The teacher and role conflict

Abstract

This chapter examines categories of objective role conflict for teachers which have been suggested in theoretical analysis and examines also British and American evidence relating to these categories. Subsequent work investigated the perceived role conflict of secondary-school teachers arising from different evaluations of four areas of the teacher’s role by various members of the role set. The importance of considering teacher role conflicts in relation to certain organisational characteristics of schools has been emphasised by Hoyle but empirical work in Britain is still sparse. The existence of considerably more American work can be attributed partly to the fact that the vulnerability of the teacher’s role and of the school as an institution is clearly more of a problem than in Britain. The greater isolation of the teacher and the school from community pressures, the professional prestige of academic specialisms, the generally smaller size of schools and the acceptance of considerable autonomy for teachers within the schools, create radically different conditions.