How do teachers spend their time? A study on teachers' strategies of selection, optimisation, and compensation over their career cycle.

Abstract In order to address all teaching-related tasks, teachers often work long hours. Effective resource allocation is, therefore, invaluable if they want to manage their workload and remain healthy. This prompted us to assess how teachers allocate their time to different tasks over their careers. Results of a study involving 1939 German teachers from a representative school sample show that beginning teachers and those at the end of their careers engage in fewer tasks (selection). The latter also save time on demanding aspects and invest the time saved in less demanding tasks instead (optimisation), and have fewer career ambitions (compensation).

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