Administrators in a school environment play an important role in teacher morale. If an administrator leads positively and creates a healthy working environment, teacher morale will also be high. Whenever changes come that impact teachers in negative ways, an administrator must use strong leadership techniques to keep the working climate positive and to keep teachers positive and focused on their teaching jobs.
Teachers are also motivated by participation in a learning community. Even when teachers face salary freezes, etc., they can request permission to collaborate on special planning and projects. To be the change and raise morale, a teacher can ask other teachers of a grade-level team or academic department to collaborate by sharing lesson plans and planning activities with different classes. This type of collaboration raises teacher and student morale in any institution.
An administrator can also support teachers and raise their morale by addressing student morale. If students are happy, there is a positive effect on teacher morale. If students are not happy, there is a negative effect on teacher morale. One idea is to meet a demand that students want, such as a longer recess, that teachers also support. It is important to have support from students and teachers in school improvements.
Help students and teachers by promoting task flexibility throughout the school. While teachers must teach state and local curriculum standards, they have flexibility in how students perform tasks to indicate mastery of standards. Teachers can work with the administration to share ways to increase task flexibility. If there is a school-wide initiative in this area of giving students more choices, there will be a positive effect on student learning, which will boost teacher morale.