Like an iceberg floating alone:

A case study of teacher stress at

a Victorian primary school
Rosaria Burchielli
Timothy Bartram
Latrobe University
Introduction
The subject of teacher stress has attracted considerable attention in both Australian
(OConnor & Clarke, 1990; Otto, 1986; Sarros & Sarros, 1992;Thomas, Clarke, &
Lavery, 2003;Townsend, 1998) and international literature (Bartlett, 2004; Clark,
2002; Guglielmi & Tatrow, 1998; Kyriacou, 2001;Troman, 2000).This literature,
however, clearly states the need for further research to explore the sources of
teacher stress and the coping actions used by teachers and schools,and especially to
disentangle the stress caused by difficult or excessive demands being made on a
teacher,and stress being triggered by concerns linked to ones self-image(Kyriacou,
2001). Based on current understanding of stress, including the contributions of
Lazarus and Folkman (1984),this paper provides a greater insight into the complex
relationship between sources of teacher stress and coping mechanisms.This paper
also responds to Lazarus (2000), who calls for greater research that is focussed on
observations that are day-to-day, microanalytical, and in-depth, and that are
compatible with a holistic outlook.
Research for this paper began as a collaborative project between the
researchers and staff of an inner suburban primary school.
Two questions guide this research: first, what are the major issues associated
with teacher stress and low morale at the school? And second,how does the school

respond to these stressors?

T
his paper presents the case study of a culturally diverse, inner suburban,
primary school located on a government housing estate. We report on high
levels of stress amongst the teachers at the school and find evidence of professional bureaucratic conflict. Two main findings are reported. First, that teacher
stress is attributed to a combination of factors: the unique school characteristics
which are not fully acknowledged by the governing bureaucracy; the ensuing
professional-bureaucratic conflict resulting from a lack of acknowledgment and
inadequate resourcing; and importantly, tensions relating to professional values
and standards. Second, that stress can be somewhat ameliorated by the use of
proactive teacher and whole-school responses, and that further reduction of stress
requires a systemic response.
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Perspectives on stress and coping
In general, work stress can be defined as an adaptive response to a work situation
that places special physical and/or psychological demands on a worker (Matteson
& Ivancevich,1987).The physical or psychological demands from the environment
that cause stress are called stressors. The main generic stressors isolated in the
broader management literature are role conflict,role ambiguity,work overload,task
control or autonomy,career security and interpersonal relations (Jex,1998;Kahn &

Antonucci, 1980; Kahn & Byosiere, 1992; Kahn,Wolfe, Quinn & Snoek, 1964).
Stress depends on the external environment and individual psychological and
physiological factors (Lazarus,1976).Stress can result in maladjusted behaviour,but
sometimes also mobilises highly effective forms of adjustment.There are marked
variations in perceptions of what is stressful and in personal or group responses to
stress (Lazarus, 1966, 1976).
Lazarus and Folkman (1984, p. 141) define coping as constantly changing
cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific external and/or internal
demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of a person.Coping
specifically refers to what the person does to handle stressful or emotionally
charged situations (Lazarus, 1966).
All coping can be divided into two main categories: direct actions or
problem-focused coping are behaviours that prepare the person against harm,
aggression, avoidance, inaction or apathy (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984); whereas palliative forms or emotion-focused coping reduce,eliminate or tolerate the stress (for
example, using defence mechanisms such as identification, repression or denial).
Coping is partly determined by individual resources, such as health, social
support and material resources.Coping is also determined by constraints that mitigate the use of resources, such as personal constraints, such as internalised cultural
values and beliefs that proscribe certain ways of behaving,and environmental constraints, such as demands that compete for the same resources or intuitions that
thwart effort.
Individual coping processes depend on the values, beliefs, and goals with
which the individual constructs meaning (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Thus
individual coping includes a reinterpretation of events in terms of benefits to ones

