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2025 State of the Sector

0 download full report The Paradox of School Workforce Leadership. 01. Leaders are upbeat about their schools – less so about their own roles Most leaders in our sample feel positive about their school’s culture (73%) and workforce (67%), but fewer feel positive about their own role (59%). They’re proud of the teams they lead and […]

2024 State of the Sector Download

Welcome to the 2024 PeopleBench State of the Sector report. Now in its fifth year of providing compelling insights on school workforces across Australia, the 2024 State of the Sector report takes a deep dive into the perspective of school leaders—their experience of leading in this climate and their plans for the future of their school’s workforce. […]

2023 State of the Sector

Welcome to the 2023 State of the Sector Report PeopleBench would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the country on which we are privileged to live and work. In the spirit of reconciliation, we recognise that sovereignty of these lands was never ceded. We pay our respect to elders past, present, and emerging and […]

2021 State of the Sector

Welcome to the 2021 State of the Sector Report. PeopleBench would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the country on which we are privileged to live and work. In the spirit of reconciliation, we recognise that sovereignty of these lands was never ceded. We pay our respect to elders past, present, and emerging and […]

2022 State of the Sector

Welcome to the 2022 State of the Sector Report. This, our third State of the Sector report, unpacks the perspectives of over 0 Australian principals Teachers School leaders This is a research initiative of the PeopleBench team. PeopleBench would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the country on which we are privileged to live […]

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2024

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REPORT.
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2023

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DIGITAL REPORT.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
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2022

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DIGITAL REPORT.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
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2021

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DIGITAL REPORT.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
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PeopleBench Advisory.

Our results continue to show the workforce challenges facing schools are critical, and vary depending on school context. The PeopleBench team of school workforce experts can help you find the right solution for your context and build your best Education workforce.

Workforce Strategy Builder™.

Most Education leaders understand the benefits of developing a Workforce Strategy, and an increasing proportion of governance bodies expect one. The PeopleBench Workforce Strategy BuilderTM helps you create an evidence-informed strategy document in hours, not weeks or months, removing the guesswork and significantly reducing the costs.

Workforce Culture Tracker™.

Creating the workforce culture you want begins with properly understanding the culture you currently have. As our results show, it can be difficult to see how culture manifests ‘on the ground’. The PeopleBench Workforce Culture Tracker™ helps you measure, manage, and monitor how employees experience your culture; whether it’s fit-for-purpose; and where you should prioritise your efforts to change or maintain your culture.

Sample & Methodology

The State of the Sector survey was distributed to Australian School Leaders (Principals, other Senior Leaders, Middle Leaders), Teachers, and Business/HR Managers via direct email, social media, and industry media campaigns. As a recruitment incentive, an Apple Watch was offered to a randomly-selected participant.

A total of 521 participants responded to the survey in May–June 2022.

The survey included a total of 51 questions. Respondents were asked to nominate which of the above role types best described their current role; their response determined which questions they would complete. All questions were presented to Principals and Other Senior School Leaders; a subset of questions was presented to other respondents. 

Of the 521 total respondents, 20 were excluded from analysis because they completed only a small handful of questions, leaving a sample of 501 for analysis and reporting.

For most questions, responses were analysed in five ways: as a ‘whole sample’; separated by school type (Primary, Secondary, and Combined Years – e.g., K/P–12); separated by school sector (Government schools/Catholic schools/Independent schools); by geography (e.g. major cities; regional; remote) and by the five role types mentioned above.

Like all observational survey-based research, sampling bias may limit the generalisation of results. For example, participants may have completed the survey because they have front-of-mind concerns about the school workforce, because they’re familiar with/supportive of PeopleBench’s work, or because they have a special interest in human resources. The sample therefore may not fully reflect the breadth of perspectives in the Education sector. 

It is also important to note that this is not longitudinal research; we have not ‘followed’ the same cohort of respondents from year to year. Each year, our survey sample will be a little different, and this may explain some of the differences in results over time.

How to use this report.

This is a semi-interactive report. As you scroll down the page, you’ll be presented with the key finding from each section in the survey—just like in a conventional report. In some sections, you have the option to learn more about a particular topic from a different perspective. Hovering on some charts will reveal additional detail, including participant quotes. Once you’re done, you’ll return to the main body of the report. When you see the asterisk icon, you can dive deeper into the data by clicking on each section to expand.

Who is PeopleBench?

PeopleBench is an Education sector workforce improvement company. We build software tools and provide advisory services and research to help Education leaders make schools great places to work, so they can be great places to learn.  

The State of the Sector project forms part of our suite of research initiatives into what makes an effective and impactful school workforce.

We want to understand how leaders and policy-makers in the sector can use data to make smarter workforce decisions and build better school workforces.

If you’re interested in learning more about us or joining us on this quest, please visit

www.peoplebench.com.au

Workforce Resilience Tracker™.

The PeopleBench Workforce Resilience Tracker™ helps you measure, manage, and monitor how your people are travelling using a brief, psychometrically-validated assessment of resilience — sustainable wellbeing + sustainable performance — at work.

The charts below illustrate, for each statement, respondents’ level of agreement when thinking about the workforce today (left) and their sentiment in three years’ time (right). They show, for example, of the respondents who indicated agreement with the statement “When I think about the school workforce today, I feel excited”, how many also agreed with the statement “When I think about the school workforce three years from now, I feel excited.”