Valuing teachers: how can we avoid 5 year burnout?

It's an alarming statistic that educator Stephanie Wescott now belongs to: leaving the teaching profession after just five years of practice.

In a wide-ranging interview in The Age, which covered everything from teachers not "being trusted to do their work" to overbearing examples of surveillance – it would perhaps make any aspiring teacher question their decision.

However, Stephanie stresses it's not all bad and says things can improve. Now a PhD student at Monash University, Stephanie is researching the politics of the education system as they play out in practical situations.

Hopefully her research findings will provide some much-needed advice on how to reinvigorate the profession.