Portuguese teachers are also one of those who complain the most of over -work: more than half speaks of stress caused by excess classes, when the OECD average is 31%
One in three teachers in Portugal complains about noise and disorder in class, according to an international inquiry that shows that younger and less experienced teachers are usually with the most complicated classes.
One of the revelations is that Teachers now waste more time to maintain discipline within the classroom than in 2018when the previous inquiry was held. In 2024, One in five teachers in the OECD countries admitted to problems in their classes.
O most dramatic case lives in Brazil, with half of the teachers reporting challenges, but Portugal also appears featured alongside Chile, Finland and South Africawhere more than 33% of teachers complain of indiscipline.
Situation gets worse with younger teachers
A Situation tends to get worse when at the head of the class are younger teachers And, according to Talis, all countries analyzed have more complicated classes attributed to less experienced teachers.
To the youngest people usually the most problematic studentsmore poorly behaved, with more learning difficulties or language, it refers to the inquiry, warning of the danger of such a situation to lead the young people to give up the profession.
In Portugal, for example, 27% of teachers under 30 It admits to leave the teaching in the next five years.
And Portugal is one of the countries where There are more cases of older teachers with the best classes: “In some educational systems, these differences exceed 15 to 20 percentage points, including Colombia, Italy, Israel, Latvia, New Zealand and Portugal”the investigators point out.
Os Teachers now often use classroom management practices more oftenhow to calm students who disturb the class, but this is an easier task for those who have the most experience.
Curiously, 24% of younger teachers asked for more training to manage the behavior within the classroom.
Global, 84% of respondents say they can calm disruptive students and 67% feel confident of motivating disinterested students.
It has also become more usual to allow students to practice similar tasks until everyone understood the subjectan increase that was even more significant in Portugal.
In a portrait about what changed in Portuguese schools, It is noted that there are increasingly foreign students and refugees, but less students from poorer families.
20% of respondents regrets becoming a teacher
More than 90% of respondents report a “General satisfaction with work”but 20% regretted becoming a teacher. For investigators, this duality “suggests that your regret may reflect a partial assessment of current working conditions.”
A Most is satisfied with the profession and the work environment. In Portugal, for example, teachers say they enjoy teaching more at their current school, they are more who do not want to move to another and consider their school as a good place to work.
But the Portuguese are the ones who complain the most of the excess of work: More than half speaks of stress caused by excess classes, when the OECD average is 31%.
Portuguese teachers are the oldest of the OECD
Os Portuguese teachers are the oldest of the OECD And with more years of experiencebut they are also those who have the most academic formation: More than 90% have at least one master’s degreewhile the OECD average is only 57%.
O aging of the teaching class and the difficulty of attracting new professionals is a transverse problem and for investigators the remuneration “It’s crucial to attracting and retaining teachers.”
The study states that “teachers satisfied with their salaries are 25% less likely to leave the profession in the next five years,” But it argues that satisfaction with the terms of employment, excluding wages, is a stronger predictor of career intentions than salary satisfaction.
The researchers also wanted to realize what was in the practices started with COVID-19 and whether the teachers used Artificial Intelligence (IA): in Portugal, Only 30% resort to IA (less than the OECD average), pointing out as problems the lack of knowledge and skill, but also the lack of equipment in schools.
On the other hand, 13% of teachers teach in Portuguese schools where at least one class was taught hybrid or online in the month prior to the survey (the OECD average is 16%).
