There may be something more to this fundamental K12 truth: Better working conditions breed happier teachers. What superintendents and their teams may not know are the specific working conditions that support teacher well-being in different contexts, new research contends.
Snapshots of working conditions in California, Florida, New York, Texas and Washington offer keys to how administrators can intervene to retain and recruit teachers during these most challenging of times for the K12 labor market. New York’s teachers, for example, were least likely to experience working conditions that damage well-being, says the RAND Corporation, which conducted the research as part of its Learn Together Survey of educators.
Nationally, “relational factors”such as strong relationships with other teachers and administratorswere more closely linked to well-being than organizational factors. Also, a school-wide focus on social-emotional learning for students and staff universally improved teacher well-being, the survey found.
Teacher working conditions
The poll linked teachers’ sense of positive well-being with each state’s working conditionssome of which may be beyond administrators’ control. Here’s what RAND’s researchers found:
California
Number of teachers: 271,805
California’s teacher workforce is more racially and ethnically diverse than the nation as a whole and starting and average teacher salaries are both higher than the national average. California teachers were less likely than other teachers nationally to report experiencing feelings of burnout.
They were more likely than teachers in other states to say they have:
- Control over their teaching schedule or course assignments.
- Access to pay-related supports, such as a teachers union or professional association that bargains to improve salaries.
- Opportunities to grow professionally in terms of additional responsibilities, authority and pay.
- Extra pay for performing additional work.
They were less like to have:
- Access to individual coaching provided by their district.
Florida
Number of teachers: 166,002
Florida’s public school teachers are also more racially and ethnically diverse but, aside from starting salaries, pay is below the national average. While collective bargaining is required, union membership is not mandatory and the state prohibits teacher strikes. The state legislature has also moved to limit the scope of collective bargaining in recent years, RAND found.
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Florida public school teachers were more likely than other teachers nationally to experience burnout. They were more likely than teachers in other states to say they have:
- Access to pay-related supports such as financial incentives for student performance and for working in high-needs schools.
- Experienced negative treatment based on their actual or perceived race or ethnicity.
New York
Number of teachers: 217,398
The diversity of New York’s teacher workforce is on par with the nation as a whole. Starting and average salaries are higher than the national average and New York’s teachers were slightly less likely to report that they experienced constant job-related stress and feelings of burnout. They were more likely than teachers in other states to say:
- They have access to SEL-related supports, including professional learning focused on developing students and teachers SEL skills. They also said their schools had a clear vision for SEL.
- Their school requires cultural competency or anti-racist training for all teachers and school administrators.
- Their students are engaged in learning.
They were less likely to:
- Receive individual coaching provided by their district.
- Earn financial incentives for student gains on tests.
Texas
Number of teachers: 364,478
The average starting teacher salary in Texas is higher than the national average, but the average teacher salary is lower. They were more likely than teachers in other states to:
- Report frequent job-related stress and feelings of burnout.
They were less likely to:
- Be matched with a mentor teacher who shared their racial or ethnic background in their first year of teaching.
- Have access to pay-related supports, such as extra pay for performing additional roles and the opportunity to grow professionally.
Washington
Number of teachers: 62,212
Few Washington teachers are people of color. Starting and average teacher salaries are both higher than the national average. They were more likely than teachers in other states to say:
- Their school requires cultural competency or anti-racist training for all teachers and all school administrators.
- They have access to extra pay for performing additional work or roles, opportunities to grow through additional responsibilities and a teachers union or professional association that bargains to improve teacher pay.
They were less likely to:
- Have a mentor teacher (of any race or ethnicity) or a mentor teacher who shared their racial or ethnic background.
- Experience negative treatment because of their actual or perceived race or ethnicity during their teaching career.
