Teacher works overtime structurally
Teachers work overtime structurally. Converted to full-time jobs, primary school teachers work an average working week of 46,9 hours. Secondary school teachers arrive at 45,2 hours.
It turns out AOb-study 'Time use teachers primary and secondary education' into the daily workload of teachers. In both sectors, the number of hours worked significantly exceeds the norm prescribed by the collective labor agreement: 40 hours in primary education and 42,5 in secondary education. The hours that teachers work during school holidays must still be added to the number of hours, because these are not included in the study.
Little room for training
The administration and contacts with parents cause a lot of work pressure and work continues in the evenings and weekends. There is hardly any room for training or innovation.
It has been clear for years that the workload among Dutch teachers is high. A detailed investigation into the time use of teachers and the load of various activities is according to the AOb a good starting point for a plan of action.
The research in which the AOb teachers followed ran for a year, from September 2015 to September 2016. Daily received 150 AOb- Elementary and secondary education members a request to keep a 24-hour record of their activities and how hard these tasks were for them on a scale of 1 to 5. Just over 10 percent of them actually completed the registration forms .
This is how the . collected AOb more than 77 thousand activities by 8100 teachers in primary and secondary education. In HBO, MBO and for support staff, the number of participants was too small for a representative picture.
Preparation and checking
Teachers spend most of their time giving lessons and preparing and grading also takes a lot of time, especially in secondary education.
For every 60 minutes in front of a class, a high school teacher spends 50 minutes preparing.
If we assume that this time is sufficient to properly carry out the preparation and checking, this means a 'supplementary factor' of 83 percent. This ratio is different for teachers at primary schools: a small 24 minutes of preparation and checking is necessary for every (clock) hour in front of the class.
The report shows that teachers in primary and secondary education still appreciate their work with a score of 7 and are particularly satisfied with working with students and colleagues (a score of 8 or higher). Teaching, the core of the profession, is therefore not regarded as a heavy burden on average.
Tasks that are heavy
On the other hand, in both sectors there are tasks that are difficult for teachers, especially contact with parents and administration.
Read the full report: 'Time spent by teachers in primary and secondary education' with all conclusions.
