Teachers Under Pressure

Stress in the Teaching Profession

Cary Cooper, Cheryl Travers

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781138180703
• eBook ISBN: 9781135090357
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Our education system has undergone a process of enormous and rapid change, and all too often teachers have found that insufficient support has been offered to help them cope with this. As a result, most teachers now find that they experience stress of one sort or another at some point during their careers. As a direct reaction to this, the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) have commissioned a comprehensive study of the issue of teacher stress. This book reports on the findings of that study, and the implications this has not only for teachers, but also for the pupils they teach. Cary Cooper and Cheryl Travers' book: * helps to identify which teachers are currently at risk of stress * explores how teacher's problems vary according to where they work, their grade, whether they are male or female and the age range they teach * suggests ways in which the problems of teachers can be helped * suggests preventative action to minimise stress and maximise educational experience

Part I

Background to the Study of Teacher Stress

The proper study of mankind is books.

(Aldous Huxley)

1 Introduction

Why Teacher Stress?

The end result [of teacher stress] is that many talented men and women with high expectations of achievement are dispirited and disillusioned. Some leave the profession, others stay but are plagued by a multitude of physical, emotional and behavioural stress-related manifestations.

(Milstein and Golaszewski 1985)

The above comment outlines what happens as a response to teacher stress. The picture created is not a pleasant one but has to be taken seriously. In the last few years, the incidence of stress among teachers has received a considerable amount of attention, particularly by the press, teacher unions and academics (e.g. Phillips and Lee 1980). In an international review of teacher stress and burnout, Kyriacou (1987) refers to the occurrence and consequences of stress in the teaching profession in countries as widespread as Great Britain, the United States, Israel, Canada and New Zealand. The vast array of books, journal articles, newspaper reports and workshops has lead to a multiplicity of approaches and a wide variety of opinions with very little in the way of consensus. Due to the findings from these studies and the public display by teachers and their unions, teaching has recently become characterised as being among the league of traditionally viewed high-stress occupations (e.g. Milstein and Golaszewski 1985). Teachers are reported as being stressed by the workload, the behaviour of the pupils, lack of promotion prospects, unsatisfactory working conditions, poor relationships with colleagues, pupils and administrators and a host of other problems. There are a multitude of studies that draw attention to the prevalence of the perception of stress among school teachers (e.g. Kyriacou 1987).

Although there have been many attempts to investigate the real causes and symptoms of teacher stress, often the findings of such studies have not been consistent. A major problem has been the variety of ways in which people have studied the phenomena of teacher stress, and also the fact that teachers are often reluctant to admit the extent to which they experience stress due to the fear that it may be seen as a weakness. However, over the last 10 years there have been many changes that have resulted in disillusioned teachers expressing their concerns, and bringing the issue of teacher stress into the spotlight.

This book aims to explain and explore the causes and consequences of teacher stress in more detail, and to present the results of a major nationwide UK study of stress among teachers. Comprising seven chapters, the book is divided into three parts. In this chapter of Part I we shall provide a backdrop to the study and outline the changes that teachers have been experiencing. This chapter will also provide a working definition of stress as used throughout the book and the research upon which it is based. Chapters 2 and 3 will explore the consequences and sources of stress in the teachers’ environment. Part II will present the results of the study with Chapter 4 describing the sample, Chapter 5 documenting how Britain’s teachers are responding to stress and Chapter 6 reporting on the sources of pressure and their effects. Finally, Part III will make recommendations as to some of the ways stress in Britain’s schools may be alleviated.

Change and its Effect on Teacher Stress

Whatever the merits of such changes and their final outcomes, there is no doubt that radical change in itself, is a source of stress and its possible effects and consequences for schools need to be positively managed.

(HMSO 1990)

Cox et al. (1988) have identified change as a major factor among current sources of stress for teachers and adds that it is: ‘not only change, but change-on-change beyond the control of most teachers that is a cause of stress.’ Many of the pressures of change, associated with increased demands on time (e.g. changes in the curriculum), require teachers to assimilate proposed changes, examine their current practice and, in the light of new requirements, modify it. In addition, they are expected to evaluate the success of these modifications by assessing the progress of pupils, and to review their practice accordingly.

