English teachers: longer hours, less pay, more stress & less training than overseas peers

10 October 2016

Teachers in England put in longer hours than their peers in the vast majority of other OECD countries for less pay, but this does not go towards have extra time with students.

This is according to a new analysis by the Education Policy Institute, which today published figures showing English educators work 19% longer than the OECD average, with a fifth of teachers putting in 60 or more hours per week.

However, this extra time went towards lesson planning and filling in forms, with teachers spending only slightly more time in class than international peers.

What’s more, they are not rewarded with higher pay or perks. Starting pay is actually 16% lower than the OECD average, and many suffer burnout from stress early on in their careers, with only 48% having more than ten years’ experience compared with the OECD average of 64%.

Part of this stress comes from feeling underprepared, and this too is linked to overwork, with many feeling unable to take up continuous professional development opportunities.

England ranked 30th among 36 OECD nations for the average number of days spent on some key forms of training, with teachers taking an dedicating of four days a year on their personal advancement compared with an OECD average of 10.5 days.

The lack of CPD for teachers in England also calls into question the quality of education these workers can provide compared with their international peers.

The Education Policy Institute called on the government to reduce the burden of administrative work on teachers and promote higher pay and training opportunities in the sector.