Sunday school-work times of teachers in Tasmania, Australia

In most occupations there has been an increasing tendency to work unsociable hours, as a result of reforms. In the case of teaching, these unsociable hours have included after hours work and weekend work, and have created significant intensification of work. Little is known, however, about the Sunday work ethic that results from the intensification of teachers´ work. In this study, data on teachers´ workloads are examined for correlations between Sunday times and time allocated to other days of the week. An Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression equation that relates Sunday time-use to teacher and school characteristics is estimated. Results suggest that selected school and teacher characteristics affect the number of hours expended on Sunday school work by teachers in Tasmania. The absence of breaks during regular school time, and the extent to which teachers are overloaded, are particularly significant in increasing Sunday work time of teachers in Tasmania. These results have implications for teacher workloads, and future school reforms in Tasmania.