ACEReSearch

The ACER Teaching and Leadership team have recently conducted two major studies of teacher workload for the New Zealand Ministry of Education. These studies have involved surveys of teachers, principals, and middle managers in representative samples of schools. It has been possible to include a strong research component to these studies in developing new measures of perceived workload and in testing theoretical models to identify the main factors affecting variation in workload.

It has also been interesting to place the study of teachers' work in NZ in a broader international context of policies being developed in different countries to "remodel" teachers' work, such as the recent work of the national remodelling team in the UK. Studies of teachers' work and stress in England have led to policies that have introduced new staff in schools, such as teaching assistants, to enable teachers to concentrate more of their time on the core work of teaching. It is still an open question as to which forms of remodelling teachers' work are likely to lead to less stress for teachers and improved learning outcomes for students.