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Workload, Job Satisfaction and Perceptions of Role

Preparation of Principal Educational Psychologists in
England

Article  in  School Psychology International · August 2003

DOI: 10.1177/01430343030243001

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 Workload, Job Satisfaction and Perceptions of
Role Preparation of Principal Educational
Psychologists in England

DAWN B. MALEa and TREVOR MALEb

a
Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education,
University of London, London, UK and bInternational
Leadership Centre, University of Hull, Hull, UK

ABSTRACT This article describes the results of a study which

investigated workload, job satisfaction and perceptions of role prepa-
ration of Principal Educational Psychologists (PEPs). A questionnaire
was sent to all PEPs in England. One hundred and twelve responses
were received, giving a 76 percent response rate. Results indicated
that PEPs have a generally positive attitude to the profession and
express overall job satisfaction. PEPs managing large and/or complex
services expressed greater overall job satisfaction and greater satis-
faction with role clarity than PEPs managing small and/or compact
services. There were indications that less experienced PEPs are more
satisfied with aspects of their work than more experienced PEPs and
have more positive attitudes to the profession. Less experienced PEPs
also felt better prepared for certain aspects of the job. Despite the
overall satisfaction, PEPs found the job stressful and were particu-
larly dissatisfied with time constraints relating to administration.
PEPs cited funding as a particular challenge to the service and reported
feeling particularly ill-prepared for dealing with financial matters.
Change, recruitment and retention, and ensuring and maintaining
quality were also areas of concern. On the basis of the findings,
implications for leadership and management development of PEPs
are discussed.

Introduction
In recent years legislative changes in England having implications for
education services have been extensive and rapid. These changes include:

Please address correspondence to: Dr Dawn B. Male, Psychology and Human

Development, Institute of Education, University of London, 25 Woburn Square,
London, WC1 HOAA, UK.

School Psychology International Copyright © 2003 SAGE Publications (London,

Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi), Vol. 24(3): 259–275. [0143–0343 (200308)
24:3; 259–275; 034941]

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 School Psychology International (2003), Vol. 24(3)
• Legislation relating to the increased inclusion of children and young
people with special educational needs (SEN) (Education Acts 1981
and 1993). The latter Act gave guidance to local education authorities
(LEAs) and governing bodies of all state-maintained schools on the
identification and assessment of children with SEN;
• The Education Reform Act 1988. This Act introduced the principle and
practice of the Local Management of Schools (LMS), a process which
imposed important limitations on the functions of LEAs, forcing them
to give greater autonomy to schools and governing bodies;
• The Children Act 1989. This Act sought to provide a comprehensive
and integrated statutory framework for children, requiring joint
working from professionals in health, education and social services
(Conn, 1992).

These changes have had implications for LEA Educational Psychology

Services (EPSs), calling for role and function reappraisal, reappraisal of
working practices, varying degrees of service restructuring and
reformulation of funding mechanisms (Wolfendale, 1992). The role of
PEPs has changed substantially as a result of this legislation, mainly
because of the devolution of LEA funding to schools. This article seeks
to investigate the perceptions of PEPs on these changes to their work-
load, job satisfaction and role preparation.

EPSs in England: the context

In England the state system of education is controlled by parliament
and administered by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES)
under the direction of the Secretary of State for Education. State-
maintained schools are largely provided for through democratically
elected local authorities. The LEA is the elected body which runs the
education service. Every LEA in England will have a team of educa-
tional psychologists (EPs) whose general function is to assist the LEA
in assessing and identifying children and young people with SEN and
to advise the LEA on ways of providing for them (Farrell and Lunt,
1994). Typically, this team will consist of a number of main grade EPs,
around three to five senior educational psychologists (SEPs) and a
principal educational psychologist (PEP). Teams will vary in size depend-
ing on the number of children living in the LEA (Farrell and Lunt,
1994). Core areas of activity for EPSs recently have been identified as
early years work, work with schools and multi-agency work (DfEE,
2000). PEPs are almost always appointed from SEPs with substantial
experience (Fox, 1992). The role and status of the PEP will vary from
LEA to LEA: in some LEAs the PEP will have overall management
responsibility for the EPS (and, possibly, for a range of related serv-

