Call it a seven-year itch: After a couple of years in the classroom, teachers鈥� morale slumps for a few years before rebounding later in their careers.
While multiple national surveys show that teacher morale overall is low, the breakdowns by experience level reveal an inverse bell curve of job satisfaction. There鈥檚 no clear answer as to why, but the general theory goes like this: Teachers start their careers feeling relatively optimistic and excited. But a few years in, they start to feel disillusioned with the demands of teaching and the stagnant wages compared to peers in other industries.
鈥淭he first five years, [teachers are] just figuring it out. This is their calling, this is what they went to school for鈥攖hey鈥檙e pushing through,鈥� said Michelle Faust, an elementary literacy coach in Lexington, S.C. 鈥淲hen it doesn鈥檛 get easier in years five to 10, and sometimes it gets harder, it鈥檚 like, what in the world?鈥�
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As teachers gain more experience, move up in the salary schedule, and learn how to better manage their workloads, the data show their job satisfaction improves鈥攊f they haven鈥檛 left the profession yet.
With the more experienced, more satisfied teachers, 鈥測ou鈥檝e got the folks who have figured it out, and who鈥檝e chosen to stay, and who have found their lane and their purpose,鈥� said Mayme Hostetter, the president of Relay Graduate School of 91制片厂视频, a not-for-profit preparation program. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e doing what they want to be doing.鈥�
The challenge for school leaders, she said, is maintaining teachers鈥� morale after the initial optimism and excitement fade, so they can reach that more stable phase of their careers.
What the data show
The EdWeek State of Teaching survey, which polled a nationally representative sample of nearly 1,500 teachers in October 2023, found that teachers with three to nine years of classroom experience have worse morale than their peers who have either more or less experience. They are also less likely than teachers in other stages of their careers to say they鈥檇 recommend their own children, or those of a loved one, pursue a career in teaching.
Federal data from the National Assessment of 91制片厂视频al Progress show a similar trend. When 4th and 8th grade math teachers were asked how much the statement, 鈥淚 am satisfied with being a teacher at this school,鈥� applies to them, the breakdown differed based on years of experience. This was the case among 4th grade reading teachers, too. (There wasn鈥檛 a high enough response rate for 8th grade reading teachers to make the same determination.)
Among 8th grade math teachers, for instance, 80 percent of newbies (those who had been on the job for less than a year) and 77 percent of seasoned veterans (those who had been teaching for 21 or more years) said being satisfied at their school sounded 鈥渆xactly鈥� or 鈥渜uite a bit鈥� like them鈥攃ompared to 69 percent of teachers with three to five years of experience and 71 percent of teachers who鈥檝e been in the classroom six to 10 years.
The COVID-19 factor
This phenomenon might be heightened by the extenuating circumstances of the past four years. Teachers experiencing that morale slump now were new or relatively new to the classroom at the height of the pandemic.
鈥淭hey went through this period of extraordinary difficulty and uncertainty during COVID and anticipated that it would get better, and there would be relief,鈥� said Doris Santoro, a professor of education at Bowdoin College who studies teacher morale. 鈥淣ow COVID is over, we鈥檙e back to normal, and things should feel good. But ... it鈥檚 not easier for anybody right now.鈥�
Students need extra help catching up on academic ground lost during the pandemic, and teachers are also contending with a reported rise in bad behavior and classroom distractions.
Yet teachers who are a few years into their career might not be fully equipped to tackle those challenges, Santoro said.
鈥淚f those zero to three years [in the classroom] were the COVID years, then they may be really experiencing a gap in skills and maybe never established the kinds of supports and professional networks that we know are necessary,鈥� she said.
Layla Treuhaft-Ali, a middle school teacher in Chicago who is in her fifth year in the classroom, agreed: 鈥淚 still consider myself a new teacher because I lost a year of practical experience during COVID鈥攖here were a lot of experiences I didn鈥檛 have,鈥� she said.
Salary, workload may play a role
But there are evergreen factors behind this early-to-mid-career morale slump, too. For instance, teachers, on average, make less than similarly educated workers in other fields.
鈥淚 just compare myself sometimes to my friends who can take [paid time off] anytime they want, ... and they鈥檙e making twice as much as me,鈥� Faust said, adding that the discrepancy is heightened for teachers when they鈥檙e in the early stages of their careers.
Also, teaching is 鈥渁 flat career trajectory, so you don鈥檛 see that boost鈥攏ot only in compensation, but in recognition,鈥� Santoro said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not getting the, 鈥極h, you just made associate from junior [associate].鈥� ... There are no such things at most places as promotions, especially if you want to stay in the classroom.鈥�
And while more experienced teachers may be looking ahead toward retirement, 鈥減eople in that three- to nine-year range, they don鈥檛 see the end in sight,鈥� Faust said.
Another factor: Teachers鈥� workloads are heavy, and that doesn鈥檛 always change with more experience. In fact, teachers with a few years of teaching under their belts may add to their own workloads by creating more ambitious lesson plans or taking on additional school roles.
鈥淚n the first couple years, you鈥檙e observing what other teachers are doing, then you try to implement [those things] yourselves,鈥� said Miranda Mack, a high school physics teacher in Dallas who鈥檚 in her fifth year in the classroom. 鈥淪ometimes you overdo it. ... Teachers at that point can start to feel a sense of burnout.鈥�
Meanwhile, she added, 鈥淥lder teachers have figured out their boundaries.鈥�
The gap between professional ideals and systemic challenges
Teachers with a few years of experience have formed a professional identity and corresponding ideals, but they often feel stymied by factors outside of their control, teachers and experts said.
鈥淎t the three-year mark, you start to feel pressure from what you have noticed about various policy issues,鈥� Mack said. 鈥淵ou see the systemic issues going on, and you feel helpless to change them.鈥�
Said Santoro: 鈥淚t might be a moment where some teachers have the recognition of, 鈥業t鈥檚 not me, it鈥檚 you.鈥欌��
For instance, staffing shortages and inadequate resources might make it hard for teachers to do their jobs in the way that they鈥檇 like. And school leadership is a major factor in teachers鈥� sense of self-efficacy, Santoro said.
"[T]he commitment, hope, and optimism with which many teachers still enter the profession, unless supported within the school, may be eroded over time as managing combinations of low-level disruption from those who don鈥檛 wish to learn or cannot, or interfere with others鈥� opportunities to learn; increasing media criticisms; and lack of work-life balance take their toll on professional well-being,鈥� wrote Christopher Day, a professor of education at the University of Nottingham in England, about teachers鈥� professional lives.
Day鈥檚 work builds on the research of Michael Huberman, who was a professor of education at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. In the 1970s and 1980s, Huberman charted out the phases of a teaching career, based on interviews with Swiss teachers with various levels of experience.
He found that after the first few years in the classroom, teachers begin to stabilize, finding their professional footing and committing to teaching for the long haul. But younger teachers can also experience a career crisis at this point, stemming from boredom, doubts about whether they made the right career choice, and workplace challenges.
Strong school leadership can help teachers be resilient and maintain a sense of purpose and well-being, Day wrote.
How can schools support teachers experiencing a slump in morale?
Experts said school leaders tend to focus a lot of their attention on brand-new teachers, which is important鈥攂ut teachers still need support a few years in.
Facilitating a sense of connection and community among the teachers at the school is important, as is targeted professional development, Hostetter said. Teachers need to feel like they鈥檙e successful, she added.
鈥淐ompetence breeds confidence breeds morale and enthusiasm that carries you through the honeymoon years at the start of the profession,鈥� she said.
Treuhaft-Ali, the fifth-year teacher, said she wants administrators to give her grace as she continues to hone her craft.
Teaching is 鈥渁n incredibly complex profession, and I love that it requires me to be good at a lot of different things, ... but it is impossible that every area is going to be your strength,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hile you work to build that up, it can be so discouraging.鈥�
