A part-time job keeps the teacher in balance
Politics The Hague wants to entice part-timers to work more hours in the fight against the teacher shortage. But many teachers in primary education consciously choose a three or four day working week. "That policy can backfire."
Full-time job, some teachers swear by it. Take Cathelijne Anten, teacher at OBS De Globe in Amsterdam. For a long time she worked four days a week. But over the years she noticed - every time a duo colleague stopped - what it was like to be in front of the class for five days. Now she says: “I advise everyone to work five days. When I worked four days, I often thought: I work just as much in those four days as in five days. ”
Strangely enough, or not: five days before class gives peace of mind. “You always keep the same atmosphere in the group. I know exactly what happened to which student and I have an overview. You know how to leave the class and what you will find again. "
Teacher Johan Wesdorp of Dalton school De Bergse Zonnebloem in Rotterdam has always worked full-time. At the beginning of this school year, he worked one day less. But after his duo colleague dropped out, he took up that class and works again all week. Wesdorp found himself seeing the day off as an emergency lane to do work that would otherwise be left untouched. “I wanted to have more time for my cello and the orchestra I'm in. Secretly I also have to say that I wanted to use that day off to work well and because I was going to do an education. The director of my school then said: Johan, a day off is for example to go to a concert. ”
Insight
Picture: Type tank
If all part-timers followed the example of Cathelijne and Johan, the teacher shortage would soon be overcome. At least: with that insight derived from Excel, consultancy firm McKinsey recently came out.
Working more hours is also the message that the cabinet is propagating about staff shortages
in sectors such as healthcare and education. But practice is not that simple. Teachers who walk around school all week are the odd man out in primary education. Part-time working is the norm at many primary schools. Most teachers should not think about teaching full-time.
A call from the Education magazine on Facebook yielded more than a hundred responses, mainly from 'well-considered' part-timers. 'By working three days from four days, I ensure that I continue to enjoy working in education...and that I am fresh and enthusiastic in front of the class again', a teacher responds. Someone else says: 'Education is hard work. You're constantly on.' And yet another: 'If I were to work five days a week, I wouldn't have any free time at all.'
By working from four days to three days now, I ensure that I continue to enjoy working in education
For many part-timers, sooner or later the b-word comes up: balance. Brit van Setten has been working in primary education since 2007. “I worked full-time for the first five years. In those early years you are busy gaining a lot of experience and discovering everything. When my daughter was born, I started working for three days. I wanted to take care of her and see how she developed. And later on I also wanted to contribute to her school, for example with crafts and as a reading mother. For me it was important to be able to be really involved. ”
She has been working at the Montessori school in Rhenen since September. She has a three-day appointment: two of which she teaches, one of which she is active as a sector consultant for the AOb. "I really enjoy teaching work, but I would also like to be involved in teaching in a different way." (The text continues under the frame)
AOb: 'Part-time work is a conscious choice'
“Teaching staff often consciously choose to work part-time,” says AObchairman Eugenie Stolk. “For example, in their full program, teachers have some 'recovery time' after giving the lessons or time to think about new lessons. Stolk also recognizes it. “I was always in front of the class for four days, but on that fifth day I was usually at work. On Sundays, I often took my then-young children to school for a few hours to prepare for the week. You have that leeway if you work part-time. ” The teacher shortage creates a vicious circle. “The workload is even higher, people are constantly helping out. The cabinet must focus on an integrated approach and begin to make the profession more attractive so that colleagues can join. For this, wages have to be raised and the workload reduced. In addition, the minister must think about career prospects and development time instead of calling on partial-timers to work more hours. ”
Champion
“The Netherlands is world champion of part-time work,” says Ans Merens of the Social Cultural Planning Office (SCP). 70 percent of women here work part-time, the highest percentage in the world. According to the researcher, one of the explanations is that the Netherlands has a long history of part-time work and that more and more full-time part-time jobs have been created over time. "It is no longer just about boring jobs, but about jobs that require a high level of education."
