Is There a Lack of Administrative Support for Teachers in 2024?

Wondering if there’s a lack of administrative support for teachers, and what to do about it? You’re in the right place.

The amount of administrative support for teachers varies by school. Similar to how there are different management styles in the corporate world, the same goes for principals and vice principals in the education system.

Ultimately, most educational professionals (principals, teachers, education assistants) want the same thing – a functioning workplace and a quality education for students.

But sometimes, teachers and principals differ on what needs to happen- and how – in order to achieve that.

Ultimately, this can lead to communication issues which result in a lack of administrative support for teachers.

Lack of administrative support is definitely a problem in many teachers’ work environments. Having worked as a teacher for 10 years, it is something I struggled with when I was still in the classroom, and one of the reasons why I left teaching.

It wasn’t until I became a teacher that I learned how important a good principal is, and the impact that a lack of support can have on teachers, the students and the learning environment.

Let’s chat about why teacher support is important, and what you can do about a lack of administrative support for teachers at your school.

Why is Teacher Support Important?

Teachers are burning out and dealing with more stress today than ever. They ultimately don’t have a lot of say in what happens in the greater scheme of things when it comes to education.

While teachers are the front-liners who work first-hand with students in the classroom environment, they don’t influence a lot of the major decisions that can impact that learning environment – or their own well-being as educators.

A lot of the major decisions such as:

• the rules of the school
• student discipline
• how grading works
• how report cards are written

Are decided by higher ups, such as governments, school trustees and school board officials. People that have jobs related to education, but aren’t actual teachers.

Teachers make some small classroom rules, but ultimately, don’t have a lot of power when it comes to the bigger picture.

Teachers are the ones, however, who:

• bear the brunt of the consequences of decisions made about education
• see firsthand the effects (good and bad) of those consequences on students.

A lack of teacher support makes it hard for teachers their jobs effectively and support students as much as they would like.

In the worst-case scenario, a lack of teacher support can also lead to a teacher having an unsafe working environment that they don’t have a lot of protection from.

Teachers have a very important role as someone who influences, inspires and educates the next generation. Doing this well for groups of upwards of 30 kids (with varying needs and abilities) is challenging, and requires support.

Your Rights as a Teacher

The most vulnerable people in the school system are the students, and its your responsibility to ensure their safety. As a teacher, you have certain rights too that are meant to keep you protected and doing your job as efficiently as you can.

As a teacher, you have the right to:

Professional Judgement

The amount of professional judgment that you’re allowed to use in your teaching practice is also something that may vary by region.

How grades are determined can be highly politicized; with many regulations on how you’re allowed to go about students’ assessment.

However, as a teacher, there should be at least some room for using your own professional judgment in a situation.

Where I live in Ontario, teachers are entitled to a certain level of professional judgment.

A safe work environment

Whether you feel unsafe because of a student, a parent, or even another coworker – you’re entitled to safety in your workplace and should seek support if:

• any behaviour you face borders on aggressive, abusive or even violent
• you’re facing bullying from students, a colleague, or even a parent.

If the situation becomes verbally or physically violent, then you may have need to:

• seek support from your administrator
• get the police involved
• declare your workplace unsafe and do a work refusal. (How to do this can vary by region.)

Good to Know: If you feel that an unsafe work environment is affecting your mental health, then also be sure to reach out to your doctor as well

Examples of Lack of Administrative Support for Teachers

During my time in education, I have seen teachers and administrators clash on a few main things:

• How to handle negative, disruptive (or even sometimes violent) student behaviour and cell phone use
• What to do about grades for students who aren’t turning any work in
• How to handle complaints or demands from parents

Not dealing with the above issues can affect the morale tone in the classroom, leading to teachers feeling unsupported in their work environment; often reducing their ability to do their jobs as effectively as they’d like.

In an ideal school workplace, staff members should work as a team and support each other in the common goal of educating the students. Sometimes, sadly, this is more complicated than it sounds

What to About Lack of Administrative Support for Teachers at Your School

1. Talk to your principal

I’m sure you have tried already, but it is always worth trying a different strategy for communication with the principal.

When you try to get support from your principal, be sure to focus on the common goal that you both have, rather than making accusations or criticisms.

When you talk to your principal, be sure to highlight that you’re on the same page as them, and want to work with them to find a solution that benefits everybody.

I have to admit that I used to be really bad at communicating with my principals and seeking support from them.

With my frustration of what I felt was lack of support from them, I stuck up for myself in a way that left them feeling criticized and questioned. This wasn’t my intention of course.

Quite frankly, maybe my administrators deserved to be questioned- but that isn’t the point. The point here isn’t to challenge or question your principal, but to get as much support from them as possible.

