06/23/2026June 23, 2026Almost half of teachers stressed by pupils’ behavior — School Barometer
Almost every second teacher in Germany (46%) considers that pupils’ behavior is the biggest source of stress in the profession, according to a School Barometer survey issued on Tuesday.
That is an increase of more than 10 percentage points over 2024, when just 35% of teachers said pupils’ conduct was their main challenge.
According to the survey carried out for the Robert Bosch Foundation, it is not just a lack of discipline that causes problems for teachers.
The teachers who responded to the survey said that a quarter of pupils had trouble working in a group, while 13% found it difficult to motivate themselves to learn.
Many teachers said that they were having to teach pupils more than just specialized knowledge, saying that empathy, self-organization and critical thinking also needed cultivating among pupils.
Four out of five teachers (82%) said they would like to receive extra training in these fields.
Almost every second respondent said more had to be done to educate pupils about democracy, with a similar number wanting more training in the use of artificial intelligence.
However, 83% ranked their job satisfaction as high. More than every fourth teacher said, however, that they would give up the job if there was an acceptable alternative.
A School Barometer survey of pupils published last week showed that every fourth pupil in Germany felt they had a poor quality of life, while around the same proportion displayed psychological difficulties.