The Quality of Working The Quality of Working Life in the Education Life in the Education

SectorSector

Dr Linda EvansDr Linda Evans CERIC & School of Education, University of CERIC & School of Education, University of

LeedsLeeds

Compass Yorkshire & Humber Regional Conference, Nov. 3Compass Yorkshire & Humber Regional Conference, Nov. 3rdrd 2007 2007

Compass/CERIC workshop:Compass/CERIC workshop:

Improving the Quality of Working LifeImproving the Quality of Working Life

“We need more research into what brings

wellbeing at work. Happiness research is a

relatively new field and will continue to

provide insights as it grows. There are already

useful insights from the work on ‘flow’, which

suggests that we gain satisfaction in our work

to the extent that it is challenging but at a

level at which we have the skills to meet that

challenge.”

Compass (2006) A New Political Economy: Compass Programme for

Renewal

wellbeing

Happiness

challenging

satisfaction

Teachers’ Working LivesTeachers’ Working Lives

► ChallengesChallenges

► SatisfactionSatisfaction

► HappinessHappiness

► WellbeingWellbeing

What affects the quality What affects the quality of teachers’ working of teachers’ working

lives?lives?

salary?

colleagues?physical environment?

pupils?parents?

school governors?

government?

He’s thick. … No

He’s thick. … No

matter how many

matter how many

times I tell him, he

times I tell him, he

just doesn’t get it,

just doesn’t get it,

and I find that really,

and I find that really,

really frustrating!

really frustrating!

They’re not very

They’re not very bright – haven’t

bright – haven’t got a brain got a brain between them

between them

She’s a bully … She’s a bully … and she can be and she can be

very unco-very unco-operativeoperative

He’s stupid!

Teachers talkingTeachers talking

…He’s one of the most unintelligent men I know.

What are headteachers doing What are headteachers doing wrong? wrong?

We’ve a male head and a male deputy, both of whom are feckless. The local authority is running an assessment meeting in a fortnight for all heads of primary schools and he’s not going! And so the deputy said, ‘Well, if he’s not going, I’m not going’, so at the moment we’ve got nobody going. So, I mean, one teacher is absolutely frantic because she’s getting no support, and she keeps going to these meetings, coming back, trying to get what she’s trying to do across, and she gets nowhere because the head pulls out his diary and says, ‘We’ve got to arrange the May fair’ or ‘We’ve got more important things to do.’ … He doesn’t know what we’re doing … we’re working in a vacuum.

He’s got no kind of educational vision or educational philosophy, so we’ve nothing in place … no educational policy – nothing. Absolutely nothing!

It’s so frustrating – unbelievably frustrating. He never gives any instructions or anything, which adds to my stress. I do know quite clearly that the stress I’m under is caused by inadequate leadership … inadequate management of the school.

What would help you cope better with your job?

I get very frustrated seeing heads making a hash of things. And I know that sounds arrogant, because I know the job’s awful, in lots of ways. But, I’m disappointed - I’m very disappointed – I’m disappointed with the whole set-up. … I’m afraid I’ve just reached the stage where ... I’m struggling to keep going.

My secondment gave me the opportunity to work at ... shall we say, what I felt was stretching myself intellectually. It allowed me to, I suppose, develop professionally outside of whatever restraint was being put on it either by the school - the attitude of those in management positions ... the expectations of those who were determining what was the ‘norm’ there ... but, I’ll be honest with you, I am absolutely dreading - well, I shan’t go back to Rockville. I shan’t go back after this secondment. I shall have to look for a different sort of work. I can’t go back there, and I can’t, any more, tolerate a shoddy performance!

She doesn’t give a shit! She’s not concerned. If she goes into someone’s class, she doesn’t teach, she just sits and goes through a box of files. And, I thought she was strict, but once she took my class and while I was in the hall with the advisers and teachers from different schools I could see my kids running around and jumping over chairs, and all sorts of things ...and I thought she must have gone back to her office, but when I went back to the classroom she was just sat at the desk and she showed no interest in the education of the children and the activities they were doing. ... I just think the place is how a school should not be. I’ve been on courses and they’ve offered models of leadership and management and everybody there slags off their head ... but, it’s just marginal things with them. Here, it’s just everything - the whole thing! The school ... everything is wrong ... but it looks right from the outside. It’s just a model of how not to be, as far as I’m concerned.

