Pensamiento Estadístico

Having a high workload, with many things happening at once, and the continual paperwork were also mentioned as sources of stress at Red School. Many teachers talked about their personal ways of dealing with the stress of having such a high workload. Tactics included overeating, having time out, watching mindless television and bribing their children with sweets to keep them well behaved. Although stress was mentioned in all of the interviews and in many discussions at Red School, observations and three interviews stated that the stress was alleviated by the excellent organisation of the administration and that expectations were clear, and they knew what was expected of them. The deputy principal when asked to rate the level of stress in the school environment stated:

"I think it's low stress because the expectations are clear and there's reasonable feedback, there are reasonable targets and there are reasonable resources". (Sr lOP)

It was repeatedly indicated in the interview and observation data that the principal had high expectations of his staff and senior management team. Again these high expectations were clearly stated, there was no ambiguity as to teachers' responsibilities or duties. Five out of five staff (including the p rincipal) interviewed stated that their role and responsibilities were very clear. One teacher stated:

"When he's (the principal) not happy he really lets you know. Its very straight and very upfront". (Sr IT)

Memorandums and staff meeting notes provided staff with clearly organised goals and staff development was regularly provided. Staff also talked about the syndicates as having a shared goal, or a shared vision and observational notes suggested a strong cohesiveness amongst staff which was hard to quantify but was noticed in the banter amongst teachers. There tended to be

less negative comments and more positive discussion with suggestions of improving matters rather than negative, derogatory comments. There was also much humour with cartoons placed daily on the school newsletter. As previously discussed, Red School principal used a mixed style of leadership that involved relying heavily on his senior staff and using a considerable amount of consultation and collaboration. In seeking out the views of staff, but also making decisions himself, he appeared to be effective in achieving a suitable amount of autonomy. As one teacher stated:

"We have a considerable amolU1t of freedom, in meetings we are always invited to say our piece and bring up issues. I have also been to discuss

certain things in private". (Sr /T)

Observations of meetings at Red School revealed that teachers were not directly encouraged to be self sufficient, but were given many opportunities to make personal decisions. For example in curriculum matters, teachers would mostly work out their teaching plans as a team, but develop subjects and how they were taught based on their own ideas. As one teacher stated in a d iscussion:

"You can't really work on your own as a teacher, you have to work as a team in your syndicate. Some teachers share resources and ideas more than others, but you 'get on' better if you share .. , those that don' t share don' t really fit in". (Sr /T)

With major decisions there was a variable amount of autonomy in that these would be tabled for staff meetings or predominantly made by the principal and senior staff. When asking a junior whether she had enough autonomy in making decisions she stated:

"Yes, it's fine. I mean I wish to be consulted about the things that effect me directly but I honestly don't know if I would want to be consulted over every little thing, people are never going to agree so there has to be decisions made, that 's what a principal is for". (Sr /T)

When asking this same staff member whether creative ideas are fostered, and could one try new ways of doing things, his reply was:

"Yes, of course, as long as it doesn' t require vast sums of money or resources, senior staff are pretty keen to try new things". (Sr/T)

6. 2. 7 Blue School · Administrative Environment

Leadership/Oecision-Making and Efficiency

The principal of Blue School had been in his position for eleven years and had a wide range of school experience. Five out of six interviews described his leadership style as a mixture of autocratic and collaborative. Two teachers interviewed classified the principal's style as conservative or 'old style', having tight control of how significant decisions are made and democratic with delegation used amongst senior staff. When discussing leadership style the principal stated that he has to 'get alongside members of staff or whoever I'm supposed to make a decision about'. The principal went on to state:

"I have to suss it out, get the facts and figures in front of me, and then I'll make a decision, and when I've made a decision that's it, so I guess a collegial decision is on a one to one basis. I'm not a person who makes a decision without having collegial input on big decisions. Day to day decisions I make all the time". (Sb/P)

Three out of six interviews and observation notes indicated that he was respected but that staff were wary of him. One teacher stated that "you could never be quite sure what he was thinking". Despite these views the principal had a warm and friendly manner, and the researcher felt welcome to

participate in the life of the school. An interview with the principal revealed that he had taken on board the new ideals of

Tomorrow 's Schools.

