Most teachers in Spain have lost enthusiasm for their work

Alfonso Torices

Madrid

Wednesday, 26 March 2025, 23:08

The majority of compulsory education teachers in Spain admit to having lost their enthusiasm for their work. The number of people interested in going into, or staying in teaching has plummeted over the last two decades and experts do not see how to solve the problem unless educational administrations take very specific and far-reaching measures. This is the main conclusion of a study carried out by The EsadeEcPol Centre for Economic Policy think tank (Esade), which, through a combination of its own research and that of others, dissects the evolution of the Spanish teaching profession over the last 25 years.

Three figures particularly stand out in their findings. In 2007, six out of ten said that, despite the many problems, they managed to maintain their enthusiasm, now that number has fallen to 24%, or three times fewer teachers. In the same fifteen years, disaffection with their profession has skyrocketed. Whereas in 2007, only two per cent were indifferent to the job, now the figure is 38%.

Disillusionment to varying degrees, those tired of so many problems and those indifferent to their work now account for three out of every four teachers. It is not surprising, therefore, that 60% confess that they would give up teaching if they were offered another fulfilling job, something that two decades ago not even 25% said they would do.

The result is an increase in fatigue, a feeling of isolation and a high level of disaffection, which describes a serious problem for education in Spain, as experts and organisations agree that teachers are the determining factor in the quality of the education system.

The analysis led by Lucas Gortazar points to three intertwined factors which, as they have worsened over the last century, have triggered this crisis. The first is an increase in the complexity of students and their emotional problems, resulting in more students with learning difficulties and a more conflictive classroom environment. This is coupled with a rise in child poverty, a third of students of foreign origin (with more difficulties in understanding Spanish) and a fifth of adolescents reporting anxiety problems.

The second negative element is the worsening of working conditions. Salaries can be improved, but the factors that most wear teachers down are the excess of weekly teaching hours, which prevent them from giving more personalised attention to students and families, better preparation of classes and collaboration with colleagues, and the high rate of temporary work, which in state primary and secondary schools reaches 28% on average. This instability, which is detrimental to the efficiency and equity of teaching, occurs to a higher degree (34%) in schools with more students from poor and vulnerable families.

The third factor undermining teachers' morale is the lack of an attractive career path. Spain is the OECD country where secondary school teachers are least prepared to cope in contexts with different levels of learning.

Esade specialists propose four specific actions to the education authorities to provide Spanish teachers with the support and tools they need to overcome this crisis.

The first is a programme of psycho-emotional support and individualised reinforcement in maths and reading for pupils with the greatest learning difficulties, with a 1.2 billion a year funding package, with small group tutoring, psycho-pedagogical assistance and summer programmes. The second is an ambitious plan to reduce the number of temporary staff, especially in schools with the most vulnerable pupils, and to raise salaries in infant and primary education.

The third proposal seeks to improve initial teacher training. The supply of teaching posts should be brought into line with demand, so that the cut-off mark and entry requirements can be raised, and the pedagogical preparation in the secondary school master's degree should be increased. But the key, they add, is to set up an 'educational MIR', similar to the health system, in which for one or two years graduates would work and train in educational centres under the guidance of mentors, earning a salary and preparing themselves for real quality work.

The fourth measure would be to create an attractive and incentivised career path, through the possibility of voluntary job and salary progression to positions, ranks or categories based on merit and the results of the evaluations to which they would be subjected.