values, beliefs and goals.This explanation of individual coping resonates with the
concept of emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1995), and consists of a persons
ability to bounce back from difficult and challenging situations (Clark, 2002).
Resilience includes certain cognitive and emotional skills which enable positive or
encouraging interpretations of challenging events.
Effective coping processes require congruence between coping and the
demands of the situation and are subject to numerous variables.How to determine
coping effectiveness remains one of the most perplexing research challenges
(Folkman & Moskowitz, 2004).
Coping and the management of stress in an organisation are important
because work stress has been related to worker physical and mental wellbeing, as
well as organisational problems,such as decreased performance,increased accidents,
absenteeism and turnover (Cropanzano,Rupp,& Byrne,2003;Manning,Jackson &
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Fusilier,1996).New developments in coping research include large-group or communal coping,which refers to coping responses that are influenced by and in reaction to the social context (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2004).
Teacher stress
Sources of teacher stress relate to work overload,insufficient time for work,student
problems that are impossible to solve given available resources, and feelings of
powerlessness in relation to the wider education system (Otto, 1986). Sarros and

Sarros (1992) suggest there are many problems that are too large and complex for
individual efforts. Interpersonal relations are a source of stress for teachers,
especially relations with other adults, such as colleagues, parents, management and
departmental officials (Troman, 2000). Teaching is considered to be emotional
work(Troman,2000),and virtually all in-depth studies of teaching indicate that it
is difficult, complex and emotionally draining work entailing long out-of-classroom hours (Bartlett, 2004).
There is increasing evidence of work intensification for teachers involving
industry change and teachers changing roles (Bartlett, 2004;Troman, 2000).The
1990s in Victoria saw the closure of a number of schools, the devolution of funding decisions to schools, changes to teaching and learning standards, such as the
Curriculum Standards Framework (CSF), and increased bureaucratic pressures for
higher professional standards (Caldwell & Hayward, 1998).Within this environment, the Victorian Department of Education developed an accountability framework with three key elements: a school charter, an annual report and a triennial
school review. By 1999, however, a report released by the Victorian AuditorGenerals Office suggested that the increased reporting requirements placed an
additional burden on teachers and schools which warranted systemic support
mechanism (Caldwell & Hayward, 1998; Caldwell & Spinks, 1998).These changes
have added layers of complexity to the role of teachers,and increased their responsibilities and workloads (Townsend, 1998).Thus teachers roles have changed from
essentially a teaching/educational role to encompass a much wider range of
responsibilities, including counselling, welfare, social work, procurement of funding, reporting and government lobbying (Townsend, 1998).To date, there is no
evidence reported of any systemic measures designed to support the changed roles

of teachers.
Organisational-professional conflict examines the conflict between practicing
professionals and the governing bureaucracies for which they work (Lait & Wallace,
2002; Sorensen & Sorensen, 1974;Wallace, 1995). Conflict may occur when the
values, goals and expectations of the professional are incompatible with those of
their employing organisation, especially when professionals are employed in highly
bureaucratic organisations (Lait & Wallace, 2002, p. 463). Bureaucratic conditions
that are inconsistent with professional workersjob expectations contribute to stress.
Teachers coping with stress
Forms of coping with teacher stress include individual, school and bureaucratic
responses (Kyriacou, 2001). In addition, social support is identified as a form of
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coping (Sarros & Sarros, 1992). Social support has been defined as the flow of
communication between people involving emotional, caring, informational and
instrumental support (House, 1981). Social support may be derived from informal
sources such as family,friends and work colleagues,or from formal sources such as
supervisors.A large Australian study found that support of the principal is crucial
in reducing burnout;however,the study highlighted that the effects of other forms
of social support, such as that provided by colleagues, have not been sufficiently
investigated (Sarros & Sarros, 1992).
The literature outlines a number of organisational responses to alleviate

