Passionate about their work with students, Gen Z teachers (29 years of age and younger) want more support from their schools particularly regarding stricter discipline and managing classrooms, according to an Education Week article.
“They are much more vocal about what they feel they need to be successful—and if you don’t offer it, their loyalty isn’t there,” says Meagan Booth, a former high school principal and current supervisor of employee relations for Knox County Schools in Knoxville, Tenn. They are loyal to leaders who they feel support them, not institutions.”
Markers of Gen Z teachers, as reported in an EdWeek Research Center survey:
- An old-school attitude to student discipline is held by many Gen Z teachers, who favor a stricter approach to class management than their older colleagues. Most Gen Z teachers in the Education Week survey said their morale would get a major boost if schools limited parents’ ability to appeal their children’s discipline consequences and if parents received instruction on “teaching children how to behave in ways that are appropriate for school.”
- Nearly a quarter of Gen Z teachers—more than twice as many as older generations of teachers—also told the EdWeek Research Center they wanted more professional development on managing student behavior. They find managing student behavior day-to-day requires a bigger learning curve than what was expected as a student teacher.
- The EdWeek Research Center’s annual survey shows that Gen Z teachers reported higher morale than that of older generations in late 2025. This could reflect the appeal of teaching as other industries suffer from economic and technological disruptions.
“When you look at the jobs that are the most secure and least replaceable [by AI], teaching is one of them,” says Heath Morrison, chief executive officer of Teachers of Tomorrow.
- Most Gen Z teachers value work flexibility, such as four-day weeks and more planning time during the workday. Gen Z workers across industries prioritize flexibility, career development, meaningful work, and safe workplaces, even above pay and benefits, when deciding where to work.
- Many Gen Z teachers want to have an active role in improving the job itself – shaping teaching from the get-go. Many also expect to have and value a strong voice and autonomy in the workplace, coupled with feedback and support from supervisors.
- Gen Z teachers are more likely than prior generations to speak up when they feel overwhelmed and advocate for a good work-life balance.
- Gen Z teachers work hard to maintain their own mental health and keep reasonable boundaries between work and life. “Gen Z carries a skill set and a language around mental health that I don’t think generations before them have had,” says Booth. “They watched their mentors burn themselves out and they just aren’t willing to do that.”
- Gen Z teachers want help from their school leaders to safeguard their work-life boundaries. Sixty percent of Gen Z teachers—about twice as many as Gen X or Boomer teachers—said that having mental wellness days would significantly improve morale, and 65% of Gen Z teachers said getting more dedicated planning time during the school day would be a major morale boost.
- More Gen Z workers are willing to consider teaching as a job, but they are more likely to turn to other careers if a classroom career doesn’t pan out. More than 60% of Gen Z teachers told the EdWeek Research Center that they planned to switch fields away from K-12 education at least once during their careers. This might reflect a combination of wider professional interests and less willingness to tough out difficult workplaces.
Administrators can see this disposition as a strength rather than a flaw, says Booth, Knoxville’s human resources director. Gen Z workers “may not go into teaching thinking of it as a forever career, but we can make it a forever career when they feel supported in a way that resonates with them,” she says.
Education Week
