Worklife of British Columbia Teachers in 2001

Overview of Worklife 2001

In 2001/2002, BCTF Research Department staff Larry Kuehn, Charlie Naylor, Anny Schaefer and Anne Field conducted a major study of British Columbia teachers’ experiences of working and learning conditions in and out of the classroom. The study comprises a literature review and three surveys—secondary English teachers’ workload, all teachers’ workload, and special education issues. We hope that our results will enhance the quality of information available about B.C. teachers’ working lives and promote healthy and viable working and learning conditions in B.C. classrooms.

The following themes provide a framework for each survey:

Pedagogy
School context
Workload and stress
Relationships

We have prepared several reports so far, and are in the process of producing various new reports based on the data collected. We will post new reports on this site as they are completed. For updates, join the bctf-research mailing list.

Literature review

Teacher workload and stress: An international perspective on human costs and systemic failure by Charlie Naylor, September 2001

Secondary English teachers

Distribution	The survey was distributed to English department heads in all but the smallest secondary and middle schools in the province. Department heads then passed the surveys on to members of their departments.
Mail-out date	March 16, 2001
Return	737 completed surveys were returned by teachers in 53 school districts; approximately 350 needed for confidence level of 95%.
Response rate	Estimated to be at least 30%; more than adequate to ensure confidence level.
Confidence level	Accurate 19 times out of 20 within a range of plus or minus 5% or less.
Survey instrument	/uploadedfiles/publications/research_reports/ 2001wlc02appendix.pdf
Reports	"I love teaching English, but...": A study of the workload of English teachers in B.C. secondary grades by Charlie Naylor and John Malcolmson, September 2001

General workload

Distribution	The survey was mailed out to 1,500 teachers, selected randomly from the BCTF’s membership database. Care was taken that all districts were represented in the mail-out.
Mail-out date	April 25, 2001
Return	644 teachers returned completed surveys; 384 required to ensure confidence level of 95%.
Response rate	43%; more than adequate to ensure confidence level.
Confidence level	Accurate 19 times out of 20 within a range of plus or minus 5% or less.
Survey instrument	BCTF Worklife of Teachers Survey Series, 1: Workload Issues and Stress, April 2001
Reports	What do British Columbia’s teachers consider to be the most significant aspects of workload and stress in their work? Analysis of qualitative data from the BCTF Worklife of Teachers Survey Series, 1: Workload and Stress by Charlie Naylor, October 2001 Demographic overview: Teacher workload issues and stress survey, Spring 2001 by Anny Schaefer “How I spent my summer vacation”: Time-use data from the Spring 2001 BCTF Worklife of Teachers survey series—Workload issues and stress by Anny Schaefer The good, the bad, and the indifferent: A comparison of elementary and secondary teachers’ workload and stress issues, by Anny Schaefer, June 2003

Special education

Distribution	The survey was mailed out to 1,500 teachers, selected randomly from the BCTF’s membership database. Care was taken that all districts were represented in the mail-out.
Mail-out date	June 7, 2001
Return	617 teachers returned completed surveys; 384 required to ensure confidence level of 95%.
Response rate	41%; more than adequate to ensure confidence level.
Confidence level	Accurate 19 times out of 20 within a range of plus or minus 5% or less.
Survey instrument	BCTF Worklife of Teachers Survey Series, 2: Special Education, June 2001
Reports	B.C. teachers' views of Special Education issues; Data from the Spring 2001 BCTF Worklife of Teachers Survey Series, 2: Special Education by Charlie Naylor, June 2002

Compilation

A book, Worklife of B.C. Teachers, A compilation of BCTF research reports on working and learning conditions in 2001, bringing together the seven Worklife 2001 reports prepared to date was published in June 2003.