The Weight of a Heavy Hour: Understanding Teacher Experiences of Work Intensification

Abstract

The teachers in this study identified the experiences related to increases in the intensity of teachers’ work to be a misunderstood and under-discussed aspect of the profession. During research conversations that took place in the context of a year-long narrative inquiry, the term heavy hours was coined to describe these experiences. The salient features of heavy hours described include: rapid professional decision-making, being pulled in an excess of directions, and the residue that lingers long after the hour is over. After exploring the ways in which the teachers in this study experienced and defined heavy hours, this paper asserts that foregrounding this understanding has implications for the way in which we prepare and support teachers throughout their careers.

Optimising leadership: Conceptualising cognitive constraints of sociality and collaboration in Australian secondary schools

“…These interactions add layers of complexity to the work life of individuals and teams in secondary schools. Limited time frames and increasing expectations of current collaborative interactions can produce a lingering aftermath for those involved – a result of being pulled in multiple directions and having to make hasty professional decisions (Beck, 2017).…”

“…Trying to maintain and sustain these interactions can be exhausting. Safeguarding against cognitive overload, and increased intensification of collaborative interactions (Beck, 2017), can lead to individual and collective self-protection mechanisms that can derail the purpose and intended outcomes of the interactions in the first place. Consequently, eroding the foundations of trust on which these interactions take place.…”

Structural enablements and constraints in the creation and enactment of local content in Norwegian education

“…The local operationalization of centrally given competence aims can, therefore, be thought of as a currently working concession or compromise, where both teachers and the state get sufficient of what matters to them. Time pressure and an excessive workload for teachers as exemplified in the result section have been pointed out by several researchers as problems strongly related to teachers' working conditions, which can lead to emotional exhaustion, teacher attrition, burnout or leaving the profession (Beck, 2017;Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2017U.-D. K. Baeck, 2015). According to the teachers, time pressure came from many sources, but the amount of competence aims in LK06 was considered the main culprit.…”

L’expérience difficile du travail enseignant et les besoins de soutien chez les enseignants débutants au Québec

“…Or, à la différence des enseignants permanents, qui occupent habituellement un poste stable dans un établissement et dont la tâche est généralement bien circonscrite, les enseignants débutants (surtout à statut précaire) sont souvent exposés simultanément ou du moins successivement à plusieurs de ces conditions difficiles dont l'effet cumulatif peut s'avérer particulièrement néfaste. D'ailleurs, ces conditions font partie directement ou indirectement des sources potentielles de stress chez les enseignants en général (Canadian Teachers'Federation, 2014 ;Maranda et al, 2011 ;Royer, Loiselle, Dusseault, Cossette, & Deaudelin, 2001 ;Sugden, 2010 Cette situation complexe vécue par les enseignants débutants semble très préoccupante, non seulement parce qu'elle s'avère avoir un impact négatif sur le plan personnel, tel que mentionné dans le paragraphe précédent, mais aussi parce que, selon certains auteurs, l'intensification du travail enseignant a un effet potentiellement nuisible sur la pédagogie des enseignants et sur leurs élèves (Beck, 2017 ;Canadian Teachers' Federation, 2014 ;Maranda et al, 2011).…”