A career in education is most certainly a calling. Ask anyone to recall an influential person in their life to that point, and most of the time, that person will answer a family member, a coach, or a teacher. As teachers, we have the innate ability to mold and shape young minds, and we hope that they take the skills learned and go out into the world and be successful in whatever it is they put their mind to.
The educational system was in a monotonous rut until the COVID-19 pandemic. In a span of two weeks, the entire world’s eyes were on the shutdown that affected our entire country and large parts of our world as a whole. During this time, and the subsequent time that followed from March to July of 2020, students across the country were learning from home, with teachers who had only a handful of days to pivot from traditional brick-and-mortar education to online, distance learning education through a screen.
For a time, during increasing uncertainties and painful statistics of loss and suffering from the global pandemic, there was an overwhelmingly positive perception and incredible support for frontline workers, healthcare workers, and teachers. We were heroes! Parents everywhere had a newfound appreciation for what teachers did daily, and there were countless appreciation posts, support, and other good feelings towards those in education. Fast forward to three years later, and educational leaders everywhere are back dealing with the same challenges as before – navigating the ebb and flow of teacher morale.
What Is Teacher Morale and Why Is It Important?
Teacher morale is simply the overall feeling on a day-to-day basis of faculty and staff within a building. For experienced school leaders, this is often an undercurrent that can sometimes be felt or seen, depending on your location. Great leaders know that the direction of the building is solely based on the teachers’ happiness, and finding ways to support each adult in the building is critical.
In schools with low teacher morale, there is an unfortunate correlation to faculty and staff turnover and general unhappiness. Teacher morale is important because it permeates into each space in which students occupy. Unhappy teachers lead unhappy classrooms, leading to negative student outcomes. Multiple research efforts have shown correlations between positive teaching experiences and positive student academic outcomes. Teacher morale truly matters.
Factors That Influence Teacher Morale
Teacher morale is an interesting concept, deeply rooted in intrinsic and extrinsic factors. For school leaders, focusing on the intrinsic factors is a great place to start. For faculty and staff, intrinsic factors that influence teacher morale are things like job security, new curriculum or initiatives, teacher autonomy, or the overall climate and culture of the building. Extrinsic factors, which are the most difficult to address for building level leaders, are “big ticket” items such as increased compensation, district level support, or the general sense of being undervalued by district or central office staff.
Another factor that has been increasingly prevalent in the last six to eight months is the lack of recognition for the incredible job that teachers and support staff do on a daily basis. This is not a perceived slight, but rather a real issue that plagues education today. Mainstream media, political divisiveness, school board elections, and other noticeable struggles continue to pour on to already overworked and tired educators who feel they are shouldering the burden of public education.
How to Identify Signs of Low Teacher Morale
Low teacher morale is, at times, hard to identify. Successful schools can often mask the sense of low teacher morale due to a variety of programs or success in a specific area, but building level leaders know that, at any time, an issue with teacher morale can cause headaches. Evidence of low teacher morale can be strikingly visible:
- Faculty and staff that have an overall negative demeanor can experience burnout or low morale. These teachers have often been described as “curmudgeons” or “energy vampires.” They typically have a problem for every solution.
- Low morale can exist with faculty and staff who demonstrate uncooperative behavior, refusing to work with others. In education, collaboration and professional development opportunities are only successful when teams come together.
- Low teacher morale can take the form of constant complaints from faculty and staff, or the lack of effort given. Those with low morale typically aren’t afraid to express their complaints, while giving minimum effort to complete tasks.
- Turnover and attendance are examples of low teacher morale.
For a high turnover rate, this is not those who have low morale; rather the faculty and staff members leaving are those who wish to work in a different environment, often away from those who are always negative. In the end, this is a negative form of turnover, one that leaves building-level leaders with the wrong people left behind. Regarding attendance, those with low morale are often the ones always late, absent, or in the parking lot before the students have all left the building.
Strategies for School Leaders to Improve Teacher Morale
Although low teacher morale is a negative, there are ways that school leaders can increase morale! First, establish a way to recognize faculty and staff, both informally and formally. Schools with a positive and supporting culture find ways to recognize their team in fun and unique ways.
In my building, we celebrate our “Viking Spotlight,” where their peers nominate faculty and staff members for going above and beyond the call of duty. This monthly recognition is more special as it is peer-led and peer nominations. Other groups on campus also recognize our teachers, by placing inspiring quotes and notes on their classroom doors as ways to encourage them and thank them for what they do.
Additionally, a no-cost option to increase teacher morale is to create a shared decision-making culture. Teachers will feel more empowered and happier when they know they have input into upcoming initiatives or programs. A culture of respect, empowerment, and support is critical, and is free. Next, supporting their professional growth is a stalwart of the educational profession. Teachers need to be able to conference with their peers, learning and honing new strategies and techniques to improve their classrooms.
As building-level leaders, we must provide opportunities for staff to have choice in their professional development. Also, great schools know that the best professional development is often sitting in the room, in the form of seasoned and experienced teachers, not a hired consultant speaking about theory or innovations that won’t work for that specific building. Additionally, fun events always make the environment more enjoyable!
Fun lunches, duty-free days, small tokens of appreciation, “cheer” carts with drinks and snacks, social media shoutouts, and other items are low-cost budget items that can really go a long way. Not all schools are blessed with ample money or supplements laying around. Building-level leaders don’t have bonus checks laying around for everyone. Strategies to increase morale have to be strategic, intentional, and worth the time. Encouraging free things like spirit dress-up days, exchange days where faculty work longer hours over a few weeks to have teacher workdays off, and other ideas are just a few to affect the climate and culture of the building positively.
Teacher morale is the heartbeat of a school, a concept that has a far-reaching impact on the total school program. When teacher morale is high, teachers have more patience, are happier, and are generally more enthusiastic during the day. Students often take their cues from teachers, meaning there is a causative relationship between happy teachers and successful students. Ultimately, navigating teacher morale is a tough and arduous process, but one that will pay dividends in schools with a high culture of morale for all faculty and staff.
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