Systematic Pressure & Teacher Agency

The emphasis on administrative metrics and standardized test scores diverts an educator’s focus from innovative teaching methods to teaching for compliance or text preparation, diminishing the quality of classroom engagement. This is primarily due to a substantial administrative workload that creates increased stress and burnout, impacting work-life balance, resulting in reduced productivity and motivation.

The Non-Teaching Tasks

Teachers work to impart knowledge, build life skills and guide a student's personal growth. They now face a silent crisis: the burden of non-teaching tasks such as paperwork, administrative tasks, uploading data, filing compliance reports and endless documentation. 

Educators have little time for creative teaching. Exhausted teachers are less likely to create an interactive and meaningful learning environment for student engagement. Without creative educators and a stimulating learning environment, the Indian Education system may struggle to stay abreast of global developments. In our school, teachers are trained to infuse their classroom environment with more creative activities. They are not taxed with non-teaching activities and emphasise on collaborative learning layouts promoting the flow of creativity in classrooms while accommodating various learning styles.

Here, one of the ways to make learning more immersive is by having a themed classroom allowing students to decorate the bulletin boards, whiteboard, walls and doors, changing themes every semester to keep things interesting. We work on imparting soft skills and other capabilities that are crucially needed for sustainability in the competitive world.

Support Structures

School administrators must utilise automation and artificial intelligence to eliminate time consuming and repetitive manual tasks. An all-in-one ERP system enables institutions to plan syllabi, timetables, lesson plans, assignments and monitor student's individual progress. Implementing intuitive systems like LMS, SIS can centralize lesson planning, resource sharing and communication, making these tasks more efficient. 

The Decision Makers

Principals are at the front line of policy implementation and our unique position allows us to provide invaluable, grassroots level insights to policy makers. They influence the adoption of innovative pedagogical approaches that eventually prompt authorities to consider scaling them at the policy level. While there are official avenues for CBSE Principals to provide input, the extent to which our voices are effectively heard and acted upon often depends on their ability to navigate systemic challenges and leverage collaborative platforms.

A principal’s professional voice is heard through communication that is clear, consistent, and empathetic and focused on student success and the school's shared vision.

Systemic Pressures & Impact on Performance

Challenges in the 21st century have proved complex, with teachers frequently reporting poorer mental health. This is partly because governments across the world regularly implement reforms directed at transforming and improving education with a magnitude and rapidity that often affect the occupational, emotional and physical well-being of teachers.

Teachers’ socio-emotional competencies including their emotional competence, supportive relationships and training opportunities are also critical components of their occupational well-being. Support from leadership also reduces the risk of burnout and increases job satisfaction, thereby reducing fatigue, exhaustion, stress, unrealistic expectations, stress and bureaucracy. 

In our school we regularly show appreciation for teachers’ hard work and accomplishment through personal notes, emails or public acknowledgement. The saying "Happy teachers make happy students", isn't just a feel- good mantra- it's a profound truth that underscores the foundation of a thriving educational system.

When teachers feel valued, supported and empowered they are more likely to bring their best selves to the classroom creating a ripple effect leading to more engaged, motivated and happy students.

"One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world”. -Malala Yousafzai

Space for Creativity

Harold Bloom (1956), the American Literary critic & educator devised his Bloom's Taxonomy which categorises learning into 6 categories, where the final stage is to "create”. Therefore, it can be said that creative thinking for students forms the culmination of students’ knowledge and education. Teachers can be creative amidst documentation and reporting demands by integrating documentation into engaging learning activities using technology to streamline administrative tasks.

Using (PBL) Project Based Learning, leveraging pedagogical documentation, creating" Learning stories” on project boards make the learning process visible to students, parents and administrators alike. Incorporating student’s voice and choice (e.g. a skit, podcast, a website, a digital presentation, or an art piece instead of a traditional essay with clear rubrics tied to curriculum standards naturally captures evidence of student thinking and progress for reporting purposes.

Role of Technology

Technology can significantly reduce the administrative burden on teachers by automating routine tasks, centralizing information management and streamlining communication thereby allowing educators to focus more time on instruction and student interaction.

Technology tools, particularly AI-powered systems can automatically grade objective assignments, centralise and automate the tracking of grades attendance and progress data. Digital platforms, lesson planning and resource management, data-driven insights and progress monitoring, AI algorithms and smart scheduling software optimise complex tasks reducing the logistical burden on staff.

Conclusion

The most urgent reforms to protect teacher agency and effectiveness centre on empowering educators as respected professionals, providing high quality, Continuous professional development (CPD), and involving them in school decision-making processes. Creating opportunities to collaborate, observe peers and receive supportive feedback from mentors builds a professional community and encourages continuous improvement. Ultimately placing teachers at the centre of education reform efforts and providing them with holistic support and respect is essential for improving both their agency and overall educational quality.

Regardless of career stage or needs, we ensure that teachers play an active role in setting the conditions in which they work and are viewed as active partners in reform implementation. Recent shifts in curriculum policy, particularly in Finland, Scotland, Singapore, New Zealand and England, have signalled a preference in top-down, bottom-up approaches to curriculum reform that value teacher professionalism.

In valuing teachers’ assessment literacy, we ensure teachers’ agency is enhanced, so that teachers can continue to make a valuable impact on productive and sustainable reform efforts in the future.