PLL5, 2024: Astrid Mairitsch: The portrayal of teachers in the press and effects on wellbeing

Psychology of Language Learning Conference: PLL5, Madrid. 16-18 May, 2024

Astrid Mairitsch

Unmasking the (Un)appreciated: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Teachers and Educational Discourses during the first wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the most read Austrian newspaper 

If you work in ELT, at some point in your career I’m sure you will have been on the receiving end of a comment along the lines of ‘when are you going back to (insert home country) to get a proper job?’ You might have found yourself being compared to ‘real’ teachers (in state schools).

Many of these misconceptions stem from the stereotype of the unqualified ‘backpacker’ EFL teacher, an image of the itinerant, unqualified, gap-year teacher that exists both within and outside the profession.  Working in the private sector (at least here in Spain), you might be forgiven for seeing the public sector as ‘greener pastures’, inaccessible to most non-Spanish teachers due to a series of state-imposed requirements (barriers?)

This is why I was curious to learn of the view from the other side. In this case, I would have assumed that the other side – that of state school teachers in Austria - was a position of relatively well-paid comfort and security. This study, carried out by Astrid Mairitsch at the University of Graz, looked at how teachers were portrayed by the media and how it might affect teacher well-being and even longevity in the profession. It turns out that - irrespective of job security - we put up with similar negative stereotypes about teachers. I am curious to know how universal this may be. 

Astrid suggests that teacher status across the globe has been in decline since the 1980s (Varkey Foundation, 2018), yet conversely, their jobs have become more complex and time-consuming (Kalin et al., 2017). 

Unsurprisingly, this lack of appreciation has a negative effect on teachers’ morale and reduces their productivity (Troman, 2000). It also contributes to teacher stress, burnout, and attrition (Buunk et al., 2007), and can make teachers feel disconnected from society (OECD, 2005). In the abstract for her talk, Astrid states:

In Austria, specifically, 49.5% of teachers feel their profession is undervalued and wish for a higher societal status (European Commission Final Report, 2013). One of the reasons teachers feel they are undervalued is due to their perceived negative portrayal in newspapers. 

The political agenda of newspapers has an undeniable effect on public perceptions. For this study Astrid analysed a corpus of articles about the teaching profession during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis (10th March to 10th July, 2020). The articles were drawn from Austria’s most widely-read and influential newspaper: Kronen-Zeitung (see slide below for details). 

Her descriptions of the newspaper reminded me of the Daily Mail in the UK. If you’re British, you’ll have an idea of what that represents. No spoilers here, it was already clear from the title of the talk that teachers were not going to come out of this well.

A major theme that emerged from the analysis was of teachers as ‘virus-spreaders’. See the selection of headlines in the slide below: 

Alarm! Teacher in Tyrol tested positive

Teacher has corona: school closed!

This narrative portrays teachers as irresponsible plague carriers, putting children at risk and inconveniencing parents and the wider society by causing school closures. 

In fact, as we know, quite the opposite was true: teachers were extremely concerned about transmitting the virus (see Astrid’s references in the slide below)

As Astrid summarises: 

Journalists shape and influence societal perceptions through their selection and display of news “whilst following their own agenda-setting role” (McCombs, 2014, p. 1). As such, the portrayal of teachers ultimately links to the status of the teaching profession, which – if low – can negatively affect teacher wellbeing, and even result in teacher attrition (Troman, 2000).

Reproducing the conclusions in Astrid’s slide in the photo above, this negative portrayal of the teaching profession:

- undermines trust and respect for teachers within society

- positions teachers as culprits rather than essential frontline workers 

- affects the overall status of the teaching profession.

As if we didn’t have enough to deal with!

And this is the case of a safe, stable and wealthy country. How much does the public perception of your status where you work affect your self-concept and well-being? Or are you working in conditions so much worse, that this is perhaps not one of your greatest priorities?