Stress and coping A departmental approach

What is stress? Stress is a negative feeling state which has both psychological and physical components It is experienced as an assault on self 2

What is anxiety? Anxiety is a negative state and relates to feeling fearful It often incorporates physical symptoms, such as rapid breathing, raised pulse rate, feeling weak, faint, nauseous, etc 3

What is depression? Depression is a state of mind characterised by feelings of loss and emptiness It ranges from feeling ‘fed up’ (a common experience) to a clinical pathological state 4

Breakdown Breakdown represents an emotional crisis It can also represent a point at which some people grow and develop better coping skills 5

Burnout Burnout is used to describe a level of stress which results from excessive emotional demands 6

Causes of stress Lack of ownership of key decisions Limited control over professional development Not being valued by students or leaders Poor health Personal circumstances 7

Stressful personal events listed by severity 100Death of a spouse 60Divorce, menopause, prison sentence, serious illness 45Loss of job 40Retirement, working more than 45 hours a week, health problem in the family 35Pregnancy, change in job, sleep deprivation 8

Causes of stress Poor resources Every teacher designing resources for every lesson Badly designed classrooms Marking overload Report overload 9

Causes of stress Lack of support from department head for poor behaviour No involvement in decision-making Little professional development Career stagnation Lack of variety 10

Signs of stress Increased consumption of alcohol Over- or under-eating Increased absence Becoming accident-prone Strained personal relationship Lethargy 11

Signs of stress Increased irritability Anxiety or depression Forgetfulness Sleep problems Headaches Increased level of aches, pains and colds 12

Departmental solutions Suggest each teacher takes responsibility for one topic and designs high-quality resources everyone can use Build self- and peer assessment work into every topic so that the marking load does not become overwhelming Consider whether classes can be combined for certain activities to give teachers extra free time 13

Departmental solutions Reduce the time spent in meetings by half Rotate classrooms so that the same teacher does not get the worst rooms all the time Vary responsibilities within the department each year 14

Departmental solutions Ensure that the same teacher does not get difficult groups each year Re-examine the departmental approach to managing student behaviour 15

Key principles Sharing the load Reducing unnecessary bureaucracy Variation 16

Communication If you seek help to manage badly- behaved students are you seen as a ‘failure’? Are staff with difficult personal circumstances given special consideration? Is a common feature of departmental meetings to blame the management? 17