ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a neglected aspect of special educational needs, namely the effect of the school's climate on its teachers as well as on its pupils. It reviews the notions of stress and of satisfaction in teaching, with particular reference to the presence of children with special needs. The chapter discusses evidence that the nature and amount of stress, and of job-satisfaction, have little to do with any objectively describable pupil characteristics. An immediate problem in saying that stress can arise from, or be inhibited by, the school's social and professional climate is that this assumes a particular definition of stress. The concept of satisfaction is at least as complex as that of stress. The factors emerging as the main sources of stress or of satisfaction depend on the questions researchers ask teachers. A source of stress for many year tutors is knowing that they could tackle something more effectively than any member of their team of form tutors.
