Factors Affecting Teacher Procrastination – A Literature Review

Abstract

Negative emotions from teachers (e.g., feeling stressed, bored, or irritated), have a direct effect on students, teachers, other staff, and parents. Teachers often feel negative emotions due to a lack of motivation, external pressure, or not being able to achieve perfectionism, which results in them procrastinating their actions and duties. These negative emotions cause lessons to suffer in quality, which hurts students' ability to understand the content and score well on tests. The research indicates external pressure has a large impact on teacher procrastination, for instance, teachers need to perform many administrative tasks that they consider unnecessary leaving little time for creative presentation and discussions. Additionally, a strict and rigid curriculum contributes to procrastination as teachers do not feel comfortable teaching in a pre-established manner with no flexibility. However, if there is no rigid and set curriculum, parents would be confused about what their child is learning, so finding a balance between following the curriculum and the teacher's ability to impact the lesson is important. In conclusion, reducing the administrative burden and curriculum rigidity may reduce teachers’ procrastination and improve the quality of teaching.