School Teachers in Rural Bhutan: Quality of Work Life, Well-Being and the Risks of Resignation

Abstract

In Bhutan, recent increases in annual teacher attrition rates, particularly in rural areas, pose significant challenges for the government and concerned agencies in terms of retaining qualified teachers and reducing teacher attrition rates and turnover. This article, partly based on a field study exploring the quality of work life (QWL) and well-being of school teachers in rural Bhutan, explores the possible reasons why such teachers might seek to resign. Using mixed methodology, the study reveals poor QWL and well-being of teachers, caused by a variety of factors. In view of such findings, the Ministry of Education and the government need to ensure better all-round protection for teachers to avoid the risk of large-scale resignations.

Teaching Online During the Covid Pandemic in Rural Bhutan: Challenges and Coping Strategies

“…A further challenge that teacher-participants faced while teaching online was associated with students’ disinterest in learning, a familiar problem in Bhutan, raised subtly by Dorji et al (2019: 279). Teacher-participants pointed out that most students, even those who owned smartphones and other gadgets through which they could communicate, were not paying attention to learning.…”

“…Especially those parents who are not literate and sustain their living through farming might have a different perspective of the value of education. In this context, Dorji et al (2019: 281) observed that the educational background of parents seems to play an important role in nurturing resentment of teacher’s efforts to improve local children’s education. It was noted in our study, too, that children with uneducated parents are less likely to become educated because non-educated parents often fail to appreciate the benefits of education.…”

“…Finally, maybe the fairly low rate of readiness of rural teachers in the study area to become part of the present study hides some further structural issues, which should not remain unmentioned here. As noted by teacher-participants and confirmed by Dorji et al (2019), some rural students lack the motivation to study, affecting the well-being and motivation of Bhutan's rural teachers. The additional stress of being expected to suddenly teach online, certainly for older teachers, should not be ignored in this context.…”

“…To what extent their predicaments of total lack of preparedness for this challenging new scenario could be remedied by in-service teacher training would be worth considering. Otherwise, as Dorji et al (2019) concluded, even more of Bhutan’s experienced rural teachers may seek to leave the profession. This would be a completely unintended but only too reasonable response to the exceptional stresses caused by being suddenly expected to teach online, without any relevant training and educational preparation whatsoever.…”

Spanish Version of a Scale to Evaluate the Quality of Work Life in Teachers: An Adaptation of Walton’s QWL Model in the Peruvian Context

“…Furthermore, the same study reveals that adopting promotion and support policies for teacher retention favors the reduction of diseases [23,24]. Some studies, for example, have shown a strong link between QoWL and burnout [25], stress management [26], well-being and resignation risks [27], the organizational climate [28,29], creativity of teachers [28], and the integration of the teacher's life project in the institution, even if they are in unfavorable working conditions [23]. Furthermore, it was evidenced that organizational health and employment status can modify the impact of QoWL [30].…”