Answering back to policy? Headteachers’ stress and the logic of the sympathetic interview

Thomson, Patricia

doi:10.1080/02680930802214248

Cited by 12 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In addition to expanded accountability measures and increased media attention (Thomson, 2008), school leaders must deal with a wide variety of pressures which at times seem insurmountable (Tucker, 2010). Although these pressures may differ across national borders, there are many that appear to be common across cultures and contexts (Bottery et al, 2008).…”

Section: School Leadership Rolementioning

confidence: 97%

Factors influencing principals’ retirement decisions

Reames

Kochan²,

Zhu³

2013

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

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This study, conducted in one state in the United States, replicated similar research from over a decade ago to compare principal demographics and reasons for remaining or leaving the profession. Demographics have trended with the nation. Principals are older, more diverse and are largely eligible for retirement within the next five years. Similar demographics are noted in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The reasons for retiring have changed dramatically since the first survey. External mandates were the number one reason for retirement. Another reason included spending more time with their family. Around the globe, other countries are considering national initiatives, such as accountability and high-stakes testing or national curriculum standards. This study may provide a cautionary note regarding the impact on principal role and retention. Thus, while the study occurred in the United States, the policies that influenced principals' reasons for choosing to retire or stay in the profession appear to have global implications.

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Section: School Leadership Rolementioning

confidence: 97%

Factors influencing principals’ retirement decisions

Reames

Kochan²,

Zhu³

2013

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

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“…First of all, it carries a workload that encroaches into time spent with the family, as pointed out by Reames et al (2014). The psychological and emotional burden of the role has been identified as an additional difficulty, which can even lead to health problems (Thomson, 2008;Tucker, 2010). The interviewees spoke of the considerable mental and physical exhaustion involved, which has also been noted by Lacey (2002).…”

Section: Do the Difficulties Faced By The Participating Principals Depend More On Factors Inherent To The Leadership Role Or On External mentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The aspect that most affected principals and was mentioned most often in their discourses involved the LEA. While some authors (Bottery, Ngai, Wong and Wong, 2008;Thomson, 2008) have argued that the relevance of the limitations imposed by the LEA need to be considered in each particular context, some common ground is evident. This involves the limited autonomy of the leadership role, whether performed in centralized or decentralized contexts (Glatter, 2003).…”

Section: Do the Difficulties Faced By The Participating Principals Depend More On Factors Inherent To The Leadership Role Or On External mentioning

confidence: 99%

Principals in the Role of Sisyphus: School Leadership in Challenging Times

Ruiz

Hernández-Amorós

2019

Leadership and Policy in Schools

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This study seeks to address the main difficulties encountered by principals when carrying out their leadership role. A total of 100 principals from infant, primary and secondary schools in the province of Alicante (Spain) were interviewed. The results show that the respondents were more affected by external problems and difficulties inherent to their role than by their personal limitations and the impact leadership has on their lives. All the difficulties identified reveal that the prevailing leadership model continues to be managerial and individualist in character, and the paper puts forward a number of proposals on how this might be changed.

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“…Thus at present in England there are moves to re-professionalise and re-localise curriculum development, to re-involve higher education in professional development and to allow more innovation. This will create potentials for agents with contrary ideas to act to change the order of what counts in the field and undo hierarchies -unless there are moves to maintain hierarchies that hold firm or that can be invented (see Ball [2008] and Jones and Thomson [2008] for two takes on new games in the field).…”

Section: Notementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In interview with BBC Radio 4, ex headteacher John Illingworth relates the shift over his career, remembering with some pleasure the ambiguous days pre-devolution (see Thomson [2008] for an analysis):…”

Section: Downloaded By [Temple University Libraries] At 19:17 20 Novementioning

confidence: 99%

Headteacher autonomy: a sketch of a Bourdieuian field analysis of position and practice

Thomson

2010

Critical Studies in Education

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Bourdieu argued that his research was biographical: he sought to reflexively understand the social production of many of his life experiences without resorting to the illusion that they were unique, a-historical and transparent. To this end he systematically developed and applied a methodological toolkit, built around the concepts of field, capitals and habitus. Following Bourdieu's argument about the social-personal, I seek in this paper to focus in on the position of the headteacher. I argue that post-WW2, headteachers in England and Australia have pushed for more and more freedom and autonomy arguing 'I/we know what's best for my/our school. They [local authority, central office, politicians and policymakers] don't. If only they would give me/us the resources, stop interfering and leave me/us alone, we could just get on with it.' Mobilising Bourdieu, I sketch an argument that the quest for freedom is (re)produced as a disposition necessary for headteacher/principal practice in a de-and re-centralising schooling field. I offer this as a possible agenda for further research.

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Answering back to policy? Headteachers’ stress and the logic of the sympathetic interview

Cited by 12 publications

References 39 publications

Factors influencing principals’ retirement decisions

Factors influencing principals’ retirement decisions

Principals in the Role of Sisyphus: School Leadership in Challenging Times

Headteacher autonomy: a sketch of a Bourdieuian field analysis of position and practice

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