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 Male and Male: Principal Educational Psychologists in England
ices). In other LEAs the PEP will be responsible for the day-to-day
running and organization of the EPS but the service as a whole will
come under a ‘manager’ – as part of a support service, who may or may
not be an ex-PEP – or under a more generic education officer (Strat-
ford, 1995).
Education services have been driven into a market place environment
(Ball, 1994) where quality of provision is judged by the consumer rather
than the supplier. The most prevalent models of service delivery tend to
be based on time allocation, service level agreements (SLAs) and/or
consultancy models (Leadbetter, 2000). From 2000 all EPSs have also
been required to identify and report on performance indicators for their
service as a part of the ‘Best Value’ initiative jointly published by the
Audit Commission, the Department for the Environment, Transport and
the Regions (DETR) and the Home Office. A total of 224 performance
indicators have been devised for Best Value (BVPI) and Audit Commission
(ACPI) which cover all services carried out by local authorities (Local
Government Association, 1999). There are 19 BVPIs for education.
These focus around: six BVPIs on cost/efficiency; six BVPIs on service
delivery; two BVPIs on quality and five BVPIs on fair access. In addition,
there are six ACPIs which focus around education.
The changes to the role of leaders in education have been common in
the respect that responsibility and accountability for provision has
been located at the point of delivery. The consequence for all aspects of
the maintained schools system has been a change of emphasis for the
leadership and management tasks needed for their provision. More
has been demanded from educational professionals in the way of
organizational and strategic leadership, encompassing tasks such as
marketing and financial management. In schools this has resulted in a
shift in the main focus of the role of headteachers to the point where
they are more likely to be considered as a head, rather than as a head-
teacher, with individual leadership and management responsibilities
increasing as teaching decreases (Southworth, 1995). Although the
focus of the educational leader has shifted in a similar fashion where
provision has become reliant on earned income, as is now the case with
most LEA services, the range of leadership and management tasks has
been of a different emphasis and priority, principally driven by the
need to provide their services on a cost recovery basis.
Cline (1994) noted that accountability and the management of
resources, with strict cost–benefit analysis, underlined much of the
working practices of EPSs in England in the 1990s. The subsequent
consequence for PEPs has been a requirement to establish and monitor
SLAs that specify income streams, the range and volume of service,
resource allocation and the deployment of staff. In addition to satisfying
the need for public accountability that has become a feature of central

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 School Psychology International (2003), Vol. 24(3)
government policy, schools and other users of the service are able to
evaluate the provision and purchase accordingly. The management and
administration of these SLAs has become a core task for PEPs in the new
millennium.

The study

Rationale
Despite these extensive and rapid legislative changes that have
transformed the nature of leadership, management and delivery of EPSs
there have been no empirical investigations, as far as the authors are
aware, into the possible implications of these changes on aspects of the
working lives of PEPs. Investigations which have been carried out have
generally been restricted to main grade or senior EPs (e.g. Male and
Jensen, 1998), have predated major legislative changes (e.g. Freeman,
1987) or have been of school psychologists (but not exclusively principals)
working in other countries (e.g. Brown et al., 1998; Huebner and Mills,
1997; Thomson, 1998). In general, these studies have indicated that
educational (or school) psychologists are satisfied or very satisfied with
their jobs, have positive attitudes to the profession, but find it moderately
stressful to stressful. When dissatisfaction is expressed, or when
heightened stress is experienced, it tends to be related to workload, time
constraints and organizational conditions (e.g. lack of appropriate
resources for children).
As noted, however, studies generally have focussed on more junior
educational (or school) psychologists or have not differentiated between
junior and senior psychologists; thus far, little is known about the
most senior psychologists (PEPs). The study described in this article
sought to begin to fill this research void by focussing on workload, job
satisfaction and perceptions of role preparation of PEPs in England. In
so doing, it will provide up-to-date empirical evidence not readily
available elsewhere.

Data collection
A questionnaire was designed which aimed to elicit information on
PEPs’ workload, job satisfaction and perceptions of role preparation. In
order to inform item selection, five PEPs were asked to keep a work diary
for one week. These five PEPs also piloted the questionnaire. In addition,
reference was made to relevant literature (e.g. Huebner and Mills, 1997)
and to previous related research conducted by one or both authors (Male,
1999; Male and Jensen, 1998; Male and May, 1997; Male and Male,
2001). Advice was also sought from senior managers of similar and/or
related services.

