Special school inspection and its effects on teachers' stress and health, workload and job-related feelings: a case study
Title:
Special school inspection and its effects on teachers' stress and health, workload and job-related feelings: a case study
Author:
Male, Dawn B.
Appeared in:
European journal of special needs education
Paging:
Volume 14 (1999) nr. 3 pages 254-268
Year:
1999-10
Contents:
In 1992 the United Kingdom government introduced a new national system of school inspection. The intention was that this new system would help raise standards, increase choice and ensure better 'value' with increased accountability. The criteria for judging quality are applied to all schools, including special schools. This paper presents the findings of a case study which investigated special school teachers' stress and health, workload and job-related feelings before, during and after an inspection. The data indicate that the teachers viewed the inspection with increasing trepidation and many found the process a stressful one. Workload and hours of work increased as the inspection neared, while the period before the inspection was characterized by increasingly negative job-related feelings, diminished feelings of personal accomplishment and increased indications of adverse implications for health. On the 'plus' side, following a favourable outcome, the proportion of teachers expressing positive job-related feelings increased, as did overall feelings of high personal accomplishment. However, the proportion of teachers expressing negative inspection-related feelings remained relatively unaffected by the positive outcome. In the light of the findings, the need to consider alternative models of school improvement is discussed.
Journal description