Repressed Teachers | Feature Highlights (AI Translation)

压抑的教师｜特稿精选

Chen Jun, a teacher in China, experienced severe mental health issues after four years at a public high school that adopted a "Hengshui-style" education model in an attempt to boost student performance. Teachers, including Chen, were under immense pressure, leading to severe anxiety and depression for her. This situation reflects a broader mental health crisis among teachers in China, with a study showing a 16.1% detection rate of mental health issues in educators from 2000 to 2022. Mental health problems among Chinese teachers such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and anxiety have worsened over the years.[para. 1][para. 2][para. 3]

Professor Yu Guoliang highlights the lack of attention towards teachers' mental health despite its impact on educational reform and adolescent development. A survey by Li Zhenxi pointed out that the "double reduction" policy, aimed at reducing students' academic burden, instead extended teachers' work hours, increased pressure, and reduced job satisfaction. Teachers often have to supervise student activities during breaks and handle extensive out-of-school tasks. Fang Jie, a teacher in Shanghai, and others struggle with increased curriculum demands and administrative burdens, which exacerbate their stress.[para. 4][para. 5][para. 6]

In mid-level schooling stages, particularly middle school, the mental health pressure on teachers peaks, driven by teaching workloads, school success rates, and societal expectations. Teachers like Li Xi, who juggle multiple roles including homeroom management, face immense stress. The "Hengshui-style" education system where detailed student behavior is constantly assessed adds to teachers' compulsive disorders and anxiety. Changings to exam requirements and curriculum standards further complicate teaching, making the reforms appear ineffective to them.[para. 7][para. 8][para. 10]

Recent initiatives by the Ministry of Education in China require schools to equip teachers with mental health education skills by 2025. However, many schools face challenges meeting these standards due to limited resources, often substitute teachers from other disciplines handle psychological counseling roles. The overburden on teachers includes non-teaching tasks such as promoting various governmental initiatives, leaving them little time for core educational responsibilities.[para. 9][para. 11][para. 12]

Despite efforts by the Ministry of Education to lighten teacher workloads and improve their job satisfaction and mental health, critics argue these measures aren't addressing core issues like systemic educational demands and evaluation mechanisms. Calls have been made to reform these systems to effectively relieve psychological pressures on educators.[para. 13][para. 14][para. 15]

The teaching profession in China, traditionally seen as a stable career, now faces challenges like wage arrears, eroding job security due to urbanization and declining birth rates. Efforts are being made to sustain interest in teaching professions through improved policies, including salary considerations to ensure competitiveness with civil servants.[para. 16][para. 17][para. 21]

Efforts to streamline education tasks unrelated to teaching are underway, aiming to allow educators to focus more on their primary role. However, lingering issues of unrealistic workload recovery expectations remain, as highlighted in a recent forum discussing educational burdens. Only comprehensive systemic reform across schools, state policies, and family support can improve teachers' mental health sustainably, according to experts.[para. 18][para. 19][para. 22]

Teachers like Li Xi have shown personal recovery through therapy, but broader systemic changes are critical for lasting improvements in teachers’ professional and mental well-being. The Ministry of Education continues to work towards policies that seek to reduce teachers' burdens while aiming to elevate their professional and social status.[para. 20][para. 23][para. 24][para. 25]