Effective cooperation by implementing school innovations – The role of stress and coping.

Author(s):

Stefanie Morgenroth(presenting / submitting)Petra Buchwald(presenting)

Conference:

ECER 2011

Network:

3. Curriculum Innovation by Schools and Teachers

Format:

Paper

Session Information

03 SES 10 A, Implementing Curricular Change

Paper Session

Time:

2011-09-15

15:00-16:30

Room:

JK 31/227,1 FL., 30

Chair:

Jan van den Akker

Contribution

In Germany particularly in the last ten years the educational systems changed on all levels of formalised education from primary school to university. This kind of change combined with many innovations leads to high stress among teachers (Goltz & Strautmann, 2002). Many national and international studies showed that burnout could be the consequence of chronic stress (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998; Greenglass, 2001; Christ, Wagner & van Dick, 2004). In Germany annually round about 7000 teachers have to resign from their job due to stress (Poschkamp, 2008). Although stress is widely discussed in the school context only little is known about the influence of teachers` stress on a successful implementation of innovations. Therefore the question arises how to support teachers coping efforts to handle the working load caused by the implementation of innovations more effectively. Recently, many research results could show that effective teacher cooperation helps to implement school innovations (Kretschmer, 2004; Gräsel, Fussangel & Parchmann, 2006). However, even cooperation itself could be stressful and it is to analyse which resources and coping strategies are relevant for a successful cooperation in school.

Within the theoretical framework of the conservation of resources-theory and the associated multiaxial coping model (Hobfoll, 1998; Hobfoll & Buchwald, 2004) it could be supposed that the analysis of gains and losses of resources in correlation with different forms of cooperation enable a differentiating view on teachers` burnout. Knowledge about the correlation between cooperation and the individual management of resources as well as ways of cooperation reducing burnout presumably affords a preventive approach to optimize common strategies of coping for everyday life at school.

In our study we mainly asked to what extent gains and losses of teachers` resources were correlated with coping and cooperation of teachers. Further we wanted to clarify which kind of gains and losses of resources as well as which sources of support were predictors for emotional exhaustion (burnout). In addition it was to scrutinise which sources of support were correlated with different ways of cooperation.

The data were based on a project called LIMa (workshops for teachers to support the implementation of innovations in maths classes) which was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and part of the research program ‘Developing professionalism of educational employees in educational institutions’. The intention of the project was to figure out how innovations could be successfully implemented in primary schools. The object of innovation was the math curriculum of primary schools in North-Rhine Westphalia.

Method

We consulted 208 teachers of 25 elementary schools in North Rhine Westphalia. All teachers completed the German version of the Conservation of Resources-List for teachers (GCOR-E-LK; Buchwald, 2009) measuring gains and losses of resources, the German version of the Strategic Approach to Coping Scale (SACS) (Schwarzer, Starke & Buchwald, 2003) and a cooperation scale developed by Fussangel (2008). Furthermore, we applied the subscale emotional exhaustion of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1981) and the UCLA Social Support Inventory measuring different sources of support (Dunkel-Schetter, Feinstein, Call, 1986). Data were collected in 2 waves (baseline and follow-up survey) within 6 month. All Chronbach`s alphas were good to satisfying. In addition to the quantitative data 12 teachers were interviewed. This combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods could contribute to a profound analysis of the relationship between stress, coping and cooperation of teachers.

Expected Outcomes

First results showed that in particularly gains and losses of time and knowledge (β = -.37; =.48; each p<.01) as well as the loss of individual resources (β=.15, p<.05) were significant predictors for emotional exhaustion. Co-construction, the highest form of cooperation, correlated with a good working atmosphere (r =.21, p<.05; r =-.32, p<.01). Based on the conservation of resources-theory and the multiaxial coping model (Hobfoll, 1998) it can be assumed that stress and coping of teachers are highly correlated with cooperation. Furthermore it could be observed that sources of support had a strong effect on teachers’ resources. For this reason the management of resources, coping as well as the cooperation of teachers in the context of innovations have to be analysed in more detail. The longitudinal interplay of all three variables might give us first hints on influencing mechanism. Further, results could give advises how to prevent stress and burnout at school in the context of the political urge of innovations.

References

Buchwald (2009). The German Conservation of Resources Evaluation Teachers (GCOR-E-LK). Unpublished instrument. Wuppertal: Universität Wuppertal. Buchwald & Hobfoll (2004). Burnout aus ressourcenorientierter Perspektive. Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht, 51, 247-257. Christ, Wagner & van Dick (2004). Belastung und Beanspruchung bei Lehrerinnen und Lehrern in der Ausbildung. In Hillert & Schmitz (Hrsg.). Psychosomatische Erkrankungen bei Lehrerinnen und Lehrern (pp. 113-119). Stuttgart: Schattauer. Enzmann & Kleiber (1989). Helfer-Leiden. Streß und Burnout in psychosozialen Berufen. Heidelberg: Asanger. Fussangel (2008). Subjektive Theorien von Lehrkräften zur Kooperation. Eine Analyse der Zusammenarbeit von Lehrerinnen und Lehrern in Lerngemeinschaften. Wuppertal: http://elpub.bib.uni-wuppertal.de/edocs/dokumente/fbg/paedagogik/diss2008/fussangel/ Gräsel, Fussangel & Parchmann (2006). Lerngemeinschaften in der Lehrerfortbildung. Kooperationserfahrungen und -überzeugungen von Lehrkräften. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 9, 545-561. Greenglass, E. R. (2001) Proactive coping, work stress and burnout. Stress News: The Journal of the International Stress Management Association UK, 13, 5-8. Hobfoll (1998). Stress, culture, and community. New York: Plenum Press. Kretschmer (2004). Soziale Netzwerke von Lehrern. Konzepte, Evaluationsmethoden, Ergebnisse. In: Hillert, Schmitz, Christ (Hrsg.). Psychosomatische Erkrankungen bei Lehrerinnen und Lehrern. Ursachen, Folgen, Lösungen. Stuttgart: Schattauer. 184-193. Maslach & Jackson (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 2, 99-113. Schaufeli, W., &Enzmann, D. (1998). The burnout companion to study and practice: A critical analysis. London. Taylor & Francis. Schetter, Feinstein, Call (1993). Fragebogen zur erhaltenen Unterstützung (UNTERST). Unveröffentlichtes Instrument in der deutschen Übersetzung von C. Schwarzer. Schwarzer, Starke & Buchwald (2003). Die Diagnose von Coping mit dem multiaxialen Stressbewältigungsinventar (SBI). In: Buchwald, Schwarzer & Hobfoll (Hrsg.): Stress gemeinsam bewältigen – Ressourcenmanagement und multiaxiales Coping. Göttingen: Hogrefe. 60-73. van Dick (1999). Streß und Arbeitszufriedenheit im Lehrerberuf. Eine Analyse von Belastung und Beanspruchung im Kontext sozialpsychologischer klinisch psychologischer und organisationspsychologischer Konzepte. Marburg: Tectum-Verl. (wissenschaftliche Beiträge aus dem Tectum-Verlag/ Reihe Psychologie, 2).

Author Information

Stefanie Morgenroth (presenting / submitting)

Bergische Universität Wuppertal

School of Education

Wuppertal

Petra Buchwald (presenting)

Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Germany

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