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The stress involved in a career in teaching has increased considerably in recent years. In England and Wales the implementation of the Education Reform Act has led to a whole range of organisational and curricular changes to add to the existing pressures of discipline problems, poor working conditions and low pay. Anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties and even physical illness are just some of the symptoms that result. This established guide, now wholly updated for teachers and managers in the 1990s, shows how to recognize the signs of stress and how to develop strategies to control it. Its practical advice, field-tested in numberous workshops for teachers and heads, should help scholls to reduce pressures on their staff by the development of satisfactory whole-school policies and teachers to be more effective in the management of their own stress levels.
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STRESS IN TEACHING Second Edition The stress involved in a career in teaching has increased considerably in recent years. With the implementation of the Education Reform Act in England and Wales, a whole range of organizational and curricular changes have been added to the existing pressures of discipline problems, poor working conditions and low pay. Anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties and even physical illness are just some of the symptoms that result. This established guide, now completely updated for teachers and managers in the 1990s, shows how to recognize the signs of stress and how to develop strategies to control it. Its practical advice, field-tested in numerous workshops for teachers and heads, will help schools to reduce pressures on their staff by the development of satisfactory wholeschool policies, and teachers to be more effective in the management of their own stress levels. Jack Dunham is a freelance stress management consultant and a tutor in Further Professional Studies at the University of Bristol. He has taught in both primary and secondary schools and worked as an educational psychologist. STRESS IN TEACHING Second Edition Jack Dunham London and New York First published 1992 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge a division of Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc. 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1992 Jack Dunham All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Dunham, Jack. Stress in teaching/Jack Dunham. —2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-415-06634-4 (Print Edition). —ISBN 0-415-06635-2 (pbk.) 1. Teachers—Great Britain—Job Stress. 2. Teachers—Great Britain—Workload. I. Title. LB2840.2.D86 1992 371.1’001’9–dc20 91–44817 CIP ISBN 0-203-03738-3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-17579-4 (Glassbook Format) For Lee and Holly pupils in the Post Reform Era CONTENTS List of figures List of tables Preface to the second edition List of abbreviations viii ix x xiii 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 PROBLEMS CAUSED BY ORGANIZATIONAL AND CURRICULAR CHANGES BEFORE THE REFORM ACT 1988 5 3 THE EFFECTS OF THE REFORM ACT 1988 ON TEACHERS’ ROLES 21 PROBLEMS OF ROLE CONFLICT AND ROLE AMBIGUITY 30 5 PRESSURES OF CHILDREN’S BEHAVIOUR 44 6<