Substitute Teaching in Alberta: Voices from the Field

Overview

This mixed-methods study examines the experiences of substitute teachers in Alberta during the 2019/20 school year, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began. It strives to address a gap in educational research: for the ATA to advocate for policy proposals that improve the lives of substitute teachers, the Association needed to better understand those teachers. The findings provide insight into the lives of substitute teachers and their ability to adapt to changing work assignments, It also provides guidance about how the professional lives of substitute teachers can be enhanced and supported.

This study follows up on two previous ATA studies on substitute teachers: · Substitute Teaching in Alberta: Voices from the Field (2010) and Substitute Teachers in Alberta: A Research Report (2011).

Research methods

The study used a mixed-methods approach, using focus groups and an online survey. The first phase of data collection started with focus groups for which participants were recruited during the Substitute Teachers Conference on October 19, 2019. A total of 44 substitute teachers opted to participate in the focus groups during the conference. The focus groups ran for approximately one hour and were guided by open-ended statements and prompts that queried the participants’ perspectives on the current context of substitute teaching, what the challenges were, what the positives were and how the participants viewed their relationship with the ATA. 

The second phase of the study was on an open online survey that recruited participants by posting the study on the ATA website, in addition to an announcement made at the annual Substitute Teachers Conference in October 2019. The survey was open from December 2 through December 16, 2019, and drew 1,131 respondents with 869 completed surveys. Given this response rate, and based on an estimated population size of 6,712 (ATA 2020), this survey has a confidence interval or margin of error of ±3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20 (Creative Research Systems 2012).

Collaborators

• Lisa M Everitt, EdD, Executive Staff Officer, Alberta Teachers’ Association
• Jason Daniels, PhD, University of Alberta (research study design)