teacher stress, especially through exploring the characteristics of healthy organisational functioningand those practices which reflect it.Characteristics of a healthy
school include a collaborative and communicative environment, where work
expectations are clearly defined and positive feedback is available, where resources
to support teachers are provided, and where bureaucratic processes are minimised
(Kyriacou,2001,p.31).Hence,extant research identifies some responses to teacher
stress which can address its negative effects.
Method
The research process for this case study evolved in consultation with participants,
and includes audio,written and photographic material from annotated discussions,
observations of events, semi- or un-structured interviews, participation in staff
meetings, focus groups and documentary analysis.The data were collected at the
school by the authors between 2001 and 2003,beginning with an initial annotated
discussion with the Principal and Assistant Principal in December,2001.The major
school documents informing our research include the School Charter and the
Triennial School Review.
Five different staff meetings were attended and recorded by the authors.Two
of these were regular teaching-staff meetings (October,2002 and November,2003).
The other three meetings observed were:Curriculum Committee (October,2002),
the School Support Group (August, 2002), and the Coordinators meeting
(October,2002).A focus group for all teaching staff on the schools strategic issues
was conducted by the authors in November, 2002. Individual interviews were
conducted with the principal and assistant principal (July, 2002) and with four
teachers who could represent teaching experiences across all the grades from Prep
to Grade Six (August to November, 2002).

Nvivo, a computer program designed to support qualitative data storage,

handling and analysis, was used to assist in data analysis. Our method of analysis
employs the classic analytic strategies such as coding, recording reflections and
seeking patterns or commonalities (Miles & Huberman, 1994).We used the concept of participant categories from conversation analysis (Sacks, 1984; ten Have,
1999), where researchers work with concepts or specific understandings of events
by participants in a given setting.The concept of the primary school as a unique
school is an example of a participant category which we explored in our analysis.
We also used techniques from grounded theory, where data are collected and
analysed simultaneously (Glaser & Strauss,1967) so as to generate categories which
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are then linked to one another.As data were analysed, and the distinct categories
emerged,further data were sought to validate the categories.Our analysis led to the
elaboration of a set of generalisations which were finally confronted (Miles &
Huberman, 1994) with the theoretical constructs outlined in our review of the
literature.
Case study
The subject of this research is an inner suburban primary school located on the
grounds of a Ministry of Housing estate (Primary School Document,2002a).Staff
at the school report high levels of stress and low morale.The school has a diverse
population of 190 students (Primary School Document,2002b).On the surface,it

looks like many other government schools, yet staff and management suggest that
it is unique and different from other schools on numerous dimensions that make it
a highly challenging work environment.Teacher stress is officially reported in their
Triennial School Review (TSR) (Primary School Document,2002a),which states
that there are higher scores in Excessive Work Demands (relative to the state average) and that workload is still a key factor influencing organisational health and staff
welfare.School management,comprising the principal and assistant principal,and
staff report that the school faces significant challenges which are uncommon to
other schools. Both staff and management see the school as unique in its demographic structure, which is supported by Department of Education and Training
(DET) classification of the school in the Like Schools Group 9. This group
includes schools with significant English as a Second Language and Educational
Maintenance Allowance recipients. Staff, however, express concern with the level
of government funding given on the basis of this classification:
While the school is in Like School Group 9, there are in fact very few
schools with similar demographics and the comparison with Like School
Group 9 is therefore somewhat tenuous. [The school] is struggling to meet
most comparative measures (Primary School Document, 2002a).
The schools demographic structure
The school predominantly consists of students from a language background other
than English (LBOTE) and is culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD). The
school Principal states that ninety-seven per cent of children are from a nonEnglish speaking background (NESB). Three demographic characteristics are
noted in school documents and by the staff,principal and consultants to the school.
First, the Triennial School Review reports that forty-three per cent of students

receive Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA), a Commonwealthgovernment benefit provided to low income families (Primary School Document,
2002a), and that many of the students live in the Ministry of Housing estate
adjacent to the school grounds. Secondly, twelve per cent of students receive the
Disability and Impairment (D&I) funding, a Commonwealth-government benefit
for students with significant physical or intellectual challenges affecting their learning abilities.This is reported to be four times the state average.Thirdly, forty-nine
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per cent of the schools population is listed on a welfare register because of health,
psychological or social difficulties (Burchielli & Bartram, 2002).These factors are
believed to contribute to the uniqueness of the school.
Achieving learning outcomes
Student learning outcomes at the school are affected by the presence of large numbers of NESB students, who are all grappling with a second language (Primary
School Document, 2002a). Moreover, cultural differences account for different
educational traditions and learning styles which may conflict with local ones and
create a disadvantage for some students.Some cultures are oral based in transmitting knowledge whereas ours focuses on reading/writing, so this produces a challenge for teachers, said the assistant principal. Other families are much more
formally educated and entrepreneurial and they function better in our system.
Literacy and learning problems at the school are compounded by the fact that

