A recent study found that just 3 in every 10 teachers plan to continue teaching within the profession, compounding fears that the worst is yet to come regarding the current teacher shortage crisis.
As for what’s causing teachers to quit, teachers have been voicing feelings of alienation, exhaustion, powerlessness, and other emotional burdens they experience on the job. While many are leaving the profession, those who are staying have been using social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit to vent their frustrations with fellow teachers who share the same concerns.
In new research, Monash University education researcher Dr Fiona Longmuir found that in the current climate of teacher shortages and high attrition rates, some of these social media forums are also supporting those teachers who may be thinking about quitting the profession.
‘A wide range of positive supports’
Dr Longmuir noted that within these forums and online spaces, teachers at all stages of their careers are sharing their experiences of despair and desperation with their peers – and in some cases are actively supported in their decision to quit the profession.
“Many describe how they have been clinging on to their careers through difficult times until it has become impossible,” MCERA quoted Dr Longmuir as saying.
“They share the stories of the specific incidents that push them to that breaking point of quitting and they receive support from often unknown colleagues which helps them to navigate their decisions.”
Often these forums open discussions about broader systemic and social issues that are contributing to the challenges and they help balance the responsibility that a teacher might feel for their failure to be able to continue in their careers, Dr Longmuir noted.
“Although it is not possible to know how the discussions in these forums influence actual decisions, we can see that teachers are getting a range of different positive supports from these spaces.”
Dr Longmuir said these include practical advice such as other types of work that they might do after teaching; details of the processes and entitlements if they resign; and suggestions for practical ways they might be able to adjust make their teaching career more manageable.”
“The discussions also importantly include empathy and understanding, helping teachers feel that they are not alone and that many others are facing the same challenges as they are,” she said.
“On the social video-sharing platform TikTok in particular, teachers are reciting firsthand stories and experiences about their working lives and sharing personal stories on what has led them to decide to leave teaching, using hashtags such as #TeacherQuitTok and #TeacherBurnout.”