Change-linked work-related stress in British teachers

Research in Education, May 2002 by Brown, Marie, Ralph, Sue, Brember, Ivy

When considering the impacts of educational change and teaching on teachers, there is encountered a vast, often vaguely defined and overlapping literature on such matters as teacher stress, teacher burn-out, teacher morale, teacher satisfaction and teacher motivation; a literature which has expanded commensurately with educational innovation and change in the period since the 1960s. Frequently these matters are also the subject of debate and discussion in the public arena, the media, in election campaigns and in teachers' salary disputes.

Stress and its effective management are high on the agenda of many primary and secondary schools in Britain today. It has been identified as a major problem in nine out of ten workplaces (Warren and Towl, 1995), leading to rising absenteeism and low morale among staff. This is particularly true of schools. A raft of legislation, resulting from the Education Reform Act 1988, has advocated a locally managed approach to school governanance as part of reform strategies intended to lead to improved student learning outcomes. Subsequent legislation (the Education Acts of 1992, 1993 and 1994) and amendments of the National Curriculum have meant that schools have been going through a period of continual governmentally imposed change. As a result of the 1992 Act all schools are also subject to inspection once every six years. The consequence of all this change is best summed up by the head teacher of an infants' school in the study:

My post as head teacher of an infant school has changed dramatically since the passing of the 1988 Education Act. Political legislation has transformed the nature and scale of my work, minimising my training experience whilst thrusting me rapidly forward into budgeting, computing, site management, risk management, etc, - untrained and inexperienced.

Perspective on stress

In many countries teaching has been identified as one of the most stressful occupations. Studies in the United Kingdom have found typical rates of approximately one-third of teachers surveyed who have reported their job as stressful or extremely stressful (Kyriacou, 1987; Gold and Roth, 1993). There is increasing concern and awareness among the teaching profession and teaching unions that their members are experiencing considerable stress. The Assistant Masters' and Mistresses' Association (AMMA, 1990) points out that `Few would now dispute that teaching is a stressful profession, and it is widely acknowledged that the National Curriculum, LMS and other Education Reform Act developments are exacerbating an already tense situation' (p. 9).

Nattrass (1991), at the launch of the HSE 1991 report, defined stress `as the number one health problem amongst teachers'. The importance of this comment can be contextualised more readily when one reads that in the 1980s and 1990s the number of teachers leaving the profession through ill health nearly trebled (Dunham, 1992). Retirements and drop-outs through ill health numbered 1,617 in 1979 and 4,123 in 1990, with steady yearly increases in the early 1980s and a big increase since 1988. The total annual cost of stress to the education service has been estimated to be as high as L230 million.

Stress or stress-related illnesses are often cited as a reason for teachers taking early retirement. Carvel and Macleod (1995) reported that recruitment to the profession is failing to keep up with increasing stress-related early retirement. Anderson (1978) has suggested that there is frequently a high amount of stress-related illness in groups of people who are responsible for the care of others, while Watts and Cooper (1992) state that the environment in which people work can have a direct effect on their stress levels: `Until stress is recognised fully as a specific and detrimental influence on health, individuals will continue to hide the truth from themselves and their employers, going "off sick", and adopting poor and potentially fatal coping strategies' (p. 49).

Occupational stress

Definitions of stress can range from Selye's (1956) physiologically based demand-response model to definitions which are interactional in nature (Cox, 1978). Also there are those definitions which view coping and control as an integral factor in the perception of stress (Freeman, 1986; Fischer, 1986). For the purpose of this article an individual's experience of stress is considered to be entirely subjective and therefore dependent on that person's interpretation and appraisal of a situation. Occupational stress is an important issue in the teaching profession because of the health problems and reduction in work performance effectiveness which can be its consequence (Quick and Quick, 1984). These can lead to poorer teaching performance, lowered self-esteem, poor job satisfaction, increased absenteeism, poor decision-making and bad judgement (Eckles, 1987; Quick and Quick, 1984).

Research approach

Our object in this research study with teachers from Manchester primary and secondary schools was to identify major stressors in their schools. A qualitative approach was seen as an appropriate means of investigation in order to provide rich descriptions and explanations of situational influences. Qualitative research methodology also allows insight from the subjects' view of what is being studied, not simply from the researcher's.