Cliques, broken trust and ‘surveillance’: one staffroom's emotional toll on teachers

Sarah Duggan

By Sarah Duggan
Published July 13, 2022

To the outsider, they’re seemingly convivial sites where teachers converge for a shot of caffeine, a small slice of quiet marking time and perhaps a solid debrief on the latest painting disaster in Room 2B.

The research found tense collegial relationships, fractured professional trust, exclusive teacher ‘cliques’ and even a pervasive sense of surveillance came with being in the staffroom.

But dig a little deeper into your average staffroom scene and a complicated web of social politics will emerge – ...

Teaching Assistant

Veritas West London

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