Ennui of English teachers post-COVID amid an emerging teacher shortage

Two teachers, one practising, one having recently left the classroom, explored the

post-COVID slump among teachers in Australia through a metalogue. Topics include: professional learning; Initial Teacher Education; teacher attrition and retention; and teachers’ activity online via social media. The overwhelming sense is one of fatigue, ennui and exhaustion that goes beyond mere stress and heavy workloads. It is proposed that these negative effects will have significant impacts upon the teacher workforce in the coming years. This paper provides insights from within teaching that are currently lacking within the research literature, where limited scholarship covers this post- COVID landscape.