He lacks depth in educational development - in the development that should be going on in the school - so he’s ... he’s inadequate. He doesn’t want to know! He’s not interested!

He’s never set me any challenges, and he’s never once noticed what I’ve done, and I’ve never once had any feedback. And I said to him, in one of my really bad moments, I said, ‘I could be teaching them Swahili, hanging by their heels from the light fitting, and you wouldn’t know!’ He doesn’t collect in any planning books, he doesn’t know what people are teaching! He hasn’t a clue!

A new head, who knew what was going on!

Are Are allall headteachers doing it headteachers doing it wrong?wrong?

She worked with staff in the way that she worked with children. She had - I don’t know what it is about her - but she made you want to do your best - and not just for her, but for yourself. You weren’t working for her - you weren’t working to please her...but she suddenly made you realise what was possible...and you, kind of, raised your game all the time.

She had a very strong educational vision. Now, up until that time - I mean, I’m a much slower learner - I was piecing together my educational philosophy and, a lot of the time, just, y’know, struggling to get by... . And she really just turned me round like nobody else ever has done. She was very, very challenging on a direct level.

He would bring in Mars bars and say, ‘I think we all deserve this’…and sometimes he’d say, ‘I’ll take the kids this morning – you get on with some work’, and he’d keep them for a good hour, or so. We were just like one big happy family. I mean, I think we were too friendly, really; he needed slightly more distance…but, of course, it was too late by then; we were already friendly, and he couldn’t go back. But, you worked every bit as hard for somebody like him … every bit as hard.

Well, at one school we had a head who was a very good motivator and was very free with his praise…and he would come into your room and say, ‘Oh, it looks lovely in here; oh, you are working hard!’ It was the praise business…and he worked hard himself - you knew where you stood with him. But he was a good motivator, and I think it was just that one little word of thanks every now and again that did it.

So what does affect the quality So what does affect the quality of teachers’ working lives?of teachers’ working lives?

►Leadership and management?Leadership and management?►Six things that matter to teachers:Six things that matter to teachers:

equity and justiceequity and justice pedagogypedagogy organisational efficiencyorganisational efficiency interpersonal relationsinterpersonal relations collegialitycollegiality self-conception and self-imageself-conception and self-image

►Work contextsWork contexts

School leaders and work School leaders and work contextscontexts

‘ ‘As headteacher, you have the power As headteacher, you have the power to change things. You have to change things. You have responsibility for the ethos of the responsibility for the ethos of the whole school and every decision you whole school and every decision you take will impact on everything in take will impact on everything in school.’ school.’

National College for School Leadership (NCSL) websiteNational College for School Leadership (NCSL) website

How may we improve the How may we improve the quality of teachers’ working quality of teachers’ working

lives?lives?►Get rid of headteachers?Get rid of headteachers?

►Reduce headteachers’ authority?Reduce headteachers’ authority? democratise leadership & managementdemocratise leadership & management new models of leadership & managementnew models of leadership & management headship collectiveheadship collective

► ‘‘Teacher-centred’ leadership?Teacher-centred’ leadership?

►Give a voice to ‘the led’Give a voice to ‘the led’

To consider:To consider:

In the wider context, beyond education:In the wider context, beyond education:►How much do managers and leaders How much do managers and leaders

affect the quality of working lives?affect the quality of working lives?►How effective are mechanisms for How effective are mechanisms for

quality control of managers and leaders?quality control of managers and leaders?► Is it a question of swings and Is it a question of swings and

roundabouts?roundabouts?►How many employees leave their How many employees leave their

managers and leaders, rather than their managers and leaders, rather than their jobs?jobs?