Stressor-manifestations in a sample of primary school principals : a longitudinal study : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education

Abstract

This thesis results from a longitudinal field study of stressfulness in nineteen New Zealand primary school principals. The study was located in a suburban area during the 1930s. After establishing a broad base of field work from the full sample, the researcher concentrated on a core of six principals, returning to the full sample in the later field work. The approach is in part retrospective as some members of the sample retired during the extended period of the study. To focus the field study, the researcher formulated six broad research questions to gather data. The study found the incidence of manifested stressors to be widespread. This thesis describes mainly 'on-job' stressors, including hassles, and identifies the stressor-manifestations sequence, including burn, burnout and pathological outcomes. Some principals displayed renewal in changed environments. The researcher linked field data with current published research findings to make an awareness model combining the stressor-manifestations sequence with aspects of stress management.