stress in the secondary school: a management strategy for reducing stress among staff

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This article was downloaded by: [University of Auckland Library] On: 18 December 2014, At: 16:05 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Pastoral Care in Education: An International Journal of Personal, Social and Emotional Development Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rped20 Stress in the Secondary School: A Management Strategy for Reducing Stress among Staff Richard Turner a a Harris CE High School , Rugby Published online: 28 Jul 2009. To cite this article: Richard Turner (1996) Stress in the Secondary School: A Management Strategy for Reducing Stress among Staff, Pastoral Care in Education: An International Journal of Personal, Social and Emotional Development, 14:3, 3-5, DOI: 10.1080/02643949609470969 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02643949609470969 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Page 1: Stress in the Secondary School: A Management Strategy for Reducing Stress among Staff

This article was downloaded by: [University of Auckland Library]On: 18 December 2014, At: 16:05Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: MortimerHouse, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Pastoral Care in Education: An International Journalof Personal, Social and Emotional DevelopmentPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rped20

Stress in the Secondary School: A ManagementStrategy for Reducing Stress among StaffRichard Turner aa Harris CE High School , RugbyPublished online: 28 Jul 2009.

To cite this article: Richard Turner (1996) Stress in the Secondary School: A Management Strategy for Reducing Stressamong Staff, Pastoral Care in Education: An International Journal of Personal, Social and Emotional Development, 14:3,3-5, DOI: 10.1080/02643949609470969

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02643949609470969

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) containedin the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose ofthe Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be reliedupon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shallnot be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and otherliabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to orarising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in anyform to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: Stress in the Secondary School: A Management Strategy for Reducing Stress among Staff

FEATURE ARTICLES EDITOR: PETER LANG

Stress in the Secondary School: A Management Strategy for Reducing Stress among Staff

RICHARD TURNER, Harris CE High School Rugby

Few teachers n e e d remind ing that stress remains a p rob lem for a significant n u m b e r of their colleagues, if no t for themselves . Richard Turner poin ts out bo th that schools have a responsibili ty to reduce stress a n d that s t ressed staff are less efficient. H e believes tha t as schools cannot allow the s tandard of academic work to d rop they m u s t review work that is not directly connected wi th teaching. Is it possible that a reduct ion in the tutorial role w o u l d p roduce an improvement in the teaching situation? Pastoral managers m a y need to reduce the workloads of member s of their team. The d i lemma is that commit ted tutors end u p taking on more and more . W e m u s t r emember that in the e n d pastoral care is the care of learning a n d w e should not get d r a w n into too m u c h which does not directly relate to this .

Teaching in a secondary school can be a stressful existence. There are day-to-day pressures which must be faced: lesson preparation and delivery, marking, report writing, dealing with problem pupils (and parents) . . . All of these are potentially stressful factors which are impossible to avoid and must be dealt with. There is considerable responsibility and expectations placed on staff which may add more pressure to an already stressful working situation. The following paper considers some factors which may contribute to why some individuals succumb to the symptoms of stress. It does not explain why others, in the same situation, do not appear to show the effects of stress. It further discusses the notion that schools should evaluate their working practices and procedures in order to alleviate stress. Staff working under stressful conditions will not be per­forming efficiently or effectively.

Employers have a duty under the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act to take all reasonably practicable steps to protect the health of employees. Stress, or rather excessive stress, can produce emotional, physiological and behavioural reactions which can be damaging to health as well as reducing the em­ployee's efficiency and effectiveness at work (Stock, 1991).

Typical factors which can lead to excessive stress in schools are:

• work overload (too much work, unreasonable deadline;

• undemanding work (lack of stimulus, too much routine, few demands on creativity);

• role conflicts (between home and work, between responsibility towards pupils and responsibility towards employer, between being a colleague and being an employee);

• lack of a sense of control (no say in how things are done, no consultation on matters about which the individual feels strongly, insecurity about reorgan­izations);

• lack of self-confidence (feeling undervalued, fear of aggressive colleagues and pupils, feeling in­adequate);

• lack of support and understanding (at home, from colleagues, parents, and/or headteacher);

• physical conditions (noise, too hot, too cold, crowded and uncomfortable staff rooms).

