Reducing teacher stress and burnout in high-risk secondary schools in South Africa using transactional analysis

Abstract

One of a number of articles arising from PhD research, this paper focuses on the results of applying transactional analysis as one of three approaches to reducing stress and burnout for teachers in high-risk secondary schools in the gangland areas of the Cape Flats, Western Cape, South Africa. The other approaches were Trauma Release Exercises (TRE) and Transpersonal Psychology (TP), and related articles on these and on the quantitative statistical analysis elements of this research are being disseminated elsewhere.A total of 43 teachers in three different schools took part in one intervention held weekly over 10 weeks for one and a half hours (15 hours in total) at their school as part of staff development, with a control group of 20 teachers at a fourth school. Qualitative TA intervention questionnaire coding analysis and focus group post-intervention thematic analysis of the mixed-methods study are presented. Coding analysis focused on the intra-and inter-individual tools that impacted teachers, and it was found that TA generated self-awareness, self-help tools and a strong group connection. Thematic analysis gave insights into the physical, emotional and cognitive responses to stress and burnout interventions on the individual, interpersonal and organisational levels and revealed new perspectives on classroom competency, with teachers taking more responsibility for discipline in the classroom.The study gave insights into the well-being and coping of educators who survive in these challenging contexts, and it is proposed that TRE, TP and TA approaches can be incorporated, and possibly combined, into integrative and eclectic ways of dealing with complex psychological challenges of stress and burnout reduction in traumatic environments. Key wordsStress and burnout interventions; transactional analysis, coding analysis, thematic analysis, classroom discipline, school violence. IntroductionThere has been a plethora of educational policies in South Africa over the past 20 years to address the democratisation of schools, in line with the dismantling of apartheid and social transformation (Waghid & Davids, 2013).Unfortunately, the practices implemented by these policy statements have had little impact on the reality in the classroom in many high-risk schools. Violence and lack of student discipline are among key factors which have eroded academic standards steadily over the past 20 years, resulting in what has been described as an educational crisis in the country (Jansen, 2012). The majority of teachers suffer from stress and burnout in an effort to fulfil their pedagogical obligations (Johnson, 2013;Johnson & Naidoo, 2010). This paper considers transactional analysis as a means to reduce teacher stress and burnout. Schools ContextDeclining educational standards in South Africa are of national concern, with revision of matric schoolleaving requirements by government (Capazorio & Thakali, 2012). While progress has been made for the poor in South Africa since democracy 19 years ago, with access to roads, elec...

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Can evolutionary insights into the brain’s response to threat suggest different group interventions for perceived stress and burnout of teachers in high-risk schools?

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Development of a Transactional Analysis Diagnostic Tool for Burnout with a Case Study Application in Switzerland

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