Shocking list of teacher statistics Australia 2022

by | Jul 3, 2022 | Leadership | 1 comment

As we enter unprecedented times in our classrooms, these teacher statistics Australia provide interesting insight into the current crisis. Teacher workload, pay, and burnout are currently discussed topics in a variety of forums. These statistics will help shed some light on what is actually happening in our schools and what areas need to be changed in order to ensure students of the future have access to excellent educators. 

teacher statistics australia

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Journalists and reporters are welcome to refer to these teacher statistics Australia and quote my words as long as appropriate credit is given, including a link back to this blog post.

Teacher statistics Australia: workload

1. 76% of Australian teachers report their workload as unmanageable (Monash)

2. Only 2% of Australian teachers ‘strongly agree’ that their teaching workload was manageable (Monash)

3. 95% of teachers report working over-time during a typical week (AITSL)

4. 71% of teachers disagree that teaching is an appreciated profession in Australia (Monash)

5. 39% of early career teachers teaching in a secondary position leave as opposed to only 29% of primary school teachers in Australia (IJER)

6. Australian teachers work an average of 5 hours per week more than teachers in other countries (Social Psychology of Education)

7. The average teacher in Australia works 43 hours per week (Social Psychology of Education)

8. 42% of full-time teachers report working for 60+ hours in a normal working week (AITSL)

9. The number of students in Australian classrooms is 14% bigger than the international average (Education at a Glance)

Teacher statistics Australia: Teacher pay

10. The average yearly salary for a teacher in Australia ranges from $70,000 to $95,000 (seek)

11. Expertise is not rewarded in teacher pay as it is in other professions (Grattan Institutde)

12. You are more likely to earn a high income in Australia with no degree than having a bachelor’s degree in education (SBS)

13. The average Primary School Teacher salary in Australia is $70,884 (Payscale)

14. The average High School Teacher salary in Australia is $73,241 (Payscale)

Teacher statistics Australia: Teacher shortage

15. 40% decline in the number of people enrolling in teacher education courses for university between 2015 and 2017  (AITSL)

16. 25% of teachers report their plans to leave the profession before hitting retirement age (60) (AITSL)

17. The secondary teacher shortage will jump to above 9,000 teachers across Australian high schools, and will be higher if we accept international students (The Guardian)

18. There is expected to be a need for 8,000 primary school teachers over the next four years (The Guardian)

19. It is expected that more than 50,000 teachers will permanently resign from teaching between 2020 and 2025 (The Guardian)

20. 28% of teachers in English and Science were teaching out of their field of expertise and training (AITSL)

21. 40% of Mathematics teachers reported that the subject was out of their field of expertise and training (AITSL)

22. Due to teacher shortage in STEM subjects in 2022, 40,000 students were taught by “out-of-field” teachers. This could increase to around 70,000 students by the year 2030 (The Guardian)

Teacher Statistics Australia infographic

Teacher statistics Australia: Teacher burnout & stress

23. Classroom teachers have greater levels of stress than any other education role  (Social Psychology of Education)

24. Primary and secondary school teachers have significantly higher levels of perceived stress than those in leadership roles  (Social Psychology of Education)

25. Early career teachers are the most affected by high stress and burnout in the teaching profession (Social Psychology of Education)

26. 58% of teachers feel ‘quite a bit’ or ‘a lot’ of stress in their roles (ACER)

27. 10% more teachers working in disadvantaged schools report ‘a lot’ of stress than those working in less disadvantaged schools (ACER)

28. A higher percentage of female teachers report feeling ‘a lot’ of stress in comparison to male teachers (Teacher Magazine)

29. Teachers under 30 years of age report being more stressed than their older counterparts (Teacher Magazine)

30. Stress levels for teachers working in private schools is less than those working in the public school system (Teacher Magazine)

teacher quote

Teacher statistics Australia: Interesting teacher statistics

31. The average age of teachers in the classroom in 2021 was 46 (AITSL)

32. 91% of parents reported having greater respect for teachers following the Covid-19 lockdown (TEO)

33. 92% of teachers spend their own money on essential school supplies for classroom use  (The Educator Online)

list of Teacher statistics Australia 

Conclusion

Teacher statistics Australia are becoming more and more frightening as we lose valuable experts in the classroom due to unrealistic workload demands, stress, burnout and underappreciation. Less teachers are entering the profession and more teachers are leaving it. This is a recipe for disaster and I fear for the future of Australian schools and the workforce beyond. 

Do these statistics concern you? Please comment your thoughts below!

list of Teacher statistics Australia 

the animated teacher photo logo

Written by Katrina

Katrina Harte is a multi-award winning educator from Sydney, Australia who specialises in creating resources that support teachers and engage students.

1 Comments

1 Comment

  1. Katrina

    Yes the aging of the current teaching workforce is definitely a key factor!
    Thank you for referring to my list in your own blog post. You can feel your passion for education through your writing.

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