2024-03-04 16:55:16
In spring 2023, as the Covid-19 pandemic faded into the background of global concerns, the I-BEST Barometer (International barometer of education staff) looked at the professional experience and well-being of education staff. education across the world. Among the 26,000 participants from four continents, nearly a thousand were school heads, mainly in France, Spain and Argentina.
The management staff of schools, colleges and high schools carry out the daily administrative and educational missions essential to the proper functioning of the structure under their responsibility, thus making the environment conducive to the learning of the students who attend it. These professionals must face specific constraints: heavy workload and irregular schedules, omnipresence of problems particularly of a relational nature, isolation linked to their position, etc.
The Covid-19 pandemic, by placing management staff on the front line in the organization of both home school periods and return to site, has further reinforced the challenges of the profession. But then, in 2023, what are the psychosocial risk factors to which these personnel are subject and how are they faring after the health crisis?
Psychosocial risks are very present
The management staff of educational establishments who participated in the I-BEST 2023 barometer almost all worked in public education. In the French sample, 80% worked in primary education. In the Spanish and Argentinian samples, secondary management personnel (heads and heads of establishments) were slightly more represented: 51% and 35% of the samples respectively.
Considering the sex ratios of the samples of respondents, the profession of management personnel of educational establishments in these 3 countries appears largely feminized with more than two thirds of women, and even almost 9 out of 10 in Argentina. We still notice that the male presence increases with the level of education.
An observation shared by the management staff of the three countries surveyed: the volume of work is significant and stress is omnipresent. At least two thirds of management staff describe their job as quite or very stressful (respectively 86% in France, 78% in Spain and 67% in Argentina) and this feeling is significantly less favorable than that of their teaching colleagues (73 % of teachers in France, 65% in Spain and 46% in Argentina).
Figure 1. Psychosocial risk factors assessed by management staff of educational establishments that participated in the I-BEST 2023 barometer in France, Spain and Argentina, and comparison with teaching colleagues. I-BEST 2023 RES/FESP
On average, management staff works more than 40 hours per week, around fifty hours per week in France in secondary education for example. Moreover, the feeling of professional/personal life imbalance is widespread among these staff (Figure 1).
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If work intensity factors are indeed present in the profession, management personnel seem, on the contrary, to benefit from good work autonomy, with a very large majority of respondents qualifying it as “good” or at least ” relative”. In France, however, 1 in 6 management personnel consider they have little or no autonomy at work and the frequency of this negative opinion contrasts unfavorably with that of their teaching colleagues (Figure 1).
More worrying: the exposure of management staff in educational establishments to professional violence. In France, 1 in 2 management staff have been victims of violence at work in the last 12 months, while 1 in 3 teachers have already declared having been a victim. For management staff in Spain and Argentina, workplace violence seems less common than in France, and approximately as frequent as that reported by teaching staff in these countries, but remains significant: 18% of management staff victims in the past year in Spain and 26% in Argentina (Figure 1).
However, when considered “in general”, the relationships that management staff have with different members of the educational community are evaluated very positively, and this opinion tends to be better than that expressed by their teaching colleagues. Thus, the satisfaction rate of management staff is almost 100% regarding the relationship with students and exceeds 90% for the relationship with parents and other members of staff respectively. The relationship with the hierarchical line lends itself to a little more reserve, particularly in France. Management staff appear to favor better support from superiors, including on issues of quality of life at work.
Figure 2. Aspects of the hierarchical relationship assessed by management staff of educational establishments responding to the I-BEST 2023 Barometer in France, Spain and Argentina. I-BEST 2023 RES/FESP
Depending on the country, contrasting well-being
Concerning motivational aspects such as training possibilities, career opportunities and salary level, the opinion of management staff appears quite favorable in Argentina, intermediate in Spain and more negative in France (Figure 3). Compared to teachers, management staff seem a little more satisfied with their career opportunities and their salary.
If, in the three countries, a large majority of management personnel consider that their profession is not valued in society (93% in France, 81% in Spain, 71% in Argentina), this negative opinion of management personnel however, remains slightly less widespread than among their teaching colleagues.
Figure 3. Motivational factors at work assessed by management staff of educational establishments that responded to the I-BEST 2023 Barometer in France, Spain and Argentina, and comparison with teaching colleagues. I-BEST 2023 RES/FESP
What is the overall job satisfaction of management staff? In Spain and Argentina, it is holding up, with more than 7 out of 10 management personnel who would choose the profession if they had to do it again. In France, with only half of the staff who would choose this profession again, satisfaction appears to be low.
Consistently, the general well-being indicators of management personnel indicate a worrying situation in France, intermediate in Spain and more favorable in Argentina, whether we are interested in subjective well-being, or even mental health.
Figure 4. Well-being indicators assessed by management staff of educational establishments that responded to the I-BEST 2023 barometer in France, Spain and Argentina, and comparison with teaching colleagues. I-BEST 2023 RES/FESP
In particular, the subjective well-being of management staff appears particularly fragile in France, with at least one staff in 2 located on the lower part of an 8-degree scale (Figure 4). Psychological health is not only a concern in France, but also in Spain, with more than 4 in 10 management personnel often, very often or always feeling negative feelings such as anxiety or depression in these two countries (Figure 4).
Ultimately, in three countries with diverse circumstances, cultures and educational systems, management personnel appear exposed to significant psychosocial risks. The subjective well-being of management personnel nevertheless varies more depending on the country. By describing these situations based on recent data, I-BEST contributes to identifying avenues for improvement taking into account the reality on the ground. In particular, the factors and organizations in countries where well-being indicators are the most favorable represent avenues to consider for countries where there is significant room for improvement.
Acknowledgment: the Education and Solidarity Network and all its partners for the implementation of I-BEST; Nathalie Billaudeau for statistics and figures; Nathalie Billaudeau, Pascale Lapie-Legouis, Karim Ould-Kaci, Ange-Andréa Lopoa and Morgane Richard for proofreading the article.
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