Teachers at work : a time management study in primary schools

Abstract

The researcher felt compelled to study time management in Primary Schools where, during 'teaching practices' sessions, the problem of lack of time and time wasting in classroom situation was so evident. The aim of this dissertation is to study in detail the work activities of primary school teachers at and away from school throughout the twenty-four hour of each day for a consecutive fortnight. This was achieved through the distribution of time-logs and questionnaires to 38 teachers as well as class observations. From the information given, it was found that on average, Primary School teachers spent 44.4 hours on work every week, from which only 17 hours were spent on teaching and 11.5 hours were spent on preparation. In one week, 24 hours were spent in direct contact with students. On average, teachers spent 8 hours on work every day, 2 hours of which were utilised at home. On weekends teachers spent an average of 4 hours preparing future lessons or correcting students' work. According to the information derived from the questionnaire, the main obstacle hindering teachers from reaching their aim was too many pupils in class. A consensus among the teachers concerned was the unavailability of non-contact hours. Another common complaint was that they had to teach five subjects together with extra-curricular ones. From class observations it can be concluded that teachers who are proactive planners and who make use of time savers spend their time in a more effective way than others.