he OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024 report offers a heartening finding that nearly nine out of ten teachers are satisfied with their jobs overall. Based on a survey from 280,000 teachers across 55 countries, the report provides a window into the factors that drive teacher satisfaction. As Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD, notes, “many teachers are driven by a deep sense of purpose, and access to professional development, strong leadership and a positive school culture often rank just as high as salaries in terms of teacher motivation.”
As leaders working across the Teach For All network in Europe, we came together to reflect on what the report’s findings mean in our contexts, from Sweden to Portugal to Estonia. Across our work with young educators and school leaders, this sense of purpose is one of the biggest drivers of our fellows and alumni work across our education systems. They are driven by the commitment to see students fulfill their potential, to shape a transformative school system, and contribute to something larger than themselves. This commitment to purpose and mission is at the core of how we attract and develop teacher leaders. The process starts with a personal "why", the individual drive to confront systemic injustice and champion the learning of every child.
However, motivation can fade when teachers struggle to see the impact of their work. School systems must therefore create the conditions that help teachers translate their personal mission into visible impact for students, schools, and communities. That begins by continually reinforcing that teachers are part of something larger than themselves, and by broadening how we define student success. When teachers have reflective tools to notice growth beyond test scores—such as confidence, agency, curiosity, and empathy—they can better see the difference they make. Recognizing this kind of progress helps them stay grounded in purpose, even when conventional metrics fall short.
According to TALIS, teachers' strong relationships with students, peers, and school leaders were among the clearest indicators of job satisfaction and wellbeing. This network of relationships underpins the reality that learning itself is a social construction, necessitating strong connection between students and teachers, teachers and teachers, parents and teachers, and leaders across all levels of the system. What adults feel is what reflects in the classroom and shapes students' experience and wellbeing; it is a feedback loop that impacts both the school and classroom culture. This highlights the importance of prioritizing and investing in leadership development for school principals and teachers, ensuring they have the skills to cultivate psychological safety, communication, and joy.
Strengthening the partnership between teachers and families is also highlighted as essential to wellbeing. Teachers are community leaders who connect parents, students, schools, and local communities around a shared purpose. Across our network, fellows go beyond their classrooms to extend their impact into the community. Some have launched girls’ football clubs to build confidence and inclusion, others have created tutoring programs when they notice learning gaps, and a few have started wellbeing circles for school staff to strengthen openness and joy within the school culture. These kinds of community projects transform student engagement, deepen local relationships, and renew teachers’ motivation. They become most powerful when teachers have dedicated time to reflect and collaborate, develop skills for open communication, and cultivate the capacity to work alongside parents, peers, and communities as co–leaders in advancing student success.
The data clearly shows that teachers like having autonomy and that increased instructional freedom and leadership opportunities correlate with higher job satisfaction and lower stress. Autonomy builds trust. That trust drives professional development. However, autonomy must come with support and accountability. It should enable teachers to be flexible and innovative while ensuring they reflect on their practice and demonstrate progress.
Wellbeing, in the report, is most closely tied to how teachers spend their time and where they find meaning. The activities most associated with lower stress are those that reconnect teachers with their purpose: teaching, collaborating with colleagues, engaging with students, and contributing to school or community life. Satisfaction declines sharply when time is consumed by marking, paperwork, or fragmented administrative demands. This stress is often compounded by a lack of clear communication about bureaucratic requirements, turning simple tasks into a huge source of tension. To address this, we need transparent systems to clarify bureaucratic demands and simplify administrative tasks.
Mentorship and regular feedback are the most consistent levers of teacher wellbeing we’ve seen. When teachers are regularly observed, supported, and listened to, satisfaction rises almost immediately. Yet around three–quarters of new teachers still lack access to a mentor. Systems that treat mentoring as optional miss one of the most effective investments in retention and quality. Across our work, mentoring has proven transformative, providing a strong peer network of people who understand their struggles and creating shared spaces for reflection and growth. . One of our colleagues put it simply: “we promise our fellows they will fail, because failure equals learning.” Reframing failure this way helps new teachers build resilience and stay motivated through inevitable challenges. Teachers need to know they’re part of a bigger thing and have colleagues they can call to learn from and share their journey.
The goal is to create systems where teachers thriving is a strategic priority to ensure every student fosters the skills needed to shape a better future. Ultimately, doing this requires a critical mass of people across every system working towards a shared vision for success: principals who nurture culture, mentors who guide growth, policymakers who protect instructional time, and teachers who lead learning in partnership with students and families.
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Are teachers thriving or surviving?
