Coping with restructuring

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of purposeful attempts to cope with stress by senior educational administrators in an Australian state education department of over 2,000 schools and employing teaching and administrative staff in excess of 60,000. At the time of the study this department was undergoing the initial stages of large‐scale restructuring, moving from a centralized system of management to a school‐centred, decentralized structure. This provided a unique opportunity to examine the ways in which senior executives respond in a time of discontinuous change. Presents general findings of a self‐report coping strategies questionnaire and reveals some significant relationships between general wellbeing, personality type and coping strategies.