Across Europe and beyond, the teaching profession has become increasingly marked by declining attractiveness, growing dissatisfaction and high levels of emotional exhaustion, raising concerns about teacher retention and the long-term sustainability of education systems (OECD, 2021; European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2021). These trends are particularly visible in contexts where ageing teaching workforces, staff shortages and intensifying accountability pressures intersect with rising expectations regarding inclusion, wellbeing and educational outcomes. In Portugal, these challenges have become more pronounced over the last decade, indicating broader international dynamics while also revealing context-specific structural and organisational tensions (Flores, 2020; Flores et al., 2025). The COVID-19 pandemic did not initiate this process but acted as a catalyst, exacerbating pre-existing fragilities in teachers’ work and amplifying professional dissatisfaction (Flores et al., 2021; Martí-González et al., 2023). In line with international evidence, Portuguese teachers were required to rapidly adapt pedagogical practices, manage intensified workloads and maintain meaningful relationships with students under conditions of uncertainty and limited institutional support (Aktan & Toraman, 2022).

This paper therefore addresses the following research question: What factors explain Portuguese teachers’ professional dissatisfaction in contemporary school contexts? Rather than approaching dissatisfaction as an individual psychological outcome, the study aims to conceptualise it as a multidimensional and relational phenomenon, influenced by the interaction between professional values, organisational arrangements, structural conditions and policy frameworks. The objective is to contribute to European and international debates by offering an empirically grounded analysis of how dissatisfaction is experienced and interpreted by teachers themselves, and how it relates to broader transformations in the governance and meaning of teaching.

The theoretical framework draws on research on teacher job satisfaction and professional identity, particularly perspectives that emphasise the moral, relational and existential dimensions of teachers’ work (Kelchtermans, 2009, 2018). These approaches argue that professional satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not solely determined by material working conditions, but by the alignment, or misalignment, between teachers’ values, sense of purpose and everyday practices. This framework is complemented by models that examine the balance between job demands and resources, autonomy and control, including the Job Demands-Control perspective (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2018), which has been widely applied in international research on teacher wellbeing.

Empirically, the paper is based on qualitative data from a wider national research project on school leadership and teachers’ work, informed by international scholarship on leadership and school improvement (Leithwood et al., 2006; Day, Gu & Sammons, 2016). The study is based on 17 focus groups with 97 teachers from different school levels and working in public school clusters across mainland Portugal. This diversity of contexts allows for an exploration of dissatisfaction across different school sizes, geographical locations and socio-educational environments, allowing dialogue with international findings on contextual variation in teachers’ experiences (Toropova et al., 2021).

The findings point to four interrelated domains of dissatisfaction: profession-related, structural, organisational and curricular-pedagogical factors. These domains reflect patterns that resonate with international research, including work intensification, bureaucratic overload, declining professional autonomy, insufficient recognition and tensions between policy rhetoric and classroom realities (Hargreaves, 1998; Trinidad, 2025). At the same time, the Portuguese case brings to the fore specific challenges associated with school clustering, teacher shortages and territorial inequalities, contributing context-sensitive insights to broader European discussions.

Through the analysis of teachers’ voices, the paper argues that professional dissatisfaction should be understood as a collective and symbolic response to the erosion of professional meaning and agency. In doing so, it expects to inform European debates on teacher wellbeing, retention and policy design.

This study is part of a wider research project funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, aimed at investigating the impact of school leadership on teachers’ work and pupils’ outcomes. The project was developed over three research phases, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. This paper reports on data from the final phase, which consisted of in-depth case studies using focus groups with teachers. Data were collected between September 2021 and May 2022 through 17 focus groups involving a total of 97 teachers from public school clusters across mainland Portugal. Participants were recruited from preschool, elementary and secondary education and represented a wide range of professional profiles, with teaching experience ranging from six to 43 years. The sample included teachers working in small, medium and large school clusters, located in rural, suburban and urban areas, as well as in coastal and inland regions. School clusters were selected to ensure diversity in size, geographical location, student composition and leadership characteristics. Focus groups ranged from two to nine participants and were conducted mostly online via Zoom due to public health restrictions at the time. A semi-structured discussion guide was used to explore teachers’ perceptions of their professional experiences, working conditions, organisational dynamics, leadership practices and the challenges faced during and after the pandemic. All ethical procedures were followed. The study received approval from the relevant ethics committee, and participants were informed about the aims of the research, confidentiality procedures and their right to withdraw. Written informed consent was obtained prior to data collection. The focus group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, resulting in approximately 289 pages of qualitative data. Data analysis was conducted using qualitative content analysis supported by MAXQDA 24. An initial coding framework was developed inductively from the data, allowing themes to emerge from teachers’ accounts. Coding was conducted by one researcher and subsequently reviewed by two additional members of the research team. Discrepancies were discussed collectively to ensure analytical consistency and credibility. Through iterative coding and categorisation, the analysis focused on identifying recurrent sources of dissatisfaction and the meanings teachers attributed to them. The final analytical structure was organised around four interrelated domains of dissatisfaction, reflecting both material and symbolic dimensions of teachers’ professional experiences.

Focusing on Portuguese teachers’ perceptions of professional dissatisfaction, this paper analyses the way in which dissatisfaction emerges from the interaction between profession-related, structural, organisational and curricular-pedagogical conditions. Rather than isolated complaints, teachers’ accounts reveal a cumulative and systemic pattern of pressure, in which rising demands are not matched by adequate resources, recognition or professional autonomy. The findings suggest that dissatisfaction is closely linked to the erosion of professional meaning. Teachers repeatedly described feeling excluded from decision-making processes, overwhelmed by bureaucratic demands and constrained by policy frameworks that limit pedagogical judgement. These conditions undermine the ethical and relational dimensions of teaching, which teachers consistently identify as central to their professional identity and commitment. Dissatisfaction thus appears not simply as burnout, but as a form of disenchantment with a profession that no longer allows teachers to portray their values in meaningful ways. Importantly, the paper shows that dissatisfaction is experienced collectively and is embedded in school cultures and policy environments. Weak collaboration within school clusters, fragmented professional communities and limited organisational support exacerbate feelings of isolation and powerlessness. Structural inequalities between schools, particularly those related to infrastructure, staffing and geographical location, further deepen these experiences. Addressing teacher dissatisfaction therefore requires moving beyond individualised interventions focused on coping or resilience. Policy and leadership responses need to tackle the structural and organisational conditions that influence teachers’ work, including workload regulation, bureaucratic simplification, meaningful participation in decision-making and sustained investment in resources and professional development. Rebuilding the symbolic prestige of teaching, through improved working conditions and public recognition of its ethical and civic role, is also essential for the long-term sustainability of the profession.

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