“The job satisfaction and goodwill of teachers has been decimated and there’s a feeling that your best will never be good enough- something that never existed before.”

Short days, long holidays; the teaching profession in Ireland was once considered the ideal, offering a perfect balance between work and home life. Drastic cutbacks have since led to a surge in dissatisfaction among teachers who are over-worked and under-paid. Is the profession headed for a crisis? As teachers reach breaking point, we investigate how recent changes have affected teaching attitudes, priorities, morale, and in turn, student’s learning.

“The short days and length of holidays has perpetuated the myth that teaching is an easy job”, says Ciara Mahony, a permanent primary school teacher based in Dublin. “A teacher’s job is far from finished when the school bell goes at the end of the day. During those ‘short days’ a teacher’s brain needs to be…