**1. Introduction**

Teachers are leaders and pillars of education; hence, their workload is vital as it affects the desired outcomes for both teachers and learners. This study defines workload of teachers as the quantity of work that teachers carry out during the academic year. The work includes preparation of lessons, delivering lessons, tests, administrative work, and marking. Excessive workloads prohibit teachers from performing desirably and attending to learners effectively. Jomuad et al. [1] are also of the view that teacher performance is impacted by workload. The observable and quantifiable

behaviour of a learner, as measured by the results of assigned activities, be they formative or summative assessments, can be seen as the academic performance of a learner [2]. Teachers' excessive workload impacts learners' metacognition which is discussed in detail in the next paragraph.

Metacognition is a fundamental property when looking at the impact of excessive workload of teachers, by definition metacognition is awareness and management of one's thought [3]. It includes self-awareness, self-reflection, and the capacity to develop and modify effective learning procedures [4]. Therefore, this study refers to metacognition as awareness of one's individual thought processes, along with the capacity to control and manage them. The learners' metacognition might be significantly impacted by a teacher's excessive workload where the development of the learners' metacognition may be negatively affected in several ways when teachers have excessive workload.

As stated by [5], in Indonesia, lecturers' and teachers' workloads amount to 48 hours a week of face-to-face teaching, which is too much. Tahseen [6] conducted a study in Saudi Arabia revealed that teachers had too much paperwork and high workloads, and they had to sacrifice their relaxation time, which contributed to stress. In addition, Akhtar Malik [7] submits that loss of physical and emotional vitality results from work overload as an element that contributes to teacher burnout. According to the 2013 National Policy on Education of Nigeria, the teacher-student ratio in elementary schools should be 1:25 and in secondary schools it should be 1:30 to prevent overcrowding in classrooms [8]. In public schools in South Africa, classrooms are designed to support 31 learners and one teacher for secondary schools and 40 learners and one teacher in primary schools [9]. Nevertheless, because of overcrowded classrooms in public schools, learner-teacher ratios, particularly those in countryside areas and locations, exceeds average. In addition, South Africa demonstrates that teachers often have very heavy workloads and very low morale [10]. The challenge is very high in both rural and urban public schools.

The researcher concurs with the above views; thus, the researcher undertook this study based on the gaps identified. The paper looks at the impacts of teachers' workloads on learner's metacognition and academic excellence of learners in two high schools in Chris Hani District in the province of the Eastern Cape.

### **2. Literature review**

### **2.1 Impact of excessive administrative work and workload of teachers on learner metacognition and academic excellence**

Too much administrative work has a "blanket" impact on every school setting, and it seriously threatens to take away teachers' professional concentration on instruction and student learning [11]. The impact of too much administrative and official tasks related to system imperatives, for example, requirements for complying with standardised reports and recording of progress, that includes learner progress, has been an increase in the workload of teachers [11]. In recent studies, there has been an increased emphasis on the workload of teachers as a component of a larger concern about the hiring, retention, wellbeing, and support of "quality" teachers [11]. To better understand the mechanism of learner metacognition and its effects literature confirms that highlights that reduced feedback and guidance can hinder learners' ability to reflect on their learning processes and make needed changes [12]. Moreover,

### *Impact of Teacher Workload on Academic Excellence and Learners' Metacognition… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.114316*

teachers who are loaded with administrative duties may have limited time and energy to offer timely and constructive feedback to their learners. Given the ultimate impact that teachers have on learning and accomplishment of learners [13], it is crucial to comprehend the variables that affect their potential to "teach to their best and well" [14]. Self-analysis and introspection about one's learning experiences are also common components found in metacognition research for teachers with excessive workloads. Overworked and aggravated teachers are unlikely to engage learners in metacognitive activities such as reflection or dialogue [15]. Considering the above statement, limited reflection opportunities negatively affect learners' academic excellence since it prevents them from knowing where they can improve. The education profession entails being subjected to a variety of employment expectations, which frequently support an impression of a severe workload [1]. They add that other examples of workplace demand such as several meetings interfere with teachers' preparation time. Teachers with a heavy workload may choose to plan and assess lessons quickly aimed at memorization rather than encouraging critical thinking and metacognitive skills in learners [16]. This hinders learners' progress. According to [11], Australian (lower secondary) teachers "report working on average 43 hours per week, 5 higher than the average for TALIS countries," and they spend similar numbers of hours per week on a variety of work-related tasks.

Manuel et al. [11] further found that key drivers for increased workload for primary and secondary school teachers were administration, including high volumes of email workload; curriculum reform; data tracking, and marking and assessment are. In addition, reports are consistent regarding working hours of teachers, the complexity and time strains of their workload, the degree of compliance and additional "time consuming, cumbersome" administrative tasks consuming their teaching and learning time [17, 18]. In the study [17], 61% of teachers agreed that their jobs were stressful most of the time or frequently in the least. Therefore, this study sought to determine the impact that excessive administrative work and teacher workload have on learner metacognition and their academic excellence.

### **2.2 Impact of shortage of teachers and overcrowded classrooms on academic excellence and metacognition of learners**

Overcrowded classrooms make it difficult for teachers to produce desired results because most of the time they are unable to fully track learners' progress and to give proper attention to each learner needs as they are faced with large numbers of learners in small classrooms. According to Biyela [10], the quality of teaching and learning appears to be compromised by overcrowded classes with limited educators. Furthermore, Marais [19] study revealed that there is no individual support and no proper assessment in overcrowded classrooms. As Johnson [20] suggests, overworked teachers may adopt one-size-fits-all strategies without considering metacognition differentiation. Biyela [10] study emphasises the need for personalised learning experiences, highlighting the negative impact of one-size-fits-all teaching methods on learners' metacognition and academic excellence in overcrowded classrooms. In addition, most government secondary schools do not have sufficient teachers [21]. Ogunode et al. [21] submits that there is a problem of lack of academic staff in universities, whilst learner numbers are very large. Moreover, there is not enough time to provide all learners meaningful feedback, and providing individual coaching is not an option in overcrowded classrooms [19]. In addition, and importantly so, [10], established that teachers lacked the necessary skills to instruct in overcrowded classes as neither the district officials nor the Department of Basic Education provide teachers with enough training or support.

Marais [19] reports that learners lack motivation in overcrowded classrooms, as most learners do not participate in learning activities since they mainly feel tired because of high temperatures and noise in overcrowded classrooms, thus affecting academic excellence of learners. Marais [19] adds that there is disruptive behaviour and lack of resources in overcrowded classrooms, which contribute to lack of motivation of learners and poor focus on learning activities, particularly where many learners share one desk due to limited space and furniture. Furthermore, in overcrowded classrooms, teachers face a variety of difficulties, including fighting among students, loud classrooms, and student cheating brought on by stress from cramped seating and lack of space [10]. According to reports, common basic education institutions, often known as primary schools, lack trained teachers [21]. According to Ogunode et al. [21], efficiency of teaching and learning in an overcrowded classroom is threatened, learner performance is reduced and, subsequently, teachers are demoralised. Overcrowded classrooms breed stress and anxiety, which adversely impacts learner metacognition, and leads to heightened stress in teachers. Stress, learning setting, and metacognitive progress can be hampered. Learners may be distracted by the visible stress of educators, as stated by [22]. According to Manuel et al. [11], efficiency of teaching and learning in an overcrowded classroom is threatened; learner performance is reduced and, subsequently, teachers are demoralised.