a significant number of children are refugees from war-torn countries, and consequently suffering from trauma which affects their learning and behaviour.
According to the principal, Students from war-torn areas have had little formal
education in their country of origin;theyre traumatised,theyve had no culture of
scholarly pursuit and no culture of reading.Thus many children have poor visual
memory skills.
Behavioural challenges
Behaviour management is reported as a significant challenge for the school.
The critical issue, according to the assistant principal, is the combination of
the high levels of EMA and D&I recipients and NESB students:
The big challenges of the school at the moment are the kids behaviour ... It
goes back to this being a special school ... We have a very high number of kids
with learning problems and again thats hard data that we have. We have currently twenty-two kids that are funded under what we call the D&I program,
for disability and impairment, which is about twelve per cent of our population.
The state average is three per cent. As another factor, laid on top of other
factors, that is huge. Every teacher here has probably got three or four integrated kids with an acknowledged disability in their room, with support, but
not enough support, of course; its under-resourced, grossly. Again, its not
unique to us, but the number of kids is unusual Other local primary schools
dont have any disabled kids in their whole population.
Teachers report that, on top of having twelve per cent of students receiving
D&I funding,there are a further eleven per cent of students who,according to the
Principal, are borderline recipients:although they dont get the funding, they do
create challenges in the classroom. Staff point out that these students have special

needs, and place an additional burden on the class; one teacher said that:
We definitely are not a normal school with the amount of integration students
we have, and with all the NESB students; we stand out like a sore thumb ...
Our kids are almost like two years behind the other schools that theyre being
compared with.
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The school also reports a large number of accidents, such as incidence of
violence between students. Schools are required to formally report the number
of accidents that occur during school hours. This includes students individual
injuries as well as those occurring through interaction such as fighting. The
reported incidence for this school is more than five times the state average of
accidents between students (Primary School Document, 2002a).According to the
assistant principal:
I know that there is much more challenging of authority, and much, much
more violence between kids. Just a very small example: last week we sent home
five kids from one grade. It was not a riot, but certainly very out of control
behaviour in the class ... The number of accidents we have is something like
four times the state average. That is accidents between kids, and thats partly
because of aggression or fighting. One is actually fighting and one is just kids
not having exposure to some sporting equipment or something. At the beginning of the year, we also had a spate of Preps who got hit in the head with a

cricket bat, all that sort of stuff. They run. They run into things. We have a
greater number of kids doing that than at other school. We have data, hard data.
[The issue is] something that were trying to address. It predominantly happens
in the playground, but a bit in the classroom, and the challenging of authority
happens in both [places].
Whilst each of these factors poses specific challenges, staff and the principal
suggest that the combination of these factors creates a compounding effect, giving
the school a unique level of challenge.
Teacher stress
The existence of teacher stress is suggested in the Triennial School Review
(TSR), which measures organisational health through a number of constructs,
such as staff morale and supportive leadership:Over the triennium,staff morale has
been lower than the state mean [and] there has been a slight decrease each year in
the teachersresponse to supportive leadership(Primary School Document,2002a).
Our data indicate that while these teachers recognise that some stress is an
inherent part of their profession, they report a perceived above-normal level of
stress.Teachers attribute this to a number of factors,such as difficult student behaviours, inadequate bureaucratic support structures within the school, day-to-day
conflicts and challenges, and high administrative demands, such as meetings, completing reporting requirements and writing funding applications.Teachers describe
their stress by making references to feelings of anxiety, fear or pressure, produced
by regular teaching experiences,which place extraordinary demands on their skills
and personal resources.Teachers at the primary school consistently report on the
continuous and overwhelming nature of the challenge of their day-to-day duties,
frequently using terminology that suggests a battle for survival.Teacher 1 com-