He stated:

"I've got far more autonomy lmder the new system than I had under the old system. I'm in charge of finance in the school, virtually, and I can plan what's purchased and what's not p urchased. Within a certain realm I'm a decision­ maker. I can employ staff. I can choose my staff which is a hell of a plus, it's a really good thing". (Sb/P)

As acknowledged by most people involved in education,

Tomorrow 's Schools

has reflected a change in role for principals in particular. Interview data from Blue School's deputy principal, also mentioned that the principal's role had changed from being 'hands on', directly involved with teaching curriculum to that of an administrator or 'PR' person with less time involved getting to

know the children. The principal of Blue School was criticised for this in that he did not visit the classrooms or know the children. Two other staff members also talked about the principal as being the 'old style' who liked to have

everything passed or checked by him and whose style was authoritarian but also warm and friendly. Three out of six interviews revealed that the female members of staff preferred to take problems to the female deputy principal who was described as the 'new style' of leader, very open, totally up front, honest and easy to talk to'.

The staff at Blue School appeared to be happy with the way decisions were made. Observations made at syndicate meetings note that they were

collaborative, open, friendly and with humour often present. Decision­ making was shared with teachers solving problems for each other although senior staff tended to have more authority.

Along with high expectations, there was definitely a performance requirement at Blue School. The DP stated that this was built into the teacher's job function and that teachers were expected to be efficient by having good work planning which was demonstrated especially in the junior classes by the children's work on the walls. Discussing this issue further the assistant principal stated:

"Your effectiveness tends to show up, for example, all the people who teach

in the J.l area, their children have a six year net, that's a test. It measures what

they're reading and writing. So there are patterns that emerge of what the children know and don't know, so there are some instances that measure how

the teachers are performing and whether they're being efficient". (Sb / AP)

Efficiency was also instilled by senior management who provided support and guidance. One example of this support was from the DP to a first year teacher. The beginning teacher explained:

"The OP goes through my planning twice a term, I bring all my planning and she goes through with me and she makes notes which are helpful and

keep me on track". (Sb /BT)

"Yes, were expected to be efficient and productive. I tend to ask for help, some people don't like to do this because they think that people will think

they're not coping, but I don' t. If I have any problems I always ask for help, I

say 'I have this problem kid, what would you do?"(Sb/T)

Blue School's provision of standardising things like planning forms, so that they could be done reasonably quickly and easily, and keeping assessment evaluation to a concise standard were also helpful aids to efficiency. Although efficiency was not discussed as a separate topic, it was frequently mentioned in the field notes and by staff. For example, four out of five interviews mentioned that the principal was efficient and organised. The DP also stated that the principal had a 'good business head'. Although this school did not appear to be as organised and efficient as was Red School, it did appear that staff were clearly organised and knew what they were doing. Staff meetings were well planned, and the three attended by the researcher did not go over an hour.

Workload, Role Ambiguity, Expectations and Autonomy

As with the other three schools, the workload was high, with increased numbers of students in classrooms and ongoing assessment that kept teachers working after school hours and in weekends. Observation and field notes stated that teachers seemed to be very focused in their role. In their morning breaks arid lunch breaks they talked about work and it appeared that their life revolved around school. Managing the high workload with good organisation was one measure advocated by the deputy principal. She stated:

"I try to manage my workload and one of the things I do and encourage the teachers to do, every day they carry boxes home from school and I say to them, "if you want a night off leave i t at school, walk out with your handbag, you're perfectly entitled to go home without it. Because the trouble with taking it home is that you think that you should do it, that's a stress, so I

say 'leave it at school, don't take it home! " (Sb / DP)

Blue School's senior staff also tried to make the work load lighter by

standardising things like plalUling forms, long term planning formats so that they could be done reasonably quickly and easily. Management of assessment evaluation was also kept to a concise standard so that it was manageable.

The staff also all appeared to come from a similar socio-economic

background. All were well groomed and reflected the stable, conservative atmosphere of the school. Observation, journal notes and discussions

amongst staff indicated that the Blue School principal was not a 'hard driving principal', that he had high expectations and requirements from his staff, but they were reasonable. The deputy principal was to mention however that there was a definite performance requirement, but that it was not a pressure requirement. When discussing the expectations of her role the deputy

principal stated:

"P gives me enough release time to actually do the things I have to do. He does not have unrealistic expectations of what will be done. I mean I am meant to do things like liase with pre-schools and, if there is no time for it, he will give me half a day here and there to go out and do what I have to do. He

and I have got what I consider to be a pretty relaxed working relationship.

