Managing the Drama

The Headteacher's Work in an Urban Primary School

Bibliographic Data

ID3471611
AuthorsSandra Acker (0000-0003-3662-2314, University of Bristol, corresponding author)
Year1990
Volume38
Issue2
Pages247-271
Publication date1990-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0261 • E-ISSN: 1467-954X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-954x.1990.tb00911.x
OpenAlexW2146285573
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited14

Previous studies of the work of primary school headteachers tend to adopt a fairly superficial approach to categorizing tasks and contacts. As part of an ethnographic study of teachers' work in an inner city primary school, I 'shadowed' the headteacher for three one-week blocks plus four interviews and numerous informal talks. Life at this school was intense and often dramatic. I develop an approach which suggests the headteacher's work contains 'routines', 'events' and 'stories' and give examples of each. Some 'stories' develop into 'sagas' or 'social dramas' and two instances are described. I examine how this headteacher not only copes with, but enjoys, what appears to be an increasingly stressful job

Art · Drama · Ethnography · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Visual arts · Work (physics) · Early Childhood Education and Development · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Engineering · Psychology · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

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