Burnt-out and demoralised: The issues driving teachers to quit

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-02-20 10:29

Australia; VIC

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Fewer than one in three mid-career teachers intend to stay in the profession until retirement, according to Australian research which found excessive workloads, burnout and demoralisation is turning teachers away from their trade. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with over 16,000 Australian teachers in 2019 and 2022, and found while 56% of first year teachers intended to spend their whole career teaching, that number dropped to 37% for teachers in their first five years and 30% for those in mid-career. The researchers say the leading reason why teachers wanted to leave was the workload, which some said was "unmanageable" and incompatible with other life goals such as starting a family. The surveys showed teachers were often experiencing more than burnout, the researchers say, with demoralisation setting in as many teachers started to feel unable to do their jobs to an acceptable standard within the existing system.