度显著下降（2012年为45%，2017年为10%）。

· 参加培训的教师人数减少（从2006年的92%下降至2017年的86%），培训质量也出现下滑。2017年不到1/3（31%）的教师认为他们的教学技能得到显著提高，而这一比例在2006年为2/5（41%）。

相比之下，由于晋升机会显著增加，且工作稳定性一直很高，教师在这两方面的满意度要高于其他职业。

其他积极发现还包括以下事实：工作质量没有因为工作时长这个因素而下降;除了2006年至2017年，教师的实际工资在长时间内也没有减少。

然而，该研究没有提供直接的证据来解释教师工作质量下降的原因。该研究的另一个缺陷是SES没有列入工作环境及社会支持方面的数据。

（译者单位：鲁东大学）