If I wanted more support from my administrators, then better communication was key. I read a book Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High by Kerry Patterson, and it helped me communicate better with my principals. (But it works for any other area of life as well.)

2. Lean on coworkers for support

A principal really sets the tone of the school. If teachers don’t feel supported by their principal, then they should try to support each other as much as possible.

Ways that teacher and other school staff members can support eachother:

• Create ‘buddy classrooms’ in which students who are acting up can go to the buddy class, instead of you needing to involve the office (this worked very well at my school)
• Help with sharing resources
• Try fun ways to build teacher morale in the school

3. Try different classroom management strategies

The problems in education today are not your fault. There are varying reasons why student behaviour is where it’s at, and I don’t believe that the brunt of all of it should be put back on teachers.

However, if you’re struggling in a class and you have no support from your admin, you only really have three options:

• Suffer through it the way it is
• Take a leave, or quit mid-year
• Try a different teaching or classroom management strategy. Click here to see what classroom management books I recommend.
• Try adding behavioural incentives. See my list of whole class reward ideas.

4. Talk to your union rep

If you have a union, its important to get their support if you feel like your work environment is unfair, or if you’re put in situations that are unsafe.

Your union rep can also advise on if your principal is following the rules, or if they’re within their right to make a certain decision.

They can also help you problem solve situations involving a difficult principal, and get involved if the situation is really bad. They can vouch for you in meetings with the principal if need be.

5. Take some political action

If you work in the publicly funded school board, then you are directly affected by cuts to education.

Here are ways you can fight for a better workplace for teachers and learning environment for students:

• Don’t vote for parties that plan to make cuts to education
• Write to your municipal and state or provincial leaders to tell them the effects that lack of funding is having on schools
• Talk to the media (anonymously, ideally)
• Create and sign petitions that advocate for more funding for schools

6. Look after yourself

Teaching is a challenging enough job on its own; trying to do it without a supportive administrator can be extremely difficult.

From experience, I know how distressing it can be to not feel like you have your principal’s support. I recommend that you:

• Ensure that you put your mental and physical health first. It’s very hard to support your students if no one is supporting you
• Take care of yourself with a teacher survival kit at work
• Consult with your doctor if you have concerns about how your workplace is affecting your physical or mental health

How to Improve Administrative Support for Teachers

Here are things you can do at the school level to improve teacher support, whether you’re a teacher, principal or another school staff member

If you are a teacher

• Practice effective communication with your principal in a non-accusatory way, and genuinely ask them for support. Focus on your shared goal at hand as you try to come to a solution
• Seek support from colleagues
• Practice self-care and ensure you’re protecting yourself physically and mentally

If you are a principal

• Listen to the concerns your teachers have, and ask they think might help
• Offer support to teachers with resources, classroom management and with dealing with challenging parents
• Ensure that your teachers feel safe at work
• Encourage your staff to put their mental health and family first
• Read my post on how to be a good elementary school principal for more tips
• Check out this PDF about effective school administration

Teacher Support FAQ

Here are the most commonly asked questions about administrative support for teachers and why it’s important

How does lack of teacher support affect teaching and learning?

If teachers aren’t supported in doing their jobs affectively, then its hard for them to support students. If the learning environment is suffering due to lack of teacher support, then there sometimes isn’t a lot that the teacher can do as they don’t have a lot of decision making power in the school.

How can administrators support teachers with classroom management?

Administrators can support teachers with classroom management by acting as the authority in the school, while working as a team with teachers. It’s important for students to see the teachers and administrators working as a team -if they feel that administration is on their side, then their behaviour in class can worsen.

What is the principals role in supporting teachers?

A principal’s job is too uphold the rules and regulations of the school board, and ensure effective instruction of teachers and student success. So, a principal is a teacher’s boss. However, effective principals know how to be an authority figure in the school but also a supportive liaison that works with teachers to ensure a good working environment for them and school morale for everyone.

Final Thoughts on Lack of Administrative Support for Teachers

A lot goes on behind the scenes to ensure a quality education for students, but teachers are some of the main front-liners in it. While the goals for the school are the same – the principal and the teacher often have different ideologies, because they are facing different sets of pressures.

Teachers, along with educational assistants, are the ones that work directly with the students, so they can see the effects (good and bad) of any decisions that are made from beyond their control. They may want the same things for the school as a whole, but have very different opinions on how to get there.

Teachers and principals differing on how to handle challenges in the school can create a hard work environment for school staff and affect the learning environment for students. It’s important to work as a team, communicate effectively, and ensure that the school is safe.