What are teachers unhappy about? Factors of professional dissatisfaction of Portuguese teachers

Teacher dissatisfaction is a growing concern with significant implications for the sustainability of education systems. This paper examines the factors contributing to professional dissatisfaction among Portuguese teachers, drawing on data from 17 focus groups with 97 teachers from state schools across mainland Portugal. Using qualitative content analysis, four interrelated domains were identified: profession-related, structural, organisational, and curricular-pedagogical factors. Among the most prominent were weak collegial collaboration, parental pressure, emotional exhaustion, inadequate infrastructure, excessive bureaucracy, and an exam-oriented curriculum. Most factors were experienced as external to teachers’ control, reflecting broader systemic pressures. The findings suggest that dissatisfaction should be understood as a collective response to the erosion of professional meaning, autonomy and identity, amplified but not fundamentally altered by the Covid-19 pandemic.