A Brief History of the Background to the Changes

By the late 1970’s a number of LEA’s began to appreciate the scale of the falling birth rate and the effect it would have upon their school rolls. For some, the prospect was that by 1990 they would not have enough pupils to fill half their existing schools. Change was inevitable, yet the issue of what to do with surplus capacity in schools generated a number of controversies.

(Ranson 1990)

Between 1955 and 1975, education was the fastest growing service whether in the public or the private sector (Cheshire 1976). This was in part due to: a rising birth rate, economic growth and political will. In addition, growing school populations after World War II led to a greater emphasis upon expanding educational programmes to provide equal opportunities for development for all pupils (James 1980). Many would argue that the ‘widespread belief in the benefit of education to society and the economy’ (Ranson 1990) does not exist at present.

As educational growth occurred, expectations of the standards of the service increased, and the 1970s brought concern as to whether the ambitions were being fulfilled, particularly in evaluation of achievement and behaviour, curriculum and preparation for transition from school to work. Also the question arose as to whether the teachers were properly accountable to parents and the community, as well as to the LEA. A major question leading to changes in the curriculum span was the desire to reduce the differences between schools and further education (DES 1980), i.e. redirect teaching towards the needs of industry and employment (cf. MSC 1984), or widen curricular choice and expand educational opportunity (Hargreaves Report 1984; Pring 1984; Ranson et al. 1986).

The reverse of these features were those which led to the contraction of education in the mid-1970s. Many changes taking place within education have been due to a dramatic fall in the birth rate between the years 1964 and 1977, and only a slight rise since then. This has had a dramatic effect on the number of pupils in school and the peak of 9 million in 1977 was expected to decline to below 7 million by 1990. Although subsequently it was expected to increase, it could not be expected to increase the school rolls automatically. This meant that LEAs could not anticipate filling the spare places in classes, as young people were also choosing to leave school to go on to further training.

In addition, after the Middle East war in 1973, many cuts in public expenditure and local authority spending were made and were designed to reduce education costs, which accounted for 60 per cent of local government budgets. Ranson (1990) states that Peston (1982) and Stewart (1983) revealed substantial cuts in allocated expenditure, when analysing the value of rate support grants in ‘real’ terms, and that constraints on expenditure have grown more severe in the 1980s. This has had serious implications for the working environment of teachers. The HM Inspectorate produced annual reports on effects of expenditure policies in education and concluded that:

Many schools are finding it increasingly difficult to replace old books, equipment and furniture, to implement curricular change, and to respond to planned changes in assessment and examination procedures.

(HMI 1986)

This is likely to have effects on the teachers and, inevitably, on the young people in schools (Hewton 1986), and will affect morale and the quality of teaching. Claims by the Conservative government that spending per pupil has risen since 1979, may indeed be accurate, but as LEAs have been reluctant to close schools and reduce teaching forces, cuts in other areas of expenditure have been inescapable.

The fact that there were a number of elements of transformation and challenge occurring simultaneously for teachers throughout this period, which required major changes in the operation of the service (i.e. ‘No change was not an option’ (Fiske 1978)) have had a number of implications, affecting the job of teaching, which will be briefly outlined in the following sections.

Changes in the Job of the Teacher

The Education Reform Act (1988) introduced the following changes:

1. the introduction of the National Curriculum and testing and assessment;
2. new requirements for religious worship;
3. local financial management of schools;
4. changes in the membership, responsibilities, and powers of governing bodies;
5. granting schools the right to ‘opt-out’ of local authority control;
6. establishment of city technology colleges;
7. open enrolment.

One of the changes that has resulted in a great deal of disruption in the education sector, has been the introduction of the assessment and testing of seven year olds. Recently there have been many disagreements with regard to these changes. The NUT, for example, Britain’s largest teaching union, attempted to boycott the tests, only to have their members vote against the boycott, in an effort to avoid another head-on collision with the government.

In addition, there have been other major governmental changes in the five years prior to the study which have also added ‘fuel to the already simmering fire’.

1. Abolition of the teachers’ Pay Review Body and its replacement by an ‘Advisory Committee’.
2. Changes in conditions in service, in particular the introduction of the ‘Directed time budget’ and compulsory assumption of new responsibilities.
3. GRIST (Grant-Related-In-Service-Training) and five Baker Days for INSET training.
4. Technical and Vocational Educational Initiative (TVEI).
5. Abolition of the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA).

