TTR0139

Written evidence submitted by Dr Andrew Chitty and Dr Rachel Maunder

• 1. Executive summary

Teachers at all career stages need to maintain their sense of vocation (calling) in order to stay in teaching. To do this they need the autonomy to design (craft) their work in such a way that they can maximise their calling and find meaning from their work. At present they are unable to do this due to top-down managerial pressures, the requirements of an accountability agenda and contextual factors that encourage intention to quit. These factors are summarised here and suggestions for addressing them made.

• 2. Author biographies

Dr.Andrew Chitty has taught students at secondary/adult/university foundation/prison levels for over 32 years. Whilst working as a secondary school teacher, he gained an MA in Education, and a PhD in Psychology. He was also a school governor. His doctoral research examined teacher resilience, well-being, and retention in secondary school teachers in England. He is a Chartered Psychologist and a qualified coach. At present he is maintaining his interest in education by working as a part-time associate lecturer with the Open University and has two academic papers involving teacher retention awaiting publication.

Dr. Rachel Maunder is an Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Northampton, specialising in the psychology of education. She is a chartered psychologist, and programme leader of an undergraduate degree programme in Psychology (Developmental & Educational). She is an experienced researcher, with published work in educational and developmental psychology. She supervised Andrew’s doctoral research at the University of Northampton, and is co-authoring 2 papers from the thesis about retention of secondary school teachers.

• 3. Reasons for submitting this evidence

The experience and academic research of the two authors is relevant to this Committee. Andrew was a secondary school teacher for over 30 years so has first-hand experience of and insight into teacher working conditions. Research he has conducted with Rachel Maunder is directly related to teacher retention, and provides tangible insight into some of the reasons why teachers stay or leave the profession.

• 4. This evidence addresses specifically the following items from the Call for     Evidence:

• What are the main factors leading to difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified teachers?

• Are there ways in which teacher training could be improved to address the challenges in which teacher training could be improved to address the challenges in recruitment and retention?

• What action should the Department take to address the challenges in teacher recruitment and retention?

The evidence presented here draws on the following research findings: Chitty, A. (2020); Chitty & Maunder (submitted) and Chitty, Maunder & Collings (in preparation).

The research was conducted with secondary school teachers across England, based on 2 strands.

In the first strand, 279 teachers completed an online survey measuring their Hope, Optimism, Self-efficacy, Mindset, Job crafting, Resilience, Well-being and Intention to Quit teaching.

In the second strand, eleven in-depth interviews were conducted with teachers at different career stages (newly qualified, established, and left/leaving teaching) to explore factors contributing to decisions to stay or leave the profession.

5. What are the main factors leading to difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified teachers?

Background:

• Findings from the research showed that teachers’ motivation at all career stages focused on a sense of vocation (a ‘calling’) rather than rewards based on financial or status factors. Having a sense of vocation can be defined as work that is fulfilling, socially useful, and to which the teacher feels drawn to (Wrzesniewski, McCauly, Rozin & Schwartz (1997); Rosso, Dekas & Wrzesniewski 2010).

• This was supported by statistical analysis of the survey data where ‘calling’ predicted intention to quit teaching. Teacher with higher levels of calling had lower intention to quit, whereas low levels of calling predicted high intention to quit.

• Teachers were disillusioned because they felt that the autonomy they needed to design their work, in order to maximise their sense of vocation, had been eroded by top-down managerialism and excessive requirements for accountability (such as from OFSTED). There was incongruence between why they wanted to be a teacher and the parts of the role their enjoyed/found meaningful (i.e. their calling/vocation), and the reality of their day-to-day tasks. They were ‘surviving’ rather than thriving. This led to teachers expressing a desire to quit teaching or seek alternative roles. In particular, the following contextual factors leading to difficulties in retention were expressed:

Contextual Factors:

• Reduced collegiality caused by an overemphasis on competition between staff - caused by a target culture, a lack of mentoring, and performance related pay.

• The inability to put students’ educational and pastoral welfare at the centre of their work because of the requirement to prioritise institutional goals such as examination performance.

• The inability to transmit fully their enthusiasm for subjects taught because of the pressure to ‘cram’ for examinations.

• Too much time spent on tasks that were viewed as unnecessary, especially producing data for accountability purposes. This suggests it is the nature of the workload rather than amount that is significant.

• Scarcity of resources (including teachers) and a requirement to simply accept austerity measures as the norm.

• Within academies, a commercial organisational culture prioritising institutional success at the expense of educational outcomes.

• Top-down directives from leaders perceived to be ‘out of touch’ with the reality of teaching and schools.

• Too much emphasis on the need to be ‘resilient’ and a feeling that this was not sustainable in the long run.

6. Are there ways in which teacher training could be improved to address the challenges in which teacher training could be improved to address the challenges in recruitment and retention?

• Early career teachers (ECTs) expressed the views stated in (5) and so these contextual factors need to be addressed when considering the training of new teachers.

• In particular, ECTs wanted an increased sense of collegiality and better mentoring. They felt that time pressures on staff reduced the opportunities for in-depth discussions, guidance and support for new teachers.

7. What action should the Department take to address the challenges in Teacher recruitment and retention?

• Having a sense of calling to teach is associated with increased commitment to teaching (Bullough et al, 2012). Recruitment of trainee teachers therefore should focus on attracting those who are drawn to the vocational aspect of the role, by emphasising the sense of purpose, service, and social benefits of teaching.

• To retain teachers, they need more autonomy in their work to be able to nurture their calling/vocation and experience their work as meaningful.

• The contextual factors stated in (5) and (6) need to be addressed to improve the working conditions of teachers and maintain their commitment to teaching.

• Teachers need more opportunities for collegial discussions, sharing practice and ongoing professional development, and the time and space to engage with these properly. One example could be Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in schools, consisting of groups of teachers who collaborate to discuss teaching, learning, and subject related matters, not just accountability and administrative/managerial issues. In this way collegiality, subject development, and student-centred-ness are encouraged.

References

Bullough, R. V., Hall-Kenyon, K. M. (2012). On teacher hope, sense of calling, and commitment to teaching. Teacher Education Quarterly, Spring.

Chitty, A. (2020). Self-belief factors affecting the Resilience, Well-being and Retention of secondary schoolteachers in England. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Northampton. Available at: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/14819/

Chitty, A. & Maunder, R. (submitted). “No matter what is thrown at you, you still – inside your core – want to teach”: The role of calling in retention of secondary school teachers in England.

Chitty, A., Maunder, R. & Collings, R. (in preparation). Called to teach? The contribution of hope, optimism, self-efficacy, mindset, and job crafting to the resilience, well-being, and retention of schoolteachers in England.

Rosso, B.D., Dekas, K.H. & Wrzesniewski, A. (2010). On the meaning of work. A theoretical integration and review. Research in Organizational Behavior, 30, 90-127. doi: 10.1016/j.riob.2010.09.001

Wrzesniewski, A., McCauly, C., Rozin, P. & Schwartz, B. (1997). Jobs, careers and callings: People’s relations to their work. Journal of Research in Personality, 31, 21-33. doi: 10.1006/jrpe.1997.2162

April 2023