mented that,We work so hard, but its never enough.And theyre tough kids,
added Teacher 4.According to Teacher 2:
The actual, physical, face-to-face teaching with the children is very challenging,
is very full on all of the time. Our children are not independent workers ... a
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lot of schools can get their kids to work on an individual level, whereas our
kids need so much teacher intervention. Theres a lot of need for individual
assistance. So its full on all day.
As Teacher 3 put it,Youre dog paddling and trying to keep above water.
A factor causing particular stress, both in classrooms and throughout the
school in general is the occurrence of regular critical incidents that relate to
student welfare. One teacher observed:
We do have a lot of serious incidents to deal with. No, theyre not often trivial at all. And thats whats really difficult to follow through with. Some schools,
the biggest catastrophe is that someone isnt given their lunch order. Whereas
here, its all sorts of things that you cant often deal with in two minutes.
Theyre far reaching, and theyre usually centred around welfare issues. We
spend a lot of our day here looking at those issues of welfare and how the kids
are getting on.
These reports are substantiated by the leadership of the school.The assistant
principal commented that,The sort of behaviour that confronts teachers on a daily

basis is really wearing for people, and again, it goes back to this being a special
school.
Another source of stress relates to non-teaching activities.Teacher 1 said:
The other challenge is keeping up to date with all the changes that have been
in the curriculum, and being able to keep up with all the reading with my Early
Years role. Theres just been so much reading that Ive had to do, and Ive
really found it quite difficult to keep up with that as well as doing my other jobs
that need to be done.
Staff and management express concerns over the public image of the school.
They are concerned that the school may be perceived as one that is constantly
struggling. Moreover, members of staff are concerned about the school being perceived as an underachieving school through the Department of Education and
Training (DET) reporting requirements which gather data on educational outcomes. Staff concerns about school image are associated with feelings of fear and
stress at the school.Were fearful of the reputation that the school is getting in the
local community, said the assistant principal. This image places stress on staff.
Teacher 1 believed that were compared to other schools and it makes us look
really bad when our reading scores get sent out every March,and it just looks like
were not doing our jobs ... And I find that really demoralising.
This situation highlights the anxiety surrounding self-image that teachers
perceive that they may not be able to control.
Professional-bureaucratic conflict arising from measurement of
student outcomes
Staff suggest that the use of Curriculum Standards Framework (CSF) is not always
appropriate to assess the learning outcomes of students due to the demographic

structure of the school (Primary School Document,2002a).Due to the limitations

of the CSF at this school, its use makes many of the achievements of the school
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students invisible to the governing bureaucracy and in comparison to other
schools.Teacher 1 said:
Kids dont come here knowing their colours and their numbers, or even know
how to write their name. What is really demoralising [is that] you put in the
effort every year, and the kids have shown a bit of an improvement, but
compared to another school, theyre not at the level that theyre supposed to
be at.
In addition to feeling demoralised by the requirements of the CSF, teachers
are concerned that as this framework is designed for a mainstream student setting,
its use is inappropriate in their unique environment and it creates a negative
image of the students abilities.This underlies teachers feeling that their efforts are
defeated at the outset.
The kids come with so little, and were supposed to test them and its like
comparing apples and oranges, said the assistant principal.I have to try not to be
worn down by measuring our kids progress by this, because they are progressing,
probably as much as other kids. Even though theyre still not meeting benchmark,
theyre actually coming in at a point and making very good progress.
Professional-bureaucratic conflict arising from school needs

