The Working lives of teachers and leaders (WLTL) is a longitudinal study intended to run for at least five years, up to 2026. It is intended to provide a representative picture of the experiences of teachers and leaders in state schools in England. The third wave was carried out in Spring 2024. The first wave was carried out in Spring 2022. The…

Throughout the world, teachers and schools are responding to one of the greatest disruptions to education systems in living memory. Routines and practices they have followed for decades have been changed, overhauled or suppressed to reduce the risk of contagion for students, teachers and parents, while ensuring continuity of teaching and learning.…

England currently faces a shortage of teachers, in part due to declining retention. Research suggests that one important influence on teachers' decisions about whether to leave teaching is the quality of working conditions in their school. Understanding which specific aspects of working conditions have the strongest relationship with retention…

In sub-Saharan Africa, the loss of teaching hours due to teacher absenteeism corresponds to a waste of approximately 46 cents for every US dollar invested in education, an annual wastage of 1-3% of GDP. This brief summarizes the results of research in 11 countries in West and Central Africa under the Time to Teach study, a project in UNICEF that…

High teacher turnover in schools is associated with reduced pupil attainment. High turnover also has an effect on equity, since it tends to be concentrated in schools with deprived intakes. A good deal of research has attributed higher levels of teacher turnover in such schools to the challenges involved in teaching disadvantaged pupils. However,…

The recruitment, development and retention of teachers and school leaders is a crucial underpinning for a successful education system. However, England's school system faces a substantial and growing challenge of ensuring there are sufficient numbers of high-quality teachers employed in schools. Meeting this supply challenge is necessary for the…

In October 2020, the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF/FCE) released the "Canadian Teachers Responding to Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- Pandemic Research Study. National Summary Report. Overview" (ED610460). That document is an important baseline for understanding the impacts of teaching during a pandemic, and supports needed for teacher…

This report presents the findings of the second wave of the Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders survey conducted between 2 February and 11 May 2023. This was during a period of industrial action and wider cost of living pressures. The 2023/24 pay award for teachers was agreed in July 2023. This research report was written before the new UK…

The Working lives of teachers and leaders (WLTL) is a longitudinal study intended to run for at least five years, up to 2026. It is intended to provide a representative picture of the experiences of teachers and leaders in state schools in England. The second wave was carried out in Spring 2023. The first wave was carried out in Spring 2022. The…

The inaugural Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders (WLTL) survey was carried out in Spring 2022 with teachers and leaders in state schools in England. Conducted by IFF Research and the Institute of Education (IoE) on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE), the survey is longitudinal by design and will run annually for at least five years,…

This report explores the working conditions and flows of state-funded secondary school teachers in Cambridgeshire compared to a select number of other local authorities and to the English national landscape as a whole between 2010 and 2015. It also presents findings for different subjects, highlighting the situation for science, technology,…

The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) conducted a digital engagement survey in May 2020, designed to capture the short-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the working habits of staff, students, and university leaders. Results provide a snapshot of individual levels of digital engagement, changing attitudes and behaviours, and the…

Education has been a priority for Ghana since its independence, with current expenditures representing double the average for Africa and other developing nations. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government aimed to enhance the quality of education and teacher attendance, including improving school infrastructure and providing textbooks and…

Prior to COVID-19 lockdowns, the Federal Republic of Nigeria had taken measures to improve the quality of education and of teachers' working conditions such as by improving school infrastructure and accelerating teacher training programs, and providing incentive schemes for teachers. While education is free and compulsory, Nigeria reports the…

In Rwanda, over 3.5 million children were estimated to be out of school in 2020 when the country closed all schools as a safety measure against the spread of COVID-19. The government quickly developed a national response plan and started the process of hiring teachers, constructing classrooms and training in-service teachers in remote-learning…