In addition, the social norms are different. “In Sweden you deny your children something if you don't bring them to daycare, but here it is often seen as a negative thing. The Netherlands was also quite late with arrangements for parental leave and childcare, here the focus was first on part-time work. I also don't think that, for example, free childcare would help. Flexible times and working from home are much more important conditions. ”
Girls more often choose teacher training or healthcare training. They therefore prefer a profession and employment conditions that are more often part-time.
At the beginning of 2018, SCP published the report 'Working at the start', which showed that twice as many young women as men work part-time immediately after graduation. The choice of education plays a role in this. “It is still the case that girls more often opt for PABO courses or a course with which you will work in healthcare. So they are already pre-sorting for a profession and working conditions that are more often part-time. Men end up more in technical professions or industry and construction where full-time work is the norm. ”
Children
Look at education and the numbers speak volumes. Almost 55 percent of the teachers has an appointment of up to 0,8 FTE, according to figures from Duo, which analyzed the Labor Market Platform Primary Education. Most of them work two and a half to four days within that.
More importantly, the research shows that teachers are very satisfied with their appointment and do not worry about expanding it. More than 55 percent of those surveyed who work part-time indicate that they do not want to work more hours at all. Practice also shows that teachers mainly start working fewer hours after a number of years: 47 percent of the teachers surveyed indicate that their appointment has actually decreased since they started as a teacher, often after the arrival of children.
About 5 percent is very positive about working more hours, but only when their children are older. If teachers start working more, there must be something in return. The most important condition is that teachers must notice this in their wallets: they must make sufficient financial progress. (The text continues under the frame)
The school with the most short jobs
One of the schools with the most teachers in small part-time jobs is in the Brabant village of Waardhuizen. At the Protestant Christian primary school De Verrekijker, almost all teachers have a job of up to 0,5 FTE, or two and a half days a week. “All teachers here are women and many of them combine their job with parenthood,” says director Hennie Schermers. “I see many colleagues around me who are at an age where they also provide informal care for their parents. There are also colleagues who do volunteer work for the quality of life in the village, help at the library or are active in the church with pastoral work, for example.” The rule is that groups are led by pairs, not three or more teachers. “My part-timers go for it on the days they work. Sometimes you see that full-time employees are a bit burned out on Thursday afternoons. Then Friday is mainly filled with fun things. A part-timer is still fresh and fruity that Friday, so that the effective learning time is optimally used," says Schermers. “Work and private life must be in balance. The teachers I see around me have found that balance. If that balance is not there, teachers may drop out.” The government is also asking citizens to provide more informal care. “If we have to combine all that with a family and a full-time job, I think you will have many more people with burnout in no time.”
Workload
There is an opportunity there, think a majority of the political parties in the House of Representatives. Last fall, they passed a number of motions to financially reward part-time teachers if they extend their appointment. The cabinet recently announced that it is fighting the Dutch 'part-time culture' from various ministries.
Still, the question is whether these kinds of initiatives in education will yield much against the teacher shortage. The Education Magazine looked at the regional differences in part-time work and it turns out: in the areas that are currently facing the greatest shortages, especially the large cities in the Randstad, most teachers have been working for four days or more.
Many teachers also find other things more important than a financial bonus. For example, reducing work pressure. “Money was not the main reason,” says Johan Wesdorp of De Bergse Zonnebloem about the reason for returning to work full-time. “I really do it for the class. Then they have more stability and so do I. "
“The problem is framing the ministry,” says Cathelijne Anten of De Globe. “Slob says: 'Can you just solve that shortage yourself'. That is quite straightforward. Also ask yourself why so many people are leaving education. There are a lot of chores on the teachers' plate. A lot of people just don't keep it up and everyone wants to do well, but you sometimes fail students. Something must be done about the conditions in education. ”
This story comes from the February issue of the Education Magazine
