Session Information
26 SES 07 A, Job Satisfication and Work-Related Stress
Paper Session
Contribution
Introduction
There is broad scientific evidence regarding the importance of school leadership for school quality and improvement (Hallinger & Heck, 2010; Leithwood, Day, Sammons, Harris & Hopkins, 2007; Huber & Muijs, 2010). As the expectations of society have changed and school systems have been geared towards (more) decentralization and at the same time more centralization (with new public management being more and more consequently implemented), school leaders are confronted with a wider range of tasks, as well as more complex tasks (Huber. 2010, 2011). However, there is a lack of studies on the job strain of school leaders on an international level, but particularly in the German speaking countries (Borg & Riding, 1993; Huber, 2011, 2013). Only few studies have been conducted on job satisfaction, job strain and emotional exhaustion of school leaders (Brock & Grady, 2002; Dadaczynski, 2012).
The school leadership study 2012 of the German speaking countries was conducted in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It aims to gain empirical insights into the work setting and job experiences of school leaders in these countries, specifically preferred and straining activities (leadership practices) as well as important predictors of health like job satisfaction, general job strain and emotional exhaustion. This proposal focuses specifically on school leaders with high and low amount of stress. For research on which this proposal is based the research questions were:
- How do school leaders with high emotional exhaustion differ dealing with strains and resources from school leaders with low emotional exhaustion?
- What kind of similarities can be found in the personal coping strategies of school leaders?
Theoretical framework
For this research we operationalized health as being critically affected by job satisfaction, general job strain and emotional exhaustion as well as specific strains (stemming from specific leadership practices). The first operationalization was served by the theoretical framework of the Böhm-Kasper model of strain in schools (Böhm-Kasper, 2004). According to him, strains relate to different conditions. Böhm-Kasper divides those conditions into cross-situational (or trans-situational) and situational ones. These conditions are viewed in an interdependent relation. The model is rooted in the strain/stress-models of occupational science (for ex. Rudow, 1990) as well as transactional models of coping and stress (cp. Böhm-Kasper, Bos, Jaeckel & Weishaupt, 2000). The afore-mentioned conditions, which can influence strain, can either be regarded as strains or as resources. This means that the conditions can either correlate positively or negatively with the experienced strain. Finally, Böhm-Kasper defines strain as the effect of the different conditions on school leaders.
Huber’s model of school leadership practices (2010, 2013) was used as a foundation to systematically identify and classify school leadership activities. Huber’s model categorizes a plethora of school leadership activities along five categories: instruction, staff issues, administration, quality management and cooperation. The model served as frame of reference to categorize activities of school leaders.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Böhm-Kasper, O. (2004). Schulische Belastung und Beanspruchung – Eine Untersuchung von Schülern und Lehrern am Gymnasium. Münster, Germany: Waxmann. Böhm-Kasper, O., Bos, W., Jaeckel, S., & Weishaupt, H. (2000). EBI: Das Erfurter Belastungs-Inventar zur Erfassung von Belastung und Beanspruchung von Lehrern und Schülern am Gymnasium [The Erfurt Stress Inventory for the assessment of stress and strain in teachers and students at upper track high schools]. In H. Merkens & H. Weishaupt (Eds.), Schulforschung und Schulentwicklung: Aktuelle Forschungsbeiträge (pp. 78–80). Erfurt, Germany: University of Erfurt. Borg, M.G., & Riding, R.J. (1993). Occupational stress and job satisfaction among school administrators. Journal of Educational Administration, 31(1), 4-21. Bristow, M., Ireson, G., & Coleman, A. (2007). A life in the day of a headteacher: a study of practice and well-being. Retrieved from http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/7066/2/download%3Fid=17101&filename=a-life-in-the-day-of-a-headteacher.pdf Brock, B. L., & Grady, M. L. (2002). Avoiding burnout: A principal's guide to keeping the fire alive. Thousand Oaks, USA: Corwin Press, Inc. Chaplain, R. P. (2001). Stress and job satisfaction among primary headteachers. Educational Management & Administration, 29, 197–215. Dadaczynski, K. (2012). Die Rolle der Schulleitung in der gesunden Schule. In: DAK-Gesundheit & Unfallkasse NRW (Eds.). Handbuch Lehrergesundheit. Impulse für die Entwicklung guter gesunder Schulen. Köln, Deutschland: Carl Link. Hallinger, P., & Heck, R.H. (2010) Leadership for learning: Does collaborative leadership make a difference? Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 38(6). 654- 678. Huber, S.G. & Muijs, D. (2010). School Leadership Effectiveness The Growing Insight in the Importance of School Leadership for the Quality and Development of Schools and their Pupils. In S.G. Huber (Eds.). School Leadership - International Perspectives. Dordrecht: Springer Huber, S.G. (2011). Research on Principals in the German Speaking Countries. In O. Johansson (Hrsg.) Rektor – En Forskningsöversikt 2000-2010 (S. 230-254). Stockholm: Vetenskapsrådet Huber, S.G. (2013). Forschung zu Belastung und Beanspruchung von Schulleitung. In S.G. Huber (Eds.), Jahrbuch Schulleitung 2013. Befunde und Impulse zu den Handlungsfeldern des Schulmanagements (S. 222-240). Köln: Wolters Kluwer Deutschland. Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14–26. Kyriacou, C. (2001). Teacher Stress: Directions for future research. Educational Review, 53(1), 27–35. doi:10.1080/00131910120033628 Leithwood, K., Day, C., Sammons, P., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D. (2007). Seven strong claims about successful school leadership. London/Nottingham, England: DfES/NCSL. Mayring, P. (2002). Einführung in die Qualitative Sozialforschung. Eine Anleitung zum qualitativen Denken. (5. Aufl.). Weinheim: Beltz Verlag. Rudow, B. (1990). Konzepte zur Belastungs- und Beanspruchungsanalyse im Lehrerberuf. Zeitschrift Für Pädagogische Psychologie, 4(1), 1–12. Witzel, A. (2000). Das problemzentrierte Interview. Retrieved from: http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1132 [14.06.2014].
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