Data collected by DET is used to compare schools across the state of Victoria.This
information is collated and represented on a framework called the like-schools
grid, a scattergram that compares schools by their NESB, EMA and D&I funding
statistics. Teachers express anxiety about not being appropriately represented
because their achievements are hidden in this reporting device. In addition, the
scattergram does not adequately represent their unique level of need. Staff
members report that the schools needs are invisible to the governing bureaucracy:
Even the schools that are called like-schools to usschools with a high NESB
population, high EMA recipientstheyre still nothing like us. Were a real
satellite school, right on the edge here. Because to fit into this group of what
they call like-schools from a departmental point of view, you have to have
twenty-six per cent or more non-English speaking population. You know,
twenty-six per cent and ninety-eight per cent are very different (assistant
principal).
Professional-bureaucratic conflict arising from funding criteria
DET reporting devices are used to apportion funding to individual schools based
on the schools needs for English as a Second Language support and other support
suggested by the level of poverty. Staff members feel, however, that the school is
misrepresented and,they also feel that they are not adequately resourced given the
extent of their needs.
Government schools are staffed and funded on formulas, and the formula
doesnt fit here, because we are so unique, the assistant principal said.
One of the solutions for the school is to address its biggest issue: that the
school needs to be officially recognised by DET as unique, the principal agreed.
Its a special school in a mainstream setting.

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A consequence of the tension between reporting mechanisms and the misrepresentation of the school is that staff members feel isolated and unsupported by
the governing bureaucracy:
Were like a little iceberg, sort of floating along without much help from
the education department as such, said Teacher 2.I think we really lack proper
support.
Clearly the tensions between the school and the governing bureaucracy
relates to the under-resourcing of the school.
Strategic responses
In response to its specific challenges,the school has introduced programs to address
the characteristics of the school and its needs.The social skills and behaviour modification program implemented at the school is called Stop,Think, Do (Primary
School Document, 2002b). It is aimed at reducing the high accident rate and any
inappropriate or violent behaviour. Staff members report satisfaction with the
positive outcomes of this initiative.According to Teacher 2:
The way we are is quite transparent, as in, anyone who comes into the school
gets an immediate sense of what goes on here. And its certainly not a picture
of disarray or anything. I think we have worked very hard at maintaining a calm
sort of environment here. Thats one thing weve done extremely well as a
school. Considering the nature and diversity of our kids, we have done

amazing things with the internal environment.

The School Support Group as a strategic response
The School Support Group is a multi-disciplinary team created in 1986 through a
government state government initiative called community child-health fellowship.
Its membership consists of specialists, including a school psychologist, a speech
therapist, a school nurse, a paediatrician from the childrens hospital, a protective
worker from Human Services, and the coordinator of the local family support
agency, as well as representatives of the school.This group is action-based and its
charter is to support students and families at the school experiencing particular
problems such as behavioural,social and learning difficulties.The assistant principal
explained how the group works:
A family, for instance, will come up that well talk about; the mum might have
a psychiatric issue and be in hospital at the moment; the protective worker
might know the family; Human Services are involved; the paediatrician might
have information to give ... Its a great way to link all those services together.
This group meets twice a term to address the issues listed in the welfare register.Intervention and support is provided through the specialist skills and networks
held by the members of the committee. Collating and maintaining this register
includes a great deal of reporting and co-ordination activities (Primary School
Document, 2002b).The register ensures that all welfare issues and problems are
noted and thoroughly addressed so that no case will be forgotten or overlooked.
Forty-nine per cent of the schools population is listed on the register.According
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to the principal, there is only one other school in Victoria that has such a support
mechanism.
Raising the profile of the school
There is a strong view at the school that its positive characteristics are not visible.
Interviews with the principal and assistant principal indicate that the school has the
goal of positioning itself as a creative and positive force in its community.
The school has been successful in securing grants for engaging a graphic artist
and circus performers in order to conduct activity-based programs.These have provided support to staff and students by engaging them in shared, uplifting activities
with both curricular and extra-curricular outcomes.The graphic art project, for
example,resulted in activities which provided language based learning as well as the
development of other skills.The artwork produced by students within this project
was later used in the production of a school water bottle, launched at a community event in conjunction with a local council program,H2O for Moonee Valley
Kids.The project had numerous positive outcomes for students and staff, including team-building and self-esteem effects. Remarks made by the school psychologist at this event highlighted the consistent use of a whole child approachat this
school.
The school publicised this event using the media in order to develop a positive image of the school.Another example of this intention is the goal to develop
the school as a leader in the delivery of English as a Second Language (ESL)
(Primary School Document,2002b).The school has considerable skills and expertise in ESL and has been conducting in-service seminars for teachers from other

