Marking is the key driver of work stress among teachers

Marking and lesson planning are the two aspects of teachers' jobs that lead to the greatest increase in workload stress and levels of poor wellbeing, according to a new study by UCL researchers. The working paper is published today by the Nuffield Foundation, who also funded the report. It analysed data from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Study (TALIS) and included survey answers from 9,405 teachers in five predominantly English-speaking education systems from England, Australia, Alberta-Canada, New Zealand and the United States. The study highlights that teachers across England work some of the longest hours in Europe and recent research by the UCL Institute of Education found that a quarter of teachers work more than 59 hours a week. Lead author, Professor John Jerrim (UCL Institute of Education) said:" Our study shows that it is not just as case of saying extra hours lead to extra stress among teachers, but what they are doing in those hours. "We found that for every extra hour teachers spend on marking and planning there is a significant association with decline in wellbeing at work. This is most likely because these are often tasks done at the evening, weekend and during school holidays.