Education survey a boon for teachers

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 541, 21 June 1994, Page 6

Education survey a boon for teachers

A visit by an ERO raview officer conducting an assurance audit marked the start of Primary Teachers Week for Raetihi School. Other schools in the region taking part in the week organised by the education sector union, NZEI Te Riu

Roa, include Waiouru Primary School which will be conducting parent-teacher interviews this week, and Ohakune Primary School, where staff development training with the school' s rural adviser, Harvey Porteous, is in effect.

A long-awaited survey recently conducted by the NZEI should bury the myth that primary teachers only work from 9am-3pm, according to primary teachers from around the country who say they ara tired of working long hard hours for

little recognition or reward. The survey of 160 primary and intermediate school teachers drawn from 29 schools in the Wellington region and the South Wairarapa, weighted towards schools with rolls of under 196, revealed an av-

erage working week of 54. 5 hours for teachers. Weekend work averaged six hours, with at least half the teachers' workloads falling outside class contact hours of 9am-3pm. The workload of teaching principals was even greater,

with thexeport showing an average 6 1 hour week. That of assistant/deputy principals survey ed averaged 56 hours. Non- teaching principals, part-time relievers and firstyear provisionally registered teachers were exluded

from the survey, while fulltime relieving teachers and full-time specialist teachers, such as reading recovery and special needs teachers, were included. Outside normal classroom hours, the teacherrs surveyed spent an average of 11.7 hours per week preparing classroom work, with another 5.2 hours spent on marking, assessment and report writing. Other activities involving work outside normal classroom hours included resource purchasing and maintenance of classroom facilities. Significant out-of-term time was also spent involved in administrative tasks and in-service train- ' ingdays. Those teachers surveyed indicated that work pressures had a major negative impact on their family and general social life, as well as on their health. Areas which generated most stress were largely associated with the changes brought about by the Tomorrow' s Schools reforms: the rapid implementation of brand new curricula, the avalanche of administrative paper work involved and the need to develop new assessment and appraisal systema. Worthwhife changes Changes which teachers sought to make their jobs more worthwhile were: smaller classes and better pupil/teacherratios; higher - salaries and increased recognition for their work; a reduction in paperwork with better-phased curriculum inno vation; more non-class-contact time and more flexible hours. Primary teachers ara also calling for an end to the pay discrepancy that exists between primary and secondary level teaching. They argue that both levels require three or more years of tertiary study with both primary and secondary teachers requiring similar qualifications, training, professional skills and responsibilities. New curriculum developments also mean similar pressures, with both groups working the same long, demanding hours.