Victims of stress may well react to several of these factors. Events outside work can also be extremely stressful: bereavement, divorce, family problems, marriage, moving house, illness, etc. A compara­tively minor stress factor on top of other difficulties may be enough to produce extreme symptoms of stress.

Excessive stress will produce changes in the be­haviour of sufferers - the use of alcohol and tobacco, overeating, absenteeism, and aggressive, indifferent or irrational behaviour. A change in normal be­haviour should be considered as possibly indicating a need for assistance.

PASTORAL CARE - SEPTEMBER 1996 © NAPCE 1996. Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, UK and 238 Main Street, Cambridge MA 02142, USA.

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Page 3: Stress in the Secondary School: A Management Strategy for Reducing Stress among Staff

Schools must be aware of the pressures on staff and should examine how and when seemingly minor tasks turn into stressful situations. Staff should be encouraged to discuss their workload and pressures with the head of department or senior management. It may be that advice in prioritizing the tasks to be performed could be given. Managers have a super­visory role and need to be aware of the performance of the staff under their care. Practical help and support may be offered as well as emotional support; a problem shared is a problem halved! It may be impossible for a school to reduce the stress caused by events happening at home, but we can be sympa­thetic and try to ease the stress at work, if only on a temporary basis. The simple answer to relieving stress is to reduce the workload for staff. This is the dilemma for management: a reduction in the work­load or expectations placed on staff may result in a consequential reduction in the quality of the edu­cation of the pupils. The decision may boil down to 'Are we prepared to sacrifice the quality of the performance of the school in order to reduce the stress on an already overworked teaching force?' The answer must be that the quality of the learning and teaching should never be compromised and stan­dards must be maintained and improvements made. Schools need to consider the myriad of activities which do not directly relate to the work in the class­room. Can they be made easier to allow staff to con­centrate on their teaching role? I suggest a full evalu­ation of many of the school's procedures - reports, records of achievement, the role of the tutor, work experience.

The tutorial role has become an increasing load on teachers. Many would argue that this is a necessary aspect of modern teaching and it is vital if pupils are to benefit fully from their education at school. The practical situation may be that with a reduction in the number of staff, and an increasing workload, schools need to consider priorities. Would a reduction in the tutorial role produce an improvement in the teaching situation?

In schools where the role of a tutor is purely to check the register, the tutorial role is undemanding. This would allow the tutor to concentrate fully on the teaching and management commitments. However, I suspect that the increasing emotional and social problems experienced by pupils have resulted in pastoral systems which have more involvement of tutors and not just that of the Pastoral Head. The extent of the involvement of tutors depends on the level of 'tutor ascendency' within the school and also on the personal commitment and skills of the tutors. Tutors who are confident and capable in their pastoral role generally will take on and be given more tutorial responsibility and autonomy. This is a necessary and logical step and one which the Pastoral Head will sanction if only to relieve her/his own

pressure of work! How much responsibility should a tutor have for phoning parents, checking absences, attending case conferences, updating pupil files, writing to parents, careers guidance, reinforcing discipline and sanctions, etc.?

It has been asserted that tutor ascendency will lead to staff feeling more responsible and having more knowledge, awareness and power (Marland, 1974). The resulting positive feelings of involvement may also produce more tasks and even more pressure to take on additional responsibilities. Workload may be significantly increased. Autonomy may lead to in­creased job satisfaction if you can cope with the extra pressure. Tutors do not work alone but as a team led by the pastoral leader. The house head or year head has the task of using the experience and expertise of individual tutors to build a coherent, mutually sup­portive and complementary team. They should also offer support and counselling for tutors and monitor their fulfilment of the tutor's role (Ribbins et al., 1986). They clearly have a supervisory role for tutors and should be aware of the workload and pressures. Tutors must be encouraged to discuss their tutorial work and be offered the appropriate advice and support. The pastoral leader should endeavour to relieve their workload if it is deemed necessary for the well-being of the individual.

