Jude Brady | University of Cambridge (original) (raw)
Uploads
Papers by Jude Brady
Cambridge Journal of Education, 2021
This qualitative study explores the types of school-level teacher wellbeing initiatives reported ... more This qualitative study explores the types of school-level teacher wellbeing initiatives reported by 51 teachers. The authors argue that the most well-received wellbeing measures are those embedded within supportive whole school cultures which aim to minimise burdensome workloads and maximise feelings of auton- omy, relatedness and competence. Analysis shows that the least effective initiatives were those that reacted to a perceived problem, but did not seek to address the cause of perceived poor wellbeing. In some cases, activities such as compulsory cooking or sports sessions infringed upon teachers’ basic needs for autonomy. Such initiatives acted as a barrier to teacher wellbeing when they were seen to respond to a perceived demand for accountability, or contribute to burdensome workloads by placing additional demands on teachers’ time. Overall, teachers favoured school poli- cies and practices which were conducive to promoting meaningful workloads, rather than one-off or limited-duration wellbeing activities.
Improving Schools, 2021
Teaching is understood to be a highly stressful profession. In England, workload, high-stakes acc... more Teaching is understood to be a highly stressful profession. In England, workload, high-stakes accountability policies and pupil behaviour are often cited as stressors that contribute to teachers’ decisions to leave posts in the state-funded sector. Many of these teachers leave state teaching to take jobs in private schools, but very little is known about the nature of teachers’ work in the private sector. This research addresses this gap in knowledge and compares the sources of stress experienced by 20 teachers in the state sector to those of 20 teachers in the private sector. The paper is based on qualitative data from a larger study. It analyses data collected in interviews and focus groups with classroom teachers and middle leaders working in mainstream primary and secondary phase education in England. The results emphasise state school teachers’ acute distress in relation to workloads driven by accountability cultures. In comparison, private school teachers report less intense e...
Brady, J (2015), Dialect, power and politics: standard English and adolescent identities. Literac... more Brady, J (2015), Dialect, power and politics: standard English and adolescent identities. Literacy, 49, 149–157. doi: 10.1111/lit.12058.
Drafts by Jude Brady
This paper examines the official requirement for the promotion of standard English in the curricu... more This paper examines the official requirement for the promotion of standard English in the curriculum using Bourdieu's concepts of the production and reproduction of legitimate language. It explores the political drive behind the demand for this standard dialect in England and, through a survey on the views of fifty‐two 14 and 15 year olds, analyses the impact that this is having on adolescent identities in an inner‐city London school. The students perceive non‐standard English as a vehicle through which they can express their ‘true’ selves and construct a collective teenage identity. They use language to construct a division between themselves as teenagers and the adult ‘others’. Although the students do not necessarily want to use non‐standard English in the classroom, or with their teachers, educators need to consider how to afford pupils access to the ‘official language’, which grants privilege and power, without devaluing the identities which they may associate with other dialect forms.
This interim report presents the findings from an online questionnaire of 806 teachers in England... more This interim report presents the findings from an online questionnaire of 806 teachers in England. The data gathered here constitute the first phase of my PhD data collection. It explores teachers' working conditions in the state and independent schools sector in England. Specifically, it examines: teachers' working hours; the constitution of teachers' workload; accountability, and the sources and levels of teacher stress in relation to job satisfaction in a sample of teachers from each sector. The findings suggest that while the sampled teachers work similar hours in both sectors, there are significant differences in stress and job satisfaction with independent teachers reporting far higher levels of job satisfaction, and much lower levels of stress. Teachers' experiences of accountability measures also vary according to sector. The next phase of the project aims to further investigate the trends identified here, and identify the conditions that are optimal for teacher job satisfaction and by extension - retention, in both sectors.
Cambridge Journal of Education, 2021
This qualitative study explores the types of school-level teacher wellbeing initiatives reported ... more This qualitative study explores the types of school-level teacher wellbeing initiatives reported by 51 teachers. The authors argue that the most well-received wellbeing measures are those embedded within supportive whole school cultures which aim to minimise burdensome workloads and maximise feelings of auton- omy, relatedness and competence. Analysis shows that the least effective initiatives were those that reacted to a perceived problem, but did not seek to address the cause of perceived poor wellbeing. In some cases, activities such as compulsory cooking or sports sessions infringed upon teachers’ basic needs for autonomy. Such initiatives acted as a barrier to teacher wellbeing when they were seen to respond to a perceived demand for accountability, or contribute to burdensome workloads by placing additional demands on teachers’ time. Overall, teachers favoured school poli- cies and practices which were conducive to promoting meaningful workloads, rather than one-off or limited-duration wellbeing activities.
Improving Schools, 2021
Teaching is understood to be a highly stressful profession. In England, workload, high-stakes acc... more Teaching is understood to be a highly stressful profession. In England, workload, high-stakes accountability policies and pupil behaviour are often cited as stressors that contribute to teachers’ decisions to leave posts in the state-funded sector. Many of these teachers leave state teaching to take jobs in private schools, but very little is known about the nature of teachers’ work in the private sector. This research addresses this gap in knowledge and compares the sources of stress experienced by 20 teachers in the state sector to those of 20 teachers in the private sector. The paper is based on qualitative data from a larger study. It analyses data collected in interviews and focus groups with classroom teachers and middle leaders working in mainstream primary and secondary phase education in England. The results emphasise state school teachers’ acute distress in relation to workloads driven by accountability cultures. In comparison, private school teachers report less intense e...
Brady, J (2015), Dialect, power and politics: standard English and adolescent identities. Literac... more Brady, J (2015), Dialect, power and politics: standard English and adolescent identities. Literacy, 49, 149–157. doi: 10.1111/lit.12058.
This paper examines the official requirement for the promotion of standard English in the curricu... more This paper examines the official requirement for the promotion of standard English in the curriculum using Bourdieu's concepts of the production and reproduction of legitimate language. It explores the political drive behind the demand for this standard dialect in England and, through a survey on the views of fifty‐two 14 and 15 year olds, analyses the impact that this is having on adolescent identities in an inner‐city London school. The students perceive non‐standard English as a vehicle through which they can express their ‘true’ selves and construct a collective teenage identity. They use language to construct a division between themselves as teenagers and the adult ‘others’. Although the students do not necessarily want to use non‐standard English in the classroom, or with their teachers, educators need to consider how to afford pupils access to the ‘official language’, which grants privilege and power, without devaluing the identities which they may associate with other dialect forms.
This interim report presents the findings from an online questionnaire of 806 teachers in England... more This interim report presents the findings from an online questionnaire of 806 teachers in England. The data gathered here constitute the first phase of my PhD data collection. It explores teachers' working conditions in the state and independent schools sector in England. Specifically, it examines: teachers' working hours; the constitution of teachers' workload; accountability, and the sources and levels of teacher stress in relation to job satisfaction in a sample of teachers from each sector. The findings suggest that while the sampled teachers work similar hours in both sectors, there are significant differences in stress and job satisfaction with independent teachers reporting far higher levels of job satisfaction, and much lower levels of stress. Teachers' experiences of accountability measures also vary according to sector. The next phase of the project aims to further investigate the trends identified here, and identify the conditions that are optimal for teacher job satisfaction and by extension - retention, in both sectors.