Chris Kyriacou

Teacher stress and burnout: an international review

Summary This paper reviews studies on teacher stress and burnout conducted over the past decade. The range of studies considered indicates that this topic is now of major international concern. Such studies have led to a much clearer understanding of teacher stress and burnout. Priority now could usefully be given to exploring how such understanding can foster the reduction of stress levels in schools.

Teacher Stress and Satisfaction

Summary The present study investigated the association between self‐reported teacher stress and three response correlates of teacher stress: job satisfaction, absenteeism and intention to leave teaching. The study took the form of a questionnaire survey involving a sample of 218 teachers in 16 medium‐sized mixed comprehensive schools in England. The results indicated that self‐reported teacher stress was negatively associated with job satisfaction (r = —.27; p<.01), and positively associated with intention to leave teaching (r = .18; p<.01), as predicted. The association between self‐reported teacher stress and frequency of absences failed to reach significance, but for total days absent the association was significant and in the predicted direction, positive (rho = .12; p<.05). The relationship between particular sources of stress and the three response correlates was also investigated, as were biographical differences and the effects of biographical characteristics in moderating these relationships.

Teacher Stress: a review

Abstarct The present paper reviews research on the sources and manifestations of stress among schoolteachers. Many possible sources of teacher stress have been identified, and some manifestations of stress are described. However, there are still many aspects of teacher stress that require investigation before a full understanding is possible.

Student teachers' motivation to become a secondary school teacher in England and Norway

Abstract This study sought to explore the reasons given by student teachers in influencing their choice to become a secondary school teacher. Some 105 student teachers in Stavanger and 112 student teachers in York completed a questionnaire at the beginning of their postgraduate teacher training course. Twelve student teachers from each sample were then interviewed. Both groups reported being strongly influenced by enjoying the subject they would teach, liking to work with children, and the fact that teaching would enable them to use their subject. This is broadly in line with other studies. However, there was tendency for more of the student teachers in the York sample, compared with the Stavanger sample, to place value on ‘wanting to help children succeed’ and ‘liking the activity of classroom teaching’; conversely, there was a tendency for more of the student teachers in the Stavanger sample, compared with the York sample, to place value on ‘long holidays’ and ‘social hours’. These tendencies may in lar...

Student Teachers' Concerns During Teaching Practice

This study explored the concerns of a group of student teachers during a period of school placement for teaching practice. Nine main areas of concern were identified. These were: not being regarded as a real teacher; dealing with disruptive behaviour; becoming a disciplinarian; getting the teaching right; getting the planning right; teaching about sensitive issues; coping with a heavy workload; having too little preparatory teaching practice; and being assessed. In addition, three main categories of accomplishments were identified. These were: taking responsibility; developing confidence; and creating an orderly classroom. The paper also considers the implications of these findings for improving the quality of initial teacher education.

Coping Actions and Occupational Stress among School Teachers

A questionnaire was used to identify the relative frequency with which a sample of comprehensive school teachers used various actions to cope with occupational stress. The most frequently used coping actions reported were ‘try to keep things in perspective’, ‘try to avoid confrontations’ and ‘try to relax after work’. A principal components analysis of the coping actions revealed three factors which were labelled ‘express feelings and seek support’, ‘take considered actions’ and ‘think of other things’.

Teacher training and teacher education in England and Norway: a comparative study of policy goals

In this paper, we examine the complementary and differing state‐defined roles of beginning schoolteachers in England and Norway by investigating centrally mandated initial teacher preparation programmes in both countries. Through comparative analysis, we get to see the roles that the policy‐makers in London and Oslo seek to confer upon the educators of future generations of schoolchildren, as well as exploring opportunities for cross‐cultural policy learning. In broad terms, we found that centrally prescribed initial teacher training in England is, as its name implies, a training model that seeks to induct trainee teachers into the practical skills and willingness necessary for: instructing pupils in National Curriculum subjects, managing classroom activities, setting homework to consolidate and extend classroom work and providing pupils with a safe learning environment. Centrally prescribed initial teacher education in Norway is, as its name implies, an educative model whose goal is to help student teachers to: reflect and act upon the practical implications of educational theory, instruct pupils in National Curriculum subjects, display leadership in the classroom, act as a member of a caring profession, promote Norwegian values and provide pupils with a safe learning environment.

Motivation to Learn and Teach English in Slovenia

Summary This study was conducted in Slovenia, and explored the views of a sample of 226 pupils (aged 14‐15 years) regarding their motivation to learn English and the views of a sample of 95 student teachers regarding their motivation to become a teacher of English. The data consisted of two questionnaires. The first questionnaire asked the pupils to rate the importance of each of 15 reasons for wanting to learn English. The most frequent reasons given by pupils were ‘Because English is an international language’, ‘Because English helps me with advanced study’ and ‘Because English will help me with my future career’. The second questionnaire asked the student teachers to rate the importance of each of 20 reasons in influencing their decision to become a teacher of English. The most frequent reasons given by the student teachers were ‘I enjoy the subject I will teach’, ‘English is important to me’ and ‘I want to help children succeed’. The findings are further explored in terms of the relative importance of...

Research on the Development of Expertise in Classroom Teaching During Initial Training and the First Year of Teaching

Research on the development of expertise in classroom teaching during initial training and in the first year of teaching has markedly expanded. This paper focuses on some particularly noteworthy studies reported in recent years. We now know a great deal about the type and nature of the expertise that develops, the factors which influence these, and the problems involved. However, there are many important questions which still need to be addressed. Given the political interest in improving the quality of teaching and teacher training in many countries, research tackling these questions is acutely needed.

Social pedagogy and the teacher: England and Norway compared

Social pedagogy as practice refers to actions on the part of adults to promote the personal development, social education and general well‐being of the child alongside or in place of parents in a range of educational and social care settings (e.g. pre‐school play groups, residential care homes, youth clubs). This paper focuses how the notion of social pedagogy as practice has been applied in England and Norway in the context of recent developments in policy and practice regarding the interface between education services and childcare and welfare services. In Norway, the notion of social pedagogy reflects many aspects of the way the term is often understood in continental Europe. In England, the term is only just beginning to be used in this way following a major policy development, ‘Every Child Matters’, which has led to a review of the role of the teacher in the context of integrating education and child welfare services. The paper considers the implications of such recent developments for changes in the role of the teacher.