Education systems should develop policies and practices that improve substitute teachers' work¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Beyond professionalization, the review calls for concrete system-level action: "systems need to develop policies and practices that improve substitute teachers' work." This recommendation follows the review's mixed-methods synthesis finding that substitute teachers' conditions and experiences are less than satisfactory and that this is exacerbated by a lack of targeted support. It is aimed at the education systems that employ and deploy substitute teachers in primary, middle, and secondary schools.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• System-level policy-making capacity over substitute teacher employment, deployment, and support.

Constraints¶

• The review links the need for such policies to its finding of unsatisfactory conditions and a lack of targeted support for this heterogeneous occupational group.

Target Learners¶

• Substitute (casual/relief) teachers in primary/elementary, middle, and secondary/high schools

Target Learning Goals¶

• Improving substitute teachers' work conditions and experiences through targeted system policies and practices

Claims¶

• Little is known about substitute teachers' work conditions, motivations, experiences, and support despite their ubiquity in the teaching workforce [+W]
• Substitute teachers enable school improvement efforts by freeing other teachers' time for professional learning, administrative duties, and personal matters [+W]
• Substitute teachers are a heterogeneous group whose work conditions and experiences are less than satisfactory, exacerbated by a lack of targeted support [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Education systems should consider further professionalizing substitute teachers as an occupational group

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Reupert, A; Sullivan, A; Tippett, N; White, S; Woodcock, S; Chen, L; Simons, M. (2023). An Exploration of the Experiences of Substitute Teachers: A Systematic Review. Review of Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543221149418