Image by Frauke Riether from Pixabay
October 20, 2025
New research from the OECD suggests teachers enjoy higher rates of job satisfaction than expected. That satisfaction is tied to visible impacts from teachers’ work—and there is plenty education systems can do to support these outcomes.
T
he OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024 report offers a heartening finding that nearly nine out of ten teachers are satisfied with their jobs overall. Based on a survey from 280,000 teachers across 55 countries, the report provides a window into the factors that drive teacher satisfaction. As Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD, notes, “many teachers are driven by a deep sense of purpose, and access to professional development, strong leadership and a positive school culture often rank just as high as salaries in terms of teacher motivation.”
As leaders working across the Teach For All network in Europe, we came together to reflect on what the report’s findings mean in our contexts, from Sweden to Portugal to Estonia. Across our work with young educators and school leaders, this sense of purpose is one of the biggest drivers of our fellows and alumni work across our education systems. They are driven by the commitment to see students fulfill their potential, to shape a transformative school system, and contribute to something larger than themselves. This commitment to purpose and mission is at the core of how we attract and develop teacher leaders. The process starts with a personal "why", the individual drive to confront systemic injustice and champion the learning of every child.
However, motivation can fade when teachers struggle to see the impact of their work. School systems must therefore create the conditions that help teachers translate their personal mission into visible impact for students, schools, and communities. That begins by continually reinforcing that teachers are part of something larger than themselves, and by broadening how we define student success. When teachers have reflective tools to notice growth beyond test scores—such as confidence, agency, curiosity, and empathy—they can better see the difference they make. Recognizing this kind of progress helps them stay grounded in purpose, even when conventional metrics fall short.
According to TALIS, teachers' strong relationships with students, peers, and school leaders were among the clearest indicators of job satisfaction and wellbeing. This network of relationships underpins the reality that learning itself is a social construction, necessitating strong connection between students and teachers, teachers and teachers, parents and teachers, and leaders across all levels of the system. What adults feel is what reflects in the classroom and shapes students' experience and wellbeing; it is a feedback loop that impacts both the school and classroom culture. This highlights the importance of prioritizing and investing in leadership development for school principals and teachers, ensuring they have the skills to cultivate psychological safety, communication, and joy.
Strengthening the partnership between teachers and families is also highlighted as essential to wellbeing. Teachers are community leaders who connect parents, students, schools, and local communities around a shared purpose. Across our network, fellows go beyond their classrooms to extend their impact into the community. Some have launched girls’ football clubs to build confidence and inclusion, others have created tutoring programs when they notice learning gaps, and a few have started wellbeing circles for school staff to strengthen openness and joy within the school culture. These kinds of community projects transform student engagement, deepen local relationships, and renew teachers’ motivation. They become most powerful when teachers have dedicated time to reflect and collaborate, develop skills for open communication, and cultivate the capacity to work alongside parents, peers, and communities as co–leaders in advancing student success.
The data clearly shows that teachers like having autonomy and that increased instructional freedom and leadership opportunities correlate with higher job satisfaction and lower stress. Autonomy builds trust. That trust drives professional development. However, autonomy must come with support and accountability. It should enable teachers to be flexible and innovative while ensuring they reflect on their practice and demonstrate progress.
Wellbeing, in the report, is most closely tied to how teachers spend their time and where they find meaning. The activities most associated with lower stress are those that reconnect teachers with their purpose: teaching, collaborating with colleagues, engaging with students, and contributing to school or community life. Satisfaction declines sharply when time is consumed by marking, paperwork, or fragmented administrative demands. This stress is often compounded by a lack of clear communication about bureaucratic requirements, turning simple tasks into a huge source of tension. To address this, we need transparent systems to clarify bureaucratic demands and simplify administrative tasks.
Mentorship and regular feedback are the most consistent levers of teacher wellbeing we’ve seen. When teachers are regularly observed, supported, and listened to, satisfaction rises almost immediately. Yet around three–quarters of new teachers still lack access to a mentor. Systems that treat mentoring as optional miss one of the most effective investments in retention and quality. Across our work, mentoring has proven transformative, providing a strong peer network of people who understand their struggles and creating shared spaces for reflection and growth. . One of our colleagues put it simply: “we promise our fellows they will fail, because failure equals learning.” Reframing failure this way helps new teachers build resilience and stay motivated through inevitable challenges. Teachers need to know they’re part of a bigger thing and have colleagues they can call to learn from and share their journey.
The goal is to create systems where teachers thriving is a strategic priority to ensure every student fosters the skills needed to shape a better future. Ultimately, doing this requires a critical mass of people across every system working towards a shared vision for success: principals who nurture culture, mentors who guide growth, policymakers who protect instructional time, and teachers who lead learning in partnership with students and families.