The role of the tutor in implementing the Personal and Social Education course is a possible area for a reduction in workload. The delivery of the PSE course is an opportunity for tutors to get to know their tutor group through teaching an aspect of the curriculum. This is the ideal method for building a relationship between the tutor and tutee, but are tutors prepared adequately for this additional teach­ing load? Are the pressures of delivering PSE adding to an existing and increasing teaching commitment? Are schemes of work and lesson plans prepared in advance by the PSE coordinators or are tutors re­quired to do all their own forward planning and research? Have staff been sufficiently trained to teach PSE? For some, it is their secondary teaching subject, after all. Involving tutors in the construction of a PSE course may increase their feeling of worth and owner­ship of the scheme but may prove to be an onerous burden on their preparation time. PSE has a vital contribution to the overall development of pupils, but should the delivery of a PSE course be distracting staff from their other teaching commitments? Am I really saying that PSE is not as important as maths, history and science? The answer is that it has equal worth and some would say greater value because of the change in attitudes and values it promotes. This paper is considering the stress and pressure on staff and consequently the pressure on the curriculum. There is only a finite amount of time even the most committed teacher can devote to the planning of lessons. If something has to go, or be done less well,

4 © NAPCE 1996, PASTORAL CARE - SEPTEMBER 1996

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Page 4: Stress in the Secondary School: A Management Strategy for Reducing Stress among Staff

what will it be? I suspect that for most staff it will be the PSE that suffers - unless, that is, you have the job of coordinating the PSE programme!

All schools have diverse arrangements for compiling the Records of Achievement of pupils. Some leave the production of these almost entirely to the pupil and see this as an opportunity to allow pupils to become more responsible for their own learning. In other schools, tutors are expected to have a lot more involvement and there may be timetabled time for interviews with pupils to take place. But how much of the Record of Achievement procedure needs the direct involvement of a tutor? Is it possible for tutees to produce Personal Statements without an indi­vidual interview with the tutor? Could the prepar­ation work, or even all of the Record of Achievement procedure, be covered within PSE lessons or even English lessons?

The philosophy of pastoral care needs to be exam­ined. Schools must decide the essential purpose of pastoral care. Do pastoral staff get drawn into areas of a pupil's welfare which they have little or no control over and have minimal effect upon? There are some pupil issues which arise directly from the home situ­ation - family issues, divorce, anti-social behaviour, shoplifting, drugs. Perhaps we should try to be sym­pathetic but not get drawn into direct involvement. Pastoral care is the 'care of learning', it must be firmly rooted in the learning situation. It is the caring nature of teachers which allows them to be drawn into help­ing in areas in which they have little experience and no hope of reaching a satisfactory conclusion. A hard-headed and practical attitude may have to be adopted by pastoral leaders and tutors not to take on more responsibility than is reasonable. An assertive example should be set by the pastoral leader. If there is an unstable home situation then the best thing the school can do is to provide a stable teaching situation. The school does not have the time, expertise or re­sources to resolve conflicts within a family so should not become involved directly.

The multitude of tasks required from both the teach­ing and tutorial roles is daunting for any individual. The exact nature of both roles needs to be considered. Jobs must be prioritized and a school must agree on what will be done, what will be done well and, un­fortunately, what will not be done. If, as a result of this evaluation, aspects of the tutorial role are not done, then this does not necessarily mean that the school is not committed to this vital area. It does mean that it has the welfare of the staff at heart as well as that of the pupils. It may be that by focusing staff onto the essential aspects of the tutorial role then these can be done well by all tutors. The net effect may be an improvement in the quality of pastoral care received by the pupils rather than a deterioration.

Many of the above suggestions will be unacceptable for some readers and will immediately be discounted as impractical and leading to an intolerable loss in quality of service for pupils. However, as stress appears to be a 'growth industry', steps need to be taken in order to reduce the effect on staff. If stress continues to increase then the effectiveness of the teaching may suffer and in consequence the learning of pupils will decrease.

References

MARLAND, M. (1974) Pastoral Care. London: Heinemann. RIBBINS, P., ADAMS, S., BEST, R., LANG, P., MAHER, P.,

MAYES, M., NAGRA, } . , NUTTALL, E. and WATKINS, C. (1986) Preparing for Pastoral Care. Oxford: NAPCE/Blackwell.

STOCK, B. (1991) Health and Safety in Schools. Kingston-upon-Thames: Croner Publishing.

Correspondence

Richard Turner Harris CE High School Overslade Lane Rugby Warwickshire CV22 6EA

PASTORAL CARE - SEPTEMBER 1996 © NAPCE 1996.

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