Slipping teacher morale has been attributed to the rapidly changing education environment by a Western Bay education leader.
A national survey by the New Zealand Council for Education Research showed teachers and principals of primary and intermediate schools' morale had slipped since the same survey was carried out in 2010.
Seventy-two per cent of principals said their morale was high or very high, down from 87 per cent in 2010.
A slightly higher 74 per cent of teachers reported high or very high morale, compared to 86 per cent in 2010.
Western Bay of Plenty Principal Association president Dane Robertson said the drop in morale was likely due to increasing levels of stress from educators who did not know what changes might be sprung upon them.
"There appears to be a lot of change going on at the moment which creates uncertainty. People aren't really knowing what's coming around the corner, or think they know but aren't told the full detail until it's all been set in stone."
Mr Robertson, principal of Kaimai School, said many teachers felt the Government's focus was narrowing and children were being churned through school like it was a factory. He was not surprised at the high numbers of people surveyed who said they loved their jobs as most teachers were committed to their work.
New Zealand Education Institute past president Ian Leckie said morale was falling all over the place which should be a pretty big wake up call for the Government.
"If morale is dropping at a rate of 15 per cent in three years, that's terrible."