Stress due to increased workloads is one of the key driving factors behind teacher exodus of the workplace  (Brnadenburg et al., 2024). This is not a new finding, as the same phenomenon has been recorded in Western Australia after continuous periods of  curriculum reform (Dilkes et al., 2014). With new syllabi being introduced and implemented by 2030 in Primary and High Schools in NSW,  the potential for increased teacher fatigue is as real as ever, and could hit central school staff even harder as teachers often teach across faculties. The TL is now more important than ever in their role of supporting teacher’s in their drive to implement curriculum in their classrooms.

TLs should seek to implement a servant based leadership style first and foremost here as they seek to support staff. This could manifest in the locating of resources that teachers can implement that align closely with the requirements of the new syllabus, which the TL should become familiar with. They should also seek collaborative teaching opportunities to further support teachers implement the syllabus. This is a strategy  Soulen recommends to support first year teachers, but it can, and should, be applied to support all teachers, as collaboration in the classroom and library have significant benefits for students and teachers alike (2020). Lesson/s should be planned together, delivered together, learning assessed together, and the effectiveness of the collaboration evaluated together (Soulen, 2020).

Alternative strategies Soulen suggests that can be applied here to support teacher’s and help mitigate their stress is establishing email contact with a follow up physical visit to their classroom to identify their “physical, digital and human resource” needs (2020, p.40), and highlight immediately accessible digital resources. Once the TL has identified the immediate resource needs of the teachers, they can reserve and hand deliver a few carefully selected physical resources that meet these needs (Soulen, 2020).

Implementing such steps will assist in supporting teachers and reducing the burden of their workload, and ultimately, reduce teacher burnout and departure from education (Soulen, 2020)

 

References

Brandenburg, R., Larsen, E., Simpson,, A., Sallis, R. & Tran, D. (2024). ‘I left the teaching profession…and this is what I am doing now’: a national study of teacher attrition. The Australian Educational Researcher, pp.1-20. DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-024-00697-1 

Dilkes, J., Cunningham, C. & Gray, J. (2014). The new Australian Curriculum, teachers and change fatigue. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(11). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1047053.pdf

Reinsel Soulen, R. (2020). The continuum of care. Knowledge Quest, 48(4). 36-42.