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A recent survey by RAND reveals that the well-being of teachers in the U.S. is still lagging behind that of similar working adults. This trend has been consistent since 2021, with teachers facing longer hours and lower pay on average.
The top stressors for teachers in 2024 include managing student behavior, low salaries, and administrative tasks outside of teaching. Teachers are putting in an average of 53 hours per week, with 15 of those hours falling outside of their contracts. This is significantly higher than the 44 hours per week reported by similar working adults. Only 36% of teachers feel that their base pay is sufficient, compared to 51% of their counterparts.
The RAND State of the Teacher survey is an annual, nationally representative survey of K-12 public school teachers in the U.S. The 2024 survey focuses on teacher well-being and factors influencing job retention, such as sources of stress, pay, hours worked, and intentions to leave. The data on teachers is compared to a separate 2024 American Life Panel survey of working adults.
“For the fourth year in a row, RAND’s data highlights the challenges of high stress and inadequate pay in the teaching profession,” said Sy Doan, the lead author of the report and a policy researcher at RAND. “While teacher well-being appears to have stabilized post-pandemic, there are concerns about the sustainability of the profession, especially for Black and female teachers.”
Black teachers are working longer hours on average, expressing less satisfaction with their working hours, and feeling less content with their base pay compared to their peers. They are also more likely to consider leaving their jobs. Female teachers report higher levels of job-related stress and burnout than male teachers, along with lower base pay, but no significant difference in weekly working hours.
2024-06-18 01:15:03
Article from phys.org