From time to time I'll overstep the mark and he will tell me I've overstepped the mark and that's ok". (Sb / DP)

Two junior staff also talked about expectations as being unspoken, that 'one picked up' as one went. They also stated that there were no open discussions about what was expected of them, although it was generally understood that one was expected to attend meetings, perform duties, stay after school and contribute to extra curricular events, for example. When asked about general expectations and taking on extra duties one of the junior teachers stated:

"There's an expectation and if you weren't meeting that expectation you would be soon be told, or told and directed towards it. Yeah, its unwritten, you're directed towards taking two or three areas. If you don't , you'll be put into it on the pretext that you'd be good at it. This school's very conservative, there is no one that would dare challenge things like being late to school, or miss meetings, I really think you'd be out on your ear, but no one's ever done this". (Sbff)

Role ambiguity was not observed openly. While there were unspoken rules or expectations in terms of duty or responsibility, when it came to planning, (subjects or themes) syndicate meetings were times when teachers could clarify requirements and go over teaching plans. Field notes showed that it was mostly the junior or relieving teachers who asked questions for help in order to clarify what was expected of them. Staff meetings and special curriculum meetings also provided guidance and assistance in areas of

change, for example, where new subject knowledge or teaching approaches were being implemented.

"There's an expectation and if you weren't meeting that expectation you would be soon be told, or told and directed towards it. Yeah, i ts lffiwritten, you're directed towards taking two or three areas. If you don't , you'll be put into it on the pretext that you'd be good at it. This school's very conservative, there is no one that would dare challenge things like being late to school, or miss meetings, I really think you'd be out on your ear, but no one's ever done this". (Sb /T)

Role ambiguity was not observed openly. While there were unspoken rules or expectations in terms of duty or responsibility, when it came to planning, (subjects or themes) syndicate meetings were times when teachers could clarify requirements and go over teaching plans. Field notes showed that it was

mostly the j unior or relieving teachers who asked questions for help in order to clarify what was expected of them. Staff meetings and special curriculum meetings also provided guidance and assistance in areas of change, for example, where new subject knowledge or teaching approaches were being implemented.

Blue School's principal, as mentioned previously, used a mixed style of

leadership that was both collaborative and autocratic, and it appeared that staff had less autonomy than in Red or Green School. Field notes suggested that the principal was quite controlling and wanted to be informed of things happening in the school. This observation was confirmed by the assistant principal who reiterated that the principal liked to know everything that was going on in the school. The assistant principal stated:

"You can make decisions, that's fine, and the principal never queries them, but he likes to see the bit of paper. If you want something, like a major budgetary thing, he really likes to see it all on paper for justification and I think that's pretty standard practice". (Sb / AP)

The deputy principal in her discussion of autonomy and decision making also made similar remarks:

"There are some things that come top down, R will say "this is the way its going

to be", and often it is because there are outside factors that influence it. But if it is at a syndicate level, what topics we're going to study, or where we want to go, what kind of headings we want to take, we do have autonomy, although its collaborative. Everyone has a say, we try and get consensus" . (Sb /DP)

When asked if teachers are free to make their own decisions in the classroom, it appeared in fact that autonomy was quite high, the deputy principal stated:

"At the beginning of the year, I ask for copies of teachers' timetables, and I check that all the areas of curriculum are there. In terms of curricultun only fitness and reading are dictated. Fihless is done in the morning, because it gets everybody out there. Reading is done at the same time so we can cross group, but really, within tha t parameter they can set their timetables to suit themselves". (Sb l OP)

Two younger teachers mentioned, in casual conversations with the researcher, that they had a considerable amount of freedom, that in meetings they were invited to bring up issues and in their classroom they could basically teach as they liked. Although teachers were not observed in their classrooms, Blue School's staff when observed in syndicate meetings were given many

opportunities to make personal decisions. For example, in curriculum matters, teachers could suggest ways to develop subjects and how they were taught. One teacher discussed this issue:

"R (the principal) lets us do our own thing. He never comes in the classroom, I think he's too busy, so, yes, we have a lot of autonomy, we decorate our classrooms as we please and arrange furniture how we like, but we still go by the curricultun guidelines and our syndicate leader oversees our plamung".

(Sb IT)

6. 2. 8 Swnmary: Administrative Environment

High and low burnout schools were distinguishable in terms of certain

administrative environmental variables. The major differences are summarised below in Table 6.4 and discussed further in the discussion (6.3). Four individual tables (for each school) are also given in the Appendix (5) which provide

Table 6. 4 Summary of Administrative Environment

J. ·ConceptS

-, . " ' . .. ... � ." '\ Leaders h i p and Decisi on Making Efficiency Workload and .' J . .... ,\ �.' ... "', "���>'.�'�' .. : .... : ·1}· ... ·-� . . :.�).:.�� /Pmk r·;'

(HighBf·\:

.�; : .. ' ... . / , ::

Extreme laissez Extreme autocratic

faire leader- leadership

ship, Hard driving ,

co-operative little collabor-

In document El pensamiento estadístico asociado a las medidas de tendencia central: un estudio psicogenético sobre la media aritmética, la mediana y la moda (página 66-72)