Report highlights growing challenges

Alberta teachers and school leaders are experiencing a widening gap between their professional responsibility and professional authority. 

This is one of several findings outlined in a new ATA report titled Teaching in Tension, which compares the findings of the ATA’s research with the OECD’s 2024 TALIS findings, which were released last October. 

In the TALIS 2024 survey, 41 per cent of Alberta teachers indicated that keeping up with imposed requirements was a source of stress that occurred quite a bit or a lot. This was an increase of 13 percentage points from the previous TALIS survey in 2018.

Teachers reported feeling overwhelmed by changes that were imposed but not well supported by the government or school boards.

“While [teachers] remain responsible for student outcomes, they report diminishing influence over the conditions necessary for fulfilling that responsibility,” the report states. “This represents a weakening of the professional contract between educators and the system.”

This finding aligns with the ATA’s previous research, which has noted a widening gap between teachers’ professional responsibility and professional authority.

“For example, the government’s introduction of a new curriculum and standardized testing without any feedback from the teaching profession has put teachers in untenable positions. They are forced to carry out the government’s directives, resulting in ethical stress and moral distress,” the report states.

Divide between teachers and government

In recent months, the government has announced initiatives aimed at addressing class size and complexity, such as the Class Size Reduction Grant, complexity teams, hiring more EAs, and fast-tracked teacher certification.

However, while teachers have been voicing concerns about these issues for years, these initiatives have done little to assuage the distrust that has built up among many teachers, said ATA president Jason Schilling.

“Teachers remain skeptical that the government will actually be able to fulfill the recent announcements,” Schilling said. “The government continues to create new solutions that are questionable in their sustainability.”

Highly stressed and ready to bolt

One of the most disturbing findings of TALIS 2024 is that Alberta teachers reported the highest levels of stress internationally, said report author Lisa Everitt, an ATA executive staff officer and researcher.

The TALIS data shows that 42 per cent of Alberta teachers reported experiencing stress “a lot in their work,” more than double the OECD average of 19 per cent. The next highest response was from Costa Rica, where 36 per cent of teachers reported high stress.

“Alberta teachers and students are doing their very best to navigate a system that is causing significant suffering due to resource restrictions and poor policy decisions,” Everitt said in an interview.

Another concern highlighted by the research is the percentage of teachers under age 30 who intend to leave the profession within five years. This figure has more than doubled since 2018, from 9 per cent to 21 per cent.

Also, 58 per cent of teachers who are 50 or older indicated that they planned to leave teaching in the next five years—well above the OECD average of 48 per cent for that age group.

“Sadly, I think the profession is at a crossroads, and teachers and school leaders are sacrificing their own health and family lives to try and help students succeed,” Everitt said. “This is not sustainable, and there are strong signals, getting stronger every year, that many teachers are seriously considering leaving the profession.”