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 Male and Male: Principal Educational Psychologists in England
The questionnaire comprised the following sections:
(1) Personal and professional characteristics. Sex, age, ethnicity,
qualifications, career history and title/nature of present post.
(2) Satisfaction with job. This section comprised 18 items and was
designed to elicit PEPs’ satisfaction with different aspects of the job
(e.g. clarity of the role, career advancement opportunities, current
salary). Response modes were four-point Likert-type scales rang-
ing from 1 (‘very satisfied’) to 4 (‘very unsatisfied’).
(3) Attitude to the profession. This section comprised seven items and
was designed to elicit PEPs’ attitude to different aspects of the
profession (e.g. ‘How important do you believe the role of PEP is?’).
For the first five items response modes were four-point Likert-type
scales but for the last two items (relating to the nature and pace of
change) five-point scales were used. The rationale for the five-point
scale was to allow for a neutral option. Whilst meanings of the
scales varied according to the item, 1 was always the most positive
(e.g. ‘very important’) and 4 (or 5) the least positive (e.g. ‘not at all
important’). Respondents were also asked to describe up to three
major challenges to their service at the current time. Responses to
this last question were qualitative.
(4) Perceptions of role preparation. This section comprised six items
describing various work activities (e.g. administration, financial
matters, personnel matters). For each item respondents were
asked to describe how well prepared they felt during their first year
as a PEP to carry out each activity. Possible response modes ranged
from 1 (‘not at all prepared’) to 4 (‘well prepared’).
(5) Workload. PEPs were asked to think back through the seven days
prior to questionnaire completion and to estimate the number of
hours they had spent on work-related activities both at work and at
home. They were then asked to indicate how typical this was by
ticking one of four boxes ranging from ‘not at all’ to ‘very much so’.
(6) Proportion of time spent on work activities/preference for how time
is spent. For this final section respondents were asked to indicate
the actual percentage of time spent on different activities and the
preferred percentage of time spent. Seven activities were listed (e.g.
educational psychology matters, administration, financial matters).
At the end of the questionnaire PEPs were asked to include any
additional information that may have a bearing on their workload, job
satisfaction or perceptions of role preparation.

Participants
Questionnaires were sent to all PEPs in England. Population details
were obtained from an educational mailing centre which specializes in

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 School Psychology International (2003), Vol. 24(3)
the distribution of selected population/sampling lists. This list showed
147 EPSs in England. One hundred and twelve responses were received
from PEPs, giving a 76.19 percent response rate. Fifty-five respondents
(49.11 percent) were male and 57 (51.89 percent) were female. Reference
to the directory of the professional association for educational psycholo-
gists in the UK indicated that in 2002, in the region of 57 percent of PEPs
in England were male; our sample therefore indicates something of an
under-representation of male respondents. The mean age of respondents
was 50.67 years (range 35–60 years). Ninety-one percent of respondents
described themselves as White UK; five percent as Irish; one percent as
Black Caribbean; one percent as Black other; one percent as Indian and
one percent as ‘other’. Whilst there is no national database on the
ethnicity of PEPs which would enable definitive statements to be made
regarding how representative our sample is, our 76 percent response
rate might reasonably justify confidence in the comment that there is a
significant preponderance of PEPs in the profession as a whole in
England who describe their ethnicity as white UK.
Fifteen PEPs had held one previous post as a PEP; one PEP had held
more than one previous post as a PEP. For all other respondents (85.71
percent) this was their first post as a PEP. The mean length of time as
a PEP was 5.79 years and the mean length of time in current post was
5.17 years. The mean length of time since qualifying as an educational
psychologist was 20.37 years. Twenty-five percent of respondents held
additional qualifications (e.g. diplomas); 17 percent were studying for
additional qualifications, most usually doctorates.
In terms of job titles, 83 percent of respondents gave their title as
‘Principal Educational Psychologist’ or (less commonly) ‘Chief
Educational Psychologist’. Other job titles were most usually a combi-
nation of PEP plus another role (e.g. ‘PEP/Head of Learning Support
Service’; ‘PEP/Head of SEN Assessment’; ‘PEP/Head of Family Serv-
ices’). Two percent of PEPs reported belonging to the first tier of LEA
management, 64 percent to the second tier, 32 percent to the third tier
and two percent to the fourth tier.
In terms of the nature of the role, PEPs described a wide variety of
roles and responsibilities, from small and/or compact services (e.g. ‘line
management of three EPs, five behavioural support service members,
three admin staff’) to large and/or complex services (e.g. ‘PEP with line
management responsibility for nine EPs; manager of behaviour support
service, looked after children’s education service, parent partnership
and child and family social worker team; link officer (inspection); lead
officer on quality’).
Forty percent of services were in predominantly inner city/urban
areas; 28 percent in mixed rural/urban/inner city areas; 13 percent in
rural/semi-rural areas and 19 percent in suburban areas.

