Teaching is a complex and increasingly demanding task hence teachers need their efforts to be properly rewarded. According to OECD estimates, teachers’ salaries are lower than those of similarly educated workers in almost all countries with available information. TALIS data shed light on patterns of satisfaction with the financial package. In 2018, only 39% of teachers report satisfaction with their salary, and this proportion is significantly lower for primary teachers in about half of the countries. Moreover, the second-highest spending priority reported by lower-secondary teachers is “improving teacher salaries” (64% of them rated this of high importance). Education systems should aim for reward structures and salary scales that combine statutory salary levels on par with international standards to ensure a good standard of living. Additionally, bonuses should be provided for teachers working in regions with higher costs of housing and living, and for those working in disadvantaged schools. There should also be opportunities for salary progression over the course of a teacher’s career, as experienced teachers tend to be more satisfied with their salary in countries where there is room for progression, as opposed to those with flat reward structures.
Teacher working conditions
The quality of teaching is determined not just by the quality of teachers, but also by their work environment and working conditions
Key messages
The importance of teachers’ job satisfaction in strengthening education systems cannot be overemphasised. Taken together, TALIS findings highlight the importance of five broad policy levers to boost job satisfaction: selection of candidates with strong motivation and the right attitudes to become lifelong learners and professional workers; a strong focus on induction and mentoring throughout the career; a strong focus on providing meaningful and impactful opportunities for professional learning; working conditions and a school climate conducive to teacher well-being; and the importance of a sense of trust and respect. With respect to working conditions, this can entail policy measures such as determining teaching and working hours in a way that accounts for all factors contributing to teachers’ workload (including non-teaching obligations, assessment, marking and correcting student work), assigning challenging classrooms to teachers with sufficient experience and adequate training to deal with the specific profile of their students.
On average across the OECD, nearly one in five (18%) lower secondary teachers say they experience stress “a lot” in their work. This is more often the case for female teachers (20% vs 15% of male colleagues), teachers under 30 (20% vs 15% of teachers aged 50 or above), teachers working in schools in city areas, publicly managed schools and disadvantaged schools. Research has highlighted that stress levels might play an important role in teachers’ decisions to leave teaching, and TALIS 2018 data show that teachers who report experiencing stress a lot in their work are almost twice as likely as colleagues with lower levels of stress to report that they will stop working as teachers in the next five years. Having too much administrative work, being held responsible for students’ achievement and keeping up with changing requirements from government authorities are key sources of stress cited by teachers. Coping mechanisms such as school support and peer collaboration play a pivotal role in the well-being and retention of teachers.
Context
Actual salaries compared to the statutory salaries
The range of teachers’ salaries within countries can be quite wide, as different qualification levels can be associated with different salary scales. For lower secondary teachers in 2023, the average salary for teachers at the top of the scale and with the maximum qualifications is 78% higher than the average starting salary for those with the minimum qualifications.
Salaries relative to earnings of tertiary-educated workers
In 2023 teachers’ actual salaries at pre-primary, primary and general secondary levels of education are 81-88% of the earnings of tertiary-educated workers, on average across OECD countries and other participants.
