Understanding what factors influence a perceived psychological contract breach and retaliation among Irish secondary school teachers

Ryan, Kieran (2011) Understanding what factors influence a perceived psychological contract breach and retaliation among Irish secondary school teachers. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

The economic downturn and recession affects every industry and sector of Ireland. The educational sector is long thought of as being instrumental in developing the minds of the future. This sector has been used in recent years, as a tool for getting Ireland out of this economic depression.
The psychological contract (PC) is a valuable construct which attempts to explain a mutually reciprocal union of promises that exist in the employment relationship (Robinson, Kraatz, & Rousseau 1994; Guest 1998). Research on this topic has increased since the inception of the term in the 1960s, as it is regarded as having a huge bearing on the employment contract.
In recent years the educational sector has undergone significant change and pressure has been placed on teachers to work longer hours, and deal with increased class sizes. They are expected to continue to carry out extra-curricular activities, at no extra benefit to them. The ASTI (Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland), the representative body for secondary teachers in Ireland, has argued that the Croke Park Agreement (CPA) along with other austerity measures taken by the government in an attempt at cost saving and stream lining the sector, has broken promises made to teachers, and consequently breached their PC.
In an attempt to investigate this evidence further, research was carried out in the form of in-depth interviews, to understand the factors that influence a perceived breach of a PC, and what retaliation measures, if any, teachers take against such measures.
Responses gained from the interviews and the literature is used to understand breach and what action is taken against it. Change, support issues, and actions taken by the principal, were the main factors contributing to a perception of breach; while reaction and trust influenced what retaliation the teachers took against this perception of breach.
The author uses this information to then promote recommendations of how to approach addressing the contentious issues that the sector faces.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB1603 Secondary Education. High schools
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Arts in Human Resource Management
Depositing User:	Timothy Lawless
Date Deposited:	18 Oct 2011 13:16
Last Modified:	28 Apr 2012 12:44
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/569

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