Teachers from PILNA 2021 provided a wide range of data about their circumstances, their teaching experiences, and their students. These include teachers’ confidence in teaching numeracy and literacy, their job satisfaction, and their well-being, as well as their perceptions of the availability of resources and their students’ learning difficulties. The analyses presented are presented through the student focus, i.e., the potential impact of teachers’ circumstances, beliefs, and attitudes on student performance and attitudes to numeracy and literacy.

A high proportion of students have a teacher who is confident in teaching numeracy and literacy. A smaller proportion of students had teachers who were confident in teaching the quality of ideas in writing, phonemic awareness, organisation and structure in writing.

A very high proportion of students had teachers who were satisfied with and proud of their job. A smaller proportion of students, however, had teachers who were content with their salaries. Despite teachers reporting confidence and general satisfaction with their work, they were experiencing high rates of challenges to their well-being. A high proportion of students had teachers who frequently experienced stress (75%) and feelings of being overwhelmed by their job (74%).

Teachers reported that a significant minority of their students experienced behavioural and psychological challenges. About one in every three students was described as having either behavioural issues, difficulty focusing attention and concentrating, or a lack of basic knowledge and skills.

Teachers’ reports of student difficulties were compared to students’ reports of these difficulties, where appropriate. Students also identified difficulties in concentrating and controlling behaviour. This suggests that these issues are quite common in the student body and that teachers’ assessments of physiological issues are aligned with those of students.

The results from the teacher questionnaire paint the teaching profession in a positive light. Teachers have a great sense of pride in their occupation, are aware of some of the challenges facing students from reaching their full potential and are confident in what they do. While most appear to have the resources they need, there are issues with teachers’ well-being.

Finding ways to support teachers to have a more positive mindset and not be overwhelmed by the demands of the job can only be positive in improving teaching and learning outcomes.