“STRESS MANAGEMENT MATTERS

FOR BOTH SCHOOL LEADERS AND TEACHERS”

Dorota Ekiert-Oldroyd, Higher School of Pedagogy, Katowice, Poland

1. General definitions of stress2. Characteristics of teacher stress3. The Polish study of teacher stress

- frequency- factors- relations with school leader

4. Coping strategies5. Implications for school leaders

6. Sources of teacher stress in the UK

IntroductionResearch in Poland and elsewhere indicates

that organizational factors and relationships with school leaders are significant causes of stress for teachers

SO school leaders should learn how to manage

stress in their own work AND

how - together with others – to make schools less stressful work environments

Bust of Hans Selye at Selye Janos University, Komarno, Slovakia. [Source:

Wikipedia]

General definitions “All the non-specific changes within the biological

system that occur when challenged by aversive or noxious stimuli” Selye, 1950

Stress is a feeling experienced when a person thinks that "the demands of the situation exceed the personal and social resources that the individual is able to mobilize.” Lazarus, 1978

Work-related stress is defined as “a psychological state that reflects a process of interaction between individuals and their work environment” Report on research on work-related stress, University of Nottingham, 2000

"the demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.”

Research findings show that long-term pressures and disadvantageous work circumstances are causing burnout which destroys personal and professional efficacy.

Holmes and Rahe’s (1987) Scale of Stress Events:

factors connected with the work environment

Dismissal from work 47Retirement 45 Change to different line of work 36Change in responsibilities at work 29Outstanding personal achievement 28Trouble with boss 23 Change in working hours or conditions

20

Teachers’ stressC. Kyriacou & J. Sutcliffe (1978) defined teachers’ stress as “a

syndrome of negative emotions (anger or depression) as a result of the profession.” Characteristics of teachers’ stress are a “fear of losing face, influence and control” and – as a result – the general feeling of incompetence . Personality factors such as patience and perseverance influence the perception of stressors and the behaviour teachers’ in stressful situations.

S.O. Brenner and R. Bartell (1984) have developed the concept of teacher stress and they see stress as an effect of many factors such as:

school-specific stressors which are stressors not found in other jobs.

the personal health of the individual, personality traits, available resources ,stressors not connected with work but other spheres of life.

Two forms of guiltAndy Hargreaves in "Changing Teachers;

Changing Times" (2001) describes two forms of teacher guilt:

 Persecutory guilt- caused by external

demands for accountabilityDepressive guilt- resulting from a failure to

meet the high expectations one sets for oneself as a dedicated professional wishing to serve the students to the best of one's ability

Teachers’ Work-Related Stress: Implementing the European

Autonomous Framework Agreement on Work-Related Stress European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) – Brussels 2009

“Work-related stress is not acknowledged as a problem in the education sector in all countries. Although almost 70% of the

27 countries which participated in the first ETUCE survey(2004) are aware of the existence of the European Social Partners’ Framework Agreement on work-related stress, only around 40% of them have taken steps to implement it at national level.”

“The most important stressors for teachers are related to the organisation of the work and to the working conditions and working environment at school. Stress is a symptom of organisational problems and not a separate workers’ weakness. It finds its roots in the way teaching and the school as a whole are organised. Physical aspects of the school environment, such as noise and poor ventilation, can also cause stress and should not be neglected”

The Multi-method Approach to measuring stress

Using various research methods; both qualitative and quantitative is desirable to create a balance between:

physiological measures - pulse, blood pressure, hormone level, etc.

self-reports – questionnaires, interviews, journals.

unobtrusive methods – analysing behaviours which are indicators of stress, e.g. neglecting the house, private records (diaries), absenteeism from work, observation, recording behaviours)

Focus of the Polish studyTo answer three questions :

1. How stressed are teachers in selected Polish schools?- perceived frequency- perceived factors- relations with school director

2. What coping strategies do teachers employ in dealing with stress?

3. How can school leaders help teachers in coping with professional stress ?

4 primary & 4 lower secondary schools Methods applied

Questionnaires (frequency; factors; leader relations)

Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) ( Endler and Parkers) three styles of coping with

stress (task-oriented; emotion-oriented; avoidance-oriented)

Interviews with teachers & school directors

Observations

Questionnaire results:Perceived frequency of stress

95% of teachers (n = 138) reported that stress is an element of their job but its frequency and level differs:

24% feel stressed every day18% several times a week 18% once/twice a week35% less frequently than every week5% reported that stress is never a

problem in their work

Teachers’ perceptions of the most common stress factorsToo much administrative work (documentation, “papers”)

64,5 %

Responsibilities for pupils’ safety and behaviour 61,5 %

Frequent changes in regulations & practice 56,5 %

Undisciplined pupils 54,3%

Low salaries, not correlated with workload 50,7 %

Working with difficult pupils 47,1 %

“Problems” with school leaders 37,6 %

Meetings with parents 36,2 %

Noisy work conditions 32,6 %

Teacher’s perceptions of contacts with their school

director

Always helpful

Too busy

Stressfulcontacts

Too demanding

CISS results: Coping with stress Task-oriented coping style 70%Emotion-oriented coping style 13%Avoidance-oriented coping style 17%

The results are optimistic as the task-oriented style is the most pragmatic and effective way of dealing with stress at work, but the psychological costs of this strategy might be high.

A framework for school leader development: The AUTA Model of Stress Management

AWARENESS (knowledge about stress; distress and eustress and related theories)

UNDERSTANDING (what is stress? what is it’s influence on me? how does it affect my work? do I see stress as challenge, threat or loss?

TECHNIQUES (how to deal with stress)

(SELF) ACTUALISATION (achieving well-being and a better life; avoidance of professional burnout)

What can school leaders do?Organisational design (positive

psychological and physical environment, workloads, in-school support for teachers based on team work, ‘social time’, task clarity documented policies, etc.)

School-based and other professional development (stress management training; mutual lesson observation, etc.)

Personal counselling and career advice (professional tutoring; „hands on”management; offering encouragement to build personal efficacy, etc.)

- Lack of help and support from the LEA- Constant changes - Lack of sufficient information about changes - Lack of respect for teachers - National Curriculum - Disproportion between salaries and effort - Pupil assessment - Problems with difficult students - Insufficient time for contacts with students - Lack of correlation between the quality

of work and job promotion - Travers and Cooper, 1996

:Ten most frequent sources of stress in UK teachers

In 2009 the situation in UK had not changed:

“Half of all teachers have considered leaving the profession due to stress, citing the long hours, excessive workload, lack of support and poor pupil behaviour, violence, excessive monitoring, disruptive pupils, constant change and workplace bullying, - these aren't just stresses, these are teachers' stresses.” National Union of Teachers

“Depression, anxiety and burnout have become the teacher's disease, although often it remains hidden.” Daily Mail

Three interesting sources European Trade Union Committee for Education Teachers’ Work-Related Stress: Implementing the European Autonomous Framework Agreement on Work-Related Stress Brussels, 2009

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2004/10/feature/eu0410206f.htm

European Agency for Safety and Health at

Work Office for Official Publications of the European

Communities.Research on Work-related StressLuxembourg, 2000