Teachers often cite low morale as the primary cause for not doing their best in the classroom, so it is essential low morale is targeted before it affects student achievement and the overall performance of the school. In a 1997 study of public school teachers conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics, participants identified five top factors that affect their morale: administrative support and leadership (or treatment of teachers by administration), student attitudes and behavior, positive school environment, teacher autonomy and parental support. In general, lack of administrative support and inadequate leadership from administrators can lead to low school and community morale.
Teacher morale directly impacts the delivery of lessons, leadership, teacher effectiveness, student attitudes, student performance and discipline. Creating a positive school environment starts from the top with the school leaders, but it is carried out every day in the classroom by teachers. If a teacher does not feel appreciated in their day to day tasks as a teacher, students are inevitably impacted. Teachers can fall into low morale because of poor student discipline, disrespect, lack of wok ethic or high absenteeism. Larger class sizes are a factor, affecting the work load of the teacher and classroom management.
Changes in curriculum can lead to stress and frustration for both new and veteran teachers, but curriculum implementation and planning can be a source of low morale in itself. One of the most major causes of lowered teacher morale dealing with instruction and planning is a lack of sufficient and effective professional development and lack of collaboration at the school level. Lack of both professional development and peer collaboration can lead to reduced teacher confidence, and therefore lowered morale.
Student achievement can be a direct reflection on the teacher. If a teacher works in a low performing or at risk area, the stress of evaluation and achievement can be so high that it negatively affects morale. Beyond the day to day duties of a teacher, like record keeping and grading, teachers are required to lead students to reach certain standards of achievement not always possible with every student. Some of these factors are out of the hands of the teacher, making it difficult to teach every day and watch students fall behind with little control over their success. Evaluation instruments can also cause stress for teachers, especially those where pay is merit based and directly tied to student performance.