Abstract:

In most European countries, teachers' employment contracts specify the number of hours they are required to teach. Very few countries, however, define only teaching hours in employment contracts. In the majority of European countries, an overall number of working hours per week is set. This is between 35 and 40 hours in most of these countries, as specified in collective bargaining or other agreements. Seventeen countries or regions also prescribe the amount of time that teachers should be available in school each week. In general, this figure does not exceed 30 hours, with some exceptions. According to the legislation Polish teachers, are obliged to be available at school 2 extra hours in primary and lower secondary level and one extra hour in upper secondary schools, beside teaching time (18 lessons a week) and overall working time (40 hours a week). The special character of the teaching profession may allow teachers to choose individually the place of non-teaching activities. Non-teaching duties such as lesson preparation, correction, reading literature requires silence and concentration, that isolated place provides. The paper relates to the findings of the newest extensive research on the teachers' working time and conditions carried out by the Educational Research Institute (Poland) in 2011/2012. Quantitative and qualitative data gathered in the research study show how Polish teachers organize their individual working time related to non-teaching activities, what are their preferences and reasons of choice.

Keywords:

Teacher, non-teaching duties, the teachers' working time, the teachers' working conditions.