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Teachers' Perspectives on Principal Mistreatment
Teacher Education Quarterly, Fall 2006 by Blase, Joseph, Blase, Jo
On paper we had shared governance, but it lasted only a week or two. Adminis- trators figured out that it would look good to pretend that we were doing it. They set up this committee with three teachers to represent all the teachers, and they met every three weeks. Everything that got taken to themóall of the issuesówere slapped right back down. Finally, everybody just gave up because it didnít matter. ìWhat are we doing this for?Î
All 50 of the teachers interviewed indicated that their principalsí conduct toward them significantly impaired decision making in the school.
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For most teachers, principal mistreatment had serious deleterious consequences for all major aspects of classroom life including the quality of instruction and social relationships with students. In general, teachers described feelings of ìstress,Î ìparanoia,Î ìinsecurity,Î ìfear,Î ìdread,Î ìself-doubt,Î and lowered motivation with regard to classroom teaching:
My emphases and my thoughts went away from the curriculum as I wondered where the principal was. I was paranoid. Was he coming to my class, what was going on? . . . I have avoided new ideas that I would have implemented in class because they would have involved the principalís support. I felt vulnerable. I knew the principal would not back me. My relationship with students became stressed.
More precisely, teachers disclosed that abusive principals forced them to employ traditional methods of teaching that they viewed as ìrigid,Î ìauthoritarian, Î ìdated,Î and ìineffective.Î Such methods emphasized lecture, rote and recitation, drill, and worksheets, and were associated with significant reductions in teachersí motivation, responsiveness to diversity, risk-taking, creativity and innovation, planning, preparation, and variation in the use of instructional strategies and materials. Furthermore, teachers described the increased use of authoritarian, control-oriented, ìimpersonalÎ methods of classroom discipline, an expectation of most abusive principals. Important adverse effects were also discussed for teachersí social relationships with students; reductions in teacher caring, patience, tolerance, and humor were apparent:
I was less motivated to try new things or even ask for advice on how to implement a new instructional unit and methods in my classroom. I was constantly angry at the students. . . . I had to internalize my anger to prevent trouble from students or parents because I knew that the principal would not support me. My authority in the classroom had been undermined; so I was very uncomfortable about how to deal with the students and the class. I did not try as hard or put forth the effort toward my classroom duties. Every teacher was guarded in the classroom and in discussions and conferences with parents. Eventually, coming to school and to class was a dreaded event. When I received letters of reprimand during class, my students witnessed my reaction. I was not able to teach effectively at all. At first, I tried to ignore the negative environment, but eventually I became withdrawn. I taught straight from the book. I put in as little time as possible. I didnít get very close to the students. My motivation for teaching became zero. I was constantly on edge. My nerves were shot and I would sometimes treat students in a negative manner because of the principalís abuse.
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