schools.
Social support
The data reveal that support from the principal is valued by staff and assists in meeting the challenges of the workplace.Teacher 4 said:
From the small through to the bigger things, [the principal] is really very good
at coming up with solutions or addressing issues, so I feel [the principals] support. I like [the principals] consistency, and care towards us. [The principal] has
recent memories of being in a classroom and beyond that, is committed to
work, which is inclusive of us.
In addition to principal support, collegial support exists between staff.I do
enjoy working with my [team-teaching] colleague. We get on really well, said
Teacher 3.Having positive work relationships, especially working in an environment such as ours, is really, really important.
Individual teacher resilience
While teachers at the school speak of the challenges they face as teachers,they also
frequently express strong, positive feelings of loyalty and attachment to the school
and to the students.I think its just such a unique school and it is constantly changing so Ive really enjoyed it, said the assistant principal.I have a background in
special education, and this is very much a special school, which keeps me here.
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Resilience is suggested in practical and realistic attitudes.What you need to

get done in a day sometimes becomes overpowering,but my attitude is that we can

do only what we can do, said Teacher 2.My priority is the kids in the grade and
getting through the day with them, and the other stuff has to fit in.
The data indicate that resilience includes the ability to enjoy day-to-day
situations and to reflect positively on colleagues and the circumstances of the
students.Teacher 3 commented:
I enjoy working here; I enjoy the responsibility which is placed upon me,
whether its from the physical education point of view, whether its the social
skills ... I also think that the people who work here do an exceptional job, to
front up here day in, day out, and to take on board the children and the experiences theyve had as well. Weve got no idea about where theyve come from,
the experiences theyve had, the trauma theyve experienced, the difficulties and
the problems associated with living in high-rise estates. I think its incredible,
some of the stories that come up.
Discussion
This paper examines teacher stress at a Victorian primary school and identifies both
sources and coping responses. We have identified four sources of teacher stress:
a unique demographic structure; high levels of bureaucratic reporting; resource
inadequacy; and a values related conflict between the governing bureaucracy and
the school staff. In terms of coping responses, we found evidence of individual
and whole school responses.
An important source of stress is the challenging environment at the school
which is based on a complex and unique student demographic structure,including
high NESB population and high levels of disability and poverty.The needs of this
population of students clearly contribute to teachers work overload.The work of

teachers is made more complex and more stressful by having to cater to different
levels of language and cultural needs as well as different levels of emotional needs
and physical and learning abilities.Whilst all teachers in all schools may be exposed
to this to some degree, at this school it happens to a large degree on a daily basis.
Second, teachers experience stress in meeting the reporting requirements.
Like all Victorian government schools, this school is required to report on student
achievement,student outcomes and student needs;however,given the high level of
student need at this school there is much more reporting. Our data indicate that
this school, for example, reports five times the number of accidents than the state
average and three times the number of students receiving disability and impairment
allowance. Moreover, the reporting of student outcomes within the parameters of
the Curriculum Standards Framework is rendered more difficult by the fact that
the students of this school do not easily fit into the standard categories.
Third,this study finds evidence to support resource inadequacy as an important source of stress. At this school there is evidence of an ongoing struggle to
obtain realistic funding to match the high level of need of special students. A
critical issue here is the fact that a significant proportion of students with special
needs do not fully meet the requirements to receive D&I funding, but still place
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significant burdens on the teachers and the other students.The school is considered
to be a special school in a mainstream setting.Staff and administrators believe that