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 Male and Male: Principal Educational Psychologists in England
Analysis
Responses were analysed for the sample as a whole and according to the
following criteria:

• Gender.
• Type of geographical area in which the service operated.
• Whether the PEP was more experienced or less experienced, with
more experienced PEPs (n = 38; 33.93 percent) being considered to be
those whose length of time in post(s) was above the mean for the
sample as a whole (i.e. more than 5.79 years).
• Size/complexity of EPS. EPSs were categorized as: (a) small and/or
compact or (b) large and/or complex. As a general ‘rule of thumb’ EPSs
categorized as small/compact were those with up to ten EPs (including
SEPs) and up to three additional services under the ‘line management’
of the PEP (e.g. ‘seven EPs, 2.5 portage home visitors, 1.5 secretarial/
administrative staff’). EPSs categorized as large/complex were those
comprising ten or more EPs and more than three additional services
(e.g. ‘17 EPs, 15 specialist support teachers; two portage home
visitors, parent partnership service, home tuition service; three
administrative/secretarial staff’). In a minority of instances EPSs
with relatively high numbers of EPs nevertheless were categorized as
small/compact due to the absence of additional services under the line
management of the PEP; similarly, some EPSs with relatively low
numbers of EPs were nevertheless categorized as large/complex on
the basis of having a relatively high number of additional services.
Categorization was carried out by the first author and, subsequently,
by a PEP. Inter-rater agreement was 88 percent. Disagreements were
resolved by discussion. Forty-two percent of EPSs were categorized as
large/complex.

The rationale for analysing data according to the above criteria was
that, based on the literature, experience and advice from our five PEPs,
it was speculated that important differences in responses may be
indicated between the sub-groups (e.g. between male and female PEPs;
between PEPs managing small/compact services and PEPs managing
large/complex services).
Statistical tests used were Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney and
Wilcoxon rank sum test. Only where significant differences were found
are they reported (i.e. p < 0 .05).
Responses to open ended questions were subjected to a content
analysis procedure (see Dey, 1993). Emergent categories were used by
independent raters to obtain measures of inter-rater reliability.
Agreement ranged between 81 percent and 92 percent. Disagreements
were resolved by discussion.

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 School Psychology International (2003), Vol. 24(3)
Results
Results are presented to correspond with sections of the questionnaire.
Tables 1, 2 and 4 indicate mean scores, standard deviations (SD) and
frequency of ratings (expressed as percentages, rounded to the nearest
0.5). For Table 1 a mean score of 2.5 was adopted as a cut-off point for
satisfied: unsatisfied.

Table 1 Job satisfaction

% frequency of rating
Item Level of 1 2 3 4
satisfaction

Overall job satisfaction 2.04 (SD 0.77) 21 53 15.5 10.5

Role clarity 2.16 (SD 0.80) 18.5 49.5 22.5 9.5
Career advancement
opportunities 2.19 (SD 0.74) 13 56.5 19 11.5
Current salary 2.56 (SD 0.86) 6 48.5 24.5 21
Quality of work accommodation 2.61 (SD 0.90) 11.5 31 35 22.5
Amount of secretarial/
administrative support 2.31 (SD 0.88) 17 43 24.5 15.5
Quality of secretarial/
administrative support 1.85 (SD 0.85) 37.5 43.5 10.5 8.5
Financial resources 2.66 (SD 0.75) 3.5 39.5 41.5 15.5