These changes have lead to extra pressures being imposed upon teachers, with greater levels of uncertainty, job insecurity and the restructuring of teaching itself. Local Management of Schools and new ways of working brought in by the Education Reform Act, have put enormous pressures on those working within schools. It is not just changes in governmental policies that have led to problems for teachers. As Esteve (1989) explains:

accelerated social changes have had a profound effect on the part played by teachers in the teaching process, without many teachers having known how to adapt themselves to these changes.

Naturally, with increasing change and new policies, added administration and information packages have been introduced. A teacher from the West Midlands was quoted as saying: They used to send us letters, now it’s videos and books’ {The Independent on Sunday, 24 March 1991).

This increased need for administration is reported to be a problem for teachers, and this may have subsequent effects on their job satisfaction and attitudes towards teaching as a whole. For example, a female primary teacher was reported in the same newspaper as saying:

It’s the sheer volume of new things we have to take on board. Look at this [she indicates a pile of fat booklets containing details of the tests and how to mark them] – it all has to be read and digested this weekend. A lot of teachers are getting to the stage when they feel, ‘what about me and life beyond teaching?’.

The next chapter will look at the consequences of stress in teaching, and in particular teachers’ intentions to leave the profession. This seems to be a way in which teachers are reflecting their discontent. Esteve (1989) explains that the major problems resulting from these changes described above are due to the fact that:

administrators have come up with no strategies for coping with this new situation, above all, in the training of teachers, where no effort has been devoted to answering the demands created by the aforementioned changes.

He identified five recent major societal changes that have imposed pressure on teachers and have therefore created reasons as to why the study of teacher stress is growing increasingly important. These changes are those which Esteve refers to as ‘secondary factors’ (i.e. environmental-based, affecting the situation in which teaching takes place). ‘Primary factors’, on the other hand, are those which have a direct effect on the teacher in the classroom (e.g. pupil behaviour). The secondary changes Esteve refers to are:

• transformation of the role of the teacher and of the traditional agents of social integration;
• increasing contradictions in the role of the teacher;
• changes in the attitude of society towards the teacher;
• uncertainty about the objectives of the education system and the furthering of knowledge;
• the deterioration of the image of the teacher.

Transformation of the Role of the Teacher and of the Traditional Agents of Social Integration

The demands facing teachers have changed quite dramatically in the last 15–20 years, leading to greater responsibilities being imposed upon teachers. At the same time, the family and community in general have been accepting less responsibility for the educational well-being of the child. The major problems facing teachers, however, are due to the fact that these increases in responsibility have not necessarily or adequately been accompanied by appropriate changes in facilities and training to equip them to deal with these new demands. Therefore, the process of adaptation has not been an easy one and has led to confusion as to what the role of the teacher actually is (Goble and Porter 1980). This situation was summed up by a teacher when she said that teachers are now expected to be surrogate parents and social workers as well as educators:

With some of the kids I feel that I’m bringing them up. The parents expect me to do their disciplinarian work.

(The Independent on Sunday, 24 March 1991)

According to Claude Merazzi (1983), who is Director of a major Swiss training college, society expects teachers to fulfil the function of resolving conflicts. Training, therefore, needs to take this into account, but often fails to do so. He has outlined three fundamental features of this change, which are a result of the increase in ‘dual career families’ (Cooper and Lewis 1994): the amount of time parents can spend with their children; the size of families; and changes in the degree of involvement in the task of education from parents to other relatives (e.g. older brothers/sisters, aunts, uncles and grandparents). Therefore, these ‘voids’ have to be considered by teachers, as many parents believe that more should be done for their children while they are in school.

There have also been changes in the role of the teacher as a ‘transmitter of knowledge’ in the traditional sense. Teachers are often having to modify their traditional role in order to incorporate the style of powerful ‘media’ linked sources of information (e.g. TV, computers). This may not always be possible, if the resources within the school are not sufficient to meet the needs of all of the children within it.

Today’s society has very clear views on the role of school, education and society; this means that whatever stance teachers may take, they face possible criticism. It might indeed be the case that if teachers do not clearly define the type of education the...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Part I: Background to the study of teacher stress
• Part II: A study of teacher stress
• Part III: Recommendations
• Appendix 1: Glossary of terms
• Appendix 2: Stress questionnaire
• Appendix 3: Sources of pressure tables
• Bibliography
• Index