the positioning of the school in a mainstream setting maybe a source of inequity

given that this imposes funding constraints. Funding is viewed as inadequate and
the school feels misrepresented in terms of how it is benchmarked.This is seen to
be due to the generalised nature of funding formulas and other reporting
mechanisms, which filter out the unique characteristics and needs of the school.
Australian studies on poverty, class and education note the persistence of class
inequalities in contemporary Australian educational settings (Hatton, Munns, &
Dent, 1996).This study suggests that bureaucratic mechanisms governing schools
may be perpetuating these inequalities.
Fourth, within our findings of professional-bureaucratic conflict, there is
evidence of incongruence of values and expectations between different stakeholders in the educational environment, especially between the bureaucracy and
the teachers at the school.This is evidenced by the teachers disconformity with
bureaucratic standards (based on perceptions of injustice and inadequacy), such as
the CSF and the funding criteria.Teachers believe that the bureaucracy fails to
recognise the unique characteristics of their students and their needs, and fails
to acknowledge the achievements of the school and its students. This suggests
that the conflict between the values of the teachers and the bureaucracy exacerbates an already stressful working experience for teachers, increasing role
demands and veiling any achievements. Moreover, teachers at the school indicated
their disappointment and frustration at what they perceive as abandonment by
the governing bureaucracy and isolation within the like-schools grid as suggested
by the metaphor of the iceberg floating alone.This highlights the important role
that the governing bureaucracy has in providing containment and support to
teachers within a school community.Without the systemic support, teachers find

themselves compensating for any missing elements by bearing the costs individually through work overload and stress. Our data also suggest that individual
teacher values may contribute to teacher stress, however as this topic lies beyond
the scope of this paper, it has not been discussed. Further research is required to
understand subtle sources of stress, in particular the role of individual professional
values.
We find that these four sources of stress simultaneously contribute to quantitative overloadfor example, staff members have more duties than they can comfortably handleand qualitative overloadfor example,roles requiring knowledge
and skills that have not been learned.
In terms of coping mechanisms, this paper reports on some unique individual and group responses to a challenging and stressful teaching environment.
Individual responses relate to teachers reinterpreting stressful events in a positive
way (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2004) and demonstrate individual resilience
(Goleman, 1995).This is a plausible explanation for the positive response of individual teachers.Teacher resilience relates to attitudes that facilitate a positive perspective of a difficult situation (Clark, 2002).There is evidence at the school that
teachers are emotionally resilient and that this quality assists in mediating their
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stress. Resilience is an under-researched area in organisational studies that requires
further exploration.

Group responses include the initiative of the School Support Group and projects designed to raise the profile of the school and stimulate student learning.
Another form of coping within this challenging work environment is an active
social support network.The data suggest collegial relationships between staff, and
teachers appear to be satisfied with the principals support.All of these responses
illustrate a cohesive and supportive working environment where social support is
provided by both colleagues and the leadership (Lazarus,2000;Lazarus & Folkman,
1984). Both the social support network and a fortunate blend of individual qualities produce the positive, pro-active responses, which work synergistically to mitigate a complex and difficult environment. Despite the stressful working experiences of the teachers at the school, the response of the school and its teachers is
overwhelmingly positive.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this school case documents the stress and coping experiences of
teachers located in a culturally diverse school.The predominant root of teacher
stress appears to be the intersection between a complex demographic structure,the
external demands of the governing bureaucracy and the resources made available
to the school.Contrary to what might be expected,the school as a whole exhibits
many positive traits, such as a stable, committed staff and a dynamic and relevant
curriculum.Teacher stress,however,does persist at the school.This case study illustrates the important role of government in sustaining public schools and the challenges and stress that result from a limited government stewardship. In spite of
under-resourcing of this school,its staff has developed a series of strategic solutions
to stress through the teachers individual qualities and the existence of a social
support network.

Keywords
teachers
stress
coping
social support
workloads
primary schools
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and the
assistance of Professor Simon Marginson, as well as the principal and staff of the Victorian
primary school which is the subject of this research for their generosity in terms of time
and their participation.
Authors
Rosaria Burchielli is a Lecturer in the School of Business, La Trobe University, VIC 3086.
Timothy Bartram is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Business, La Trobe University, VIC