Teachers face rising psychological strain due to overwork: study

A study has found that teachers in the Maldives are facing high levels of psychological stress, with over 90 percent of teachers reporting mental strain linked to overwork and unsatisfactory working conditions.

The research, conducted by teachers Aminath Neena and Aminath Nishana, was presented at this year’s Theveli Conference; Maldives’ largest international academic conference since 2017, held from 18-20 August.

The study examined teachers with 10 to 30 years of experience and found that excessive workload, administrative duties and constant pressure were major factors affecting both their mental health and their quality of teaching.

According to the findings, 93 percent of Maldivian teachers experience job related mental strain;  a rate which is “higher than expected”.

Many reported that the large number of educational and administrative responsibilities had negatively affected their personal lives, teaching performance and relationships with students.

The study highlighted that mental health challenges among teachers were now one of the key issues in the country’s education sector, alongside the shortage of local teachers. Despite thousands of students completing O-Level and A-Level each year, few pursue teaching, partly due to perceptions of the profession as overworked and undervalued.

The findings are consistent with international research. A 2023 study by Pan, Chang and Lin found teachers globally reported growing dissatisfaction with their workload, stating that assessment, marking and data entry as the most time consuming and mentally exhausting tasks.

Research also shows that work related stress in schools can reduce teacher performance and morale, cause isolation and poor communication, and in severe cases, lead to negative impacts on students’ learning outcomes.

The Maldivian study concludes that addressing teachers’ mental health is essential to improving the quality of education and ensuring the sustainability of the profession amid a nationwide shortage of qualified teachers.