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Teachers and principals denied the time to teach and lead
Teachers and principals denied the time to teach and lead
6 November 2017
New national educational surveys confirm NZEI Te Riu Roa’s claims that teachers and principals are being denied the time to teach and lead, and that children’s education is suffering as a result.
In three studies just released by the NZ Council of Educational Research [i], 75 percent of principals said that they wanted to spend more time on educational leadership, and 92 percent said their school lacked the funding they needed to function properly.
The surveys not only show teachers and principals were working longer hours, but also that children's education had suffered at the same time.
Teachers had noticed a dramatic decrease in
children's abilities in "key competencies" since the last
survey, including taking risks in their learning, different
ways of looking at things and taking part in hands-on
activities.
"New Zealand children deserve the best
education in the world, and New Zealand can afford to
provide it to them,” said NZEI Te Riu Roa President Lynda
Stuart.
"These surveys show children are missing out on some opportunities to learn because teachers and principals are bogged down in administration or are struggling to get support for children with additional learning needs.
“The surveys reinforce our members’ call for teachers to be freed up to teach and principals given more time to lead so that every child can achieve their potential.
“The new Government has an opportunity to fix the funding crisis that the previous Government left behind, and finally do what works for children’s learning.
“Members have already indicated they’ll want
action on time, and pay in their collective agreement
bargaining next year,” Ms Stuart said.
Key NZCER
findings included.
• 66 percent of Principals worked
more than 56 hours a week.
• 42 percent of principals
reported high or very high stress levels.
• Only 8
percent of principals said their school’s operation
funding was sufficient in 2016.
• Teachers wanted
better provision for children with additional learning
needs.
• Nearly one third of teachers agreed, or
strongly agreed, that their workload was too high to do
justice to the students they
taught.
ends
NZEI Te Riu Roa
New Zealand Educational Institute
NZEI Te Riu Roa members work in every community in New Zealand, leading and advocating for quality public education.
We are the 50,000 principals, teachers and support staff who work in primary, area and secondary schools as well as early childhood centres, special education and school advisory services. We come together as NZEI Te Riu Roa - New Zealand's largest education union, a Treaty based organisation and a powerful advocate for quality public education.
We have the most important job in New Zealand - educating for the future.
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