Isolated schools enjoy best morale, new teacher survey says

Teacher Perspectives from NZCER’s 2023 national survey of area schools a collaborative report between NZCER and the NZ Association of Area Schools (NZASA), explored responses from 652 teachers across 64 area schools.

The survey found that overall, teachers from schools with a higher isolation index were more likely to have higher levels of morale.

Stephen Beck, Executive member of NZASA and principal of Hurunui College says it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why this is, but feels it might be linked to the family atmosphere small rural schools enjoy.

“They are the central part of the community. They’re really the one place which brings all the families together across the community,” he says.

The survey also found teachers from schools with a higher isolation index were more likely to report having a manageable workload, feel their school cares about staff wellbeing, and discuss and see the work of other teachers in their school.

Nick Glancy, principal of South Westland Area School, recalls cycling into the picturesque area as a tourist from the UK back in 1998.

Within a year he had taken up a teaching position at the local school and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today, South Westland Area School has approximately 120 students between 5 and 18 years old.

“Our catchment is pretty widespread, actually. From Franz Joseph in the South, up to Ross in the North,” Glancy says.

“The furthest students would take about an hour and a half to bus in to the school.”

A large portion of the school community come from a dairy farming background, with many others in the tourism industry.

Glancy also believes it’s the relationships you can build in a small school environment which might contribute to positive morale.

“It has a very different feel to a large urban setting because of the size of the school, it doesn’t have to be run institutionally.

“And so, relationships are really, really strong,” he explains.

The principal, who plays rugby with many of his students’ dads, says in an isolated school you’re often more than just a teacher.

“A word I use quite regularly for myself is the sense of being connected ... I would like to think that staff and students feel really connected with the school and with their community, which gives a sense of belonging, wellbeing and being cared for.

“At the end of the day, it’s those strong relationships within the school across students, across the staff and across the wider community, which makes a massive difference.”

As well as being well connected outside of the school, Beck says teachers in isolated area schools are often very well connected within the school, creating a collegial atmosphere.

“So in a larger high school, people start to fall into their departments ... and there can be quite a big separation between management, middle management and teaching staff,” he says.

“It can get a little bit disjointed and disconnected.

“Where in a smaller school, you all work together really closely, you tend to plan alongside all the other teachers in the school,” he explains.

Beck says another positive finding from the survey, is that area school staff are predominantly happy with their current roles with some looking for growth.

When asked about career progression, 53 per cent reported being happy in their current roles, a further 23 per cent were interested in taking on a leadership role, and 11 per cent are looking at principalship.  

Beck says it is great to see staff looking for progression within their own schools, and the NZASA is now looking at how to provide the professional development necessary to place them in a comfortable position to take on principalship.

Overall, he says the survey results are a positive reflection on area schools, which can be quite hard to staff.

“We can often be a wee bit forgotten in the fabric of education in New Zealand,” he says.

“Hopefully it might encourage people to consider jobs outside of the urban areas, because we do struggle to get applicants, and that’s coming across the board.

“[But] these are cool places to work and great places to be, and you can live in some of the most beautiful parts of the country and get paid the same as you do working in Central Auckland or Central Christchurch.”