ABSTRACT
Trevor has been teaching for ten years in a small rural primary school. He teaches a mixed-age class of 8-to 11-year-olds. Until recently, he thoroughly enjoyed his job and regularly received lots of positive feedback from pupils, colleagues and parents. Then, a year ago, a new head teacher was appointed following an unsuccessful inspection of the school. She has made many sweeping changes and, over the last few months, she has expressed dissatisfaction with some aspects of
Trevor’s practice although she has not formalised this in a capability procedure. The result is that Trevor has begun to question his own ability to teach effectively, and this process of self-questioning and self-doubt has seriously undermined his confidence. Let’s take a closer look at what is happening to Trevor:
Trevor arrives at school on Monday morning with a feeling of fear and anxiety in the pit of his stomach. He spent the best part of Sunday trying to plan his lessons for the week ahead but every lesson plan seemed unsatisfactory to him. The lessons seem dull, safe, and rigid in structure and he has even begun to doubt his ability to deliver the learning intentions effectively. He has no idea how to make the changes that the head has asked for and, in any case, he doesn’t see much point in trying, as he feels that his efforts will be criticised. In short, he has totally demoralised himself during the course of his Sunday preparation. While he was planning, he kept hearing the new head’s criticisms of his practice going through his head, and with every repetition of these comments he felt his energy and motivation flowing away from him.
