Managérialisme in British schools undermines the mental health and well-being of teachers

New Educational Review Study Shows Performance Goals, Increased Workload, Curricular Changes, and Other Bureaucratic Changes Erode Mental Health and Teacher's Professional Identity

The authors of the study interviewed 39 teachers in England and Wales who had experienced a prolonged absence from work due to mental health problems, as well as six directors, directors and badistant directors who had dealt with health problems. mental among the staff.

Teachers cited constant and complex changes in educational policies, targeted performance, lack of management support, and heavy workloads at the root of increasing stress and anxiety. They spoke of disillusionment, loss of self-esteem and feelings of failure, which prompted some to take early retirement or, in one case, to attempt suicide because of the pressure work.

Many felt that the focus on targets and outcomes fundamentally changed the role of the teacher as an educator and hindered the student-teacher relationship, ultimately affecting learning opportunities and not addressing the psychological needs of children. Job satisfaction is also eroded by bureaucratic demands, with excessive paperwork and pressure to improve outcomes, adding to the already heavy workload of teachers.

Difficulties with management and management styles were common, with many teachers believing that they were under constant surveillance and under pressure to meet unrealistic expectations. While aware of the pressures on school principals to successfully implement new policies, teachers felt excluded from the process and ill equipped to make the necessary changes.

This managerial approach to education and the resulting loss of decision-making about clbadroom practice have left many teachers with doubts about their role. Most felt that they were failing themselves and their children by not being able to encourage active learning in the clbadroom.

Gerry Leavey, principal investigator of the study, director of the Bamford Center for Mental Health and Well-being at the University of Ulster, said: "The destruction of self-esteem and efficiency, combined The desperation of a failure built from the outside impregnated most of our interviews with teachers. Their comments express a tension between the old vision of what it means to be a teacher – commitment, service in school and student learning – and the new managerial vision – accountability, performance and respect for standards in a new world of learning. business ".

"This tension is often internalized and has an impact on the identity of teachers. It often pits students against their personal needs and the non-academic needs of management tasks and objectives. Too often, it causes stress and mental health problems. Too many good teachers leave the profession because of health problems.

Barbara Skinner, educator at the University of Ulster, added: "Educational reforms, along with the rigorously prescribed organizational and management structures that accompany them, need to be evaluated in terms of their effects. on professional identity and personal well-being. We also need better evidence-based interventions to promote the well-being of teachers "