Amid record levels of teacher burnout and declining student engagement, revitalising the foundational bonds of schooling demands a fresh perspective, Katie Fotheringham writes.
New findings from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reinforce the growing trend of prolonged student absences from school.
Among the reasons for this, ‘boredom’ ranks as the third most cited cause for students refusing to attend.
Since the onset of COVID-19, dropout rates have surged in several countries. Yet, the question remains: Why are Australian students choosing to distance themselves from the classroom?
Teacher burnout remains critical issue
Dr Pamela Patrick is a lecturer in the School of Educational Psychology and Counselling at Monash University.
She has worked as a school psychologist supporting adolescents and the school community with a range of mental health concerns, including school non-attendance. Her research involves teacher burnout, compassion fatigue and school non-attendance.
“The growing complexity of students’ needs and the ongoing demands on teachers’ time are some key factors contributing to teacher burnout,” Dr Patrick says.
“Teachers often feel like they must provide more without anything being taken off their plate in return, which often leads to higher workloads, stress, and burnout.
“Teachers also feel underappreciated by students, parents and society at large,” she says.
Dr Patrick says her experiences as a school psychologist have shaped her understanding of teacher burnout and student disconnection.
“My experiences as a school psychologist have been that teachers, particularly middle level leaders or year level coordinators, are inundated with having to manage staff and student concerns,” she says.
“The added administrative tasks put on teachers also mean there is less time for them to do the things they enjoy – being in the classroom.”
Disconnect between reality and curriculum
Dr Patrick says emerging data from a study of teens with school non-attendance concerns has revealed that a disconnect between reality and curriculum taught in classrooms is a major reason for the rise in school non-attendance rates.
“This study has not been published yet; however, from a small sample of interviews conducted with young people, there seems to be a common thread of students feeling that what they are studying at school seems irrelevant to the real world,” Dr Patrick says.
“Students have asked for more practical utility in what they are studying and for teachers to highlight how certain aspects of the curriculum can be applied or translated into the real-world,” she says.
Bullying another key issue
Dr Patrick says her ongoing research revealed bullying was also a key factor in school non-attendance rates.
“This is further heightened when students perceive schools as not taking a proactive measure to address bullying-related concerns,” she says.
“Whether this is in part due to teachers being overworked and overloaded, thus not having enough time or resources to address these social issues, is an area that needs to be further explored.
“It is also worth noting that students who are identified as school non-attenders often reported social difficulties prior to COVID-19 lockdowns and following an extended period of home-based learning, the transition back to school has proven more challenging for this subset of students,” she says.
Dr Patrick says addressing bullying required addressing teacher burnout.
“I think it is important to firstly consider a review of teacher workloads,” Dr Patrick says.
“Some suggestions include streamlining administrative tasks, reducing the frequency of meetings or having a dedicated team of administrative staff to monitor and address issues around school non-attendance.
“In doing so, it is possible that teachers will have more time, capacity and resources to address issues around bullying and working on initiatives that promote supportive and inclusive environments.
“As part of this, it might also be worth getting student advocates to champion various inclusive initiatives.
“Inviting external speakers who may have lived experience in topics that the school is looking to raise awareness on is another way to create more safe and supportive schools,” she says.
Schooling in a post-pandemic world
Dr Patrick says the pandemic had impacted schooling preferences, classroom dynamics and teacher-student relationships.
“Our research (with a small sample of teens) has shown some students preferred home-based learning,” she says.
“Furthermore, having had some success with home-based learning, some students, particularly those who experience more social difficulties, prefer to turn to other modalities of school other than face-to-face.
“Many found a new way of schooling that suited them fine during the pandemic, bringing into question the need to change.
“This inevitably has consequences for teacher-student relationships from an academic and social standpoint.
“It is more likely that these students will fall behind on their school curriculum, and it puts extra onus on teachers to ensure these students are getting the necessary instruction or content when they are away from school.
“Not being present at school can inhibit the rapport and connection that teachers and students are able to form with each other, which poses further challenges to classroom dynamics,” Dr Partick says.
More pressure on educators
Dr Patrick says there were continuously evolving demands being placed on educators – school refusal, vaping in schools, and the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence.
“These added pressures, with little to no relief, have resulted in an increasing number of educators preferring to leave the profession altogether,” Dr Patrick says.
“Students report feeling disconnected with teachers, and teacher burnout rates are at an all-time high.
“At a time when the appeal of school is fast dwindling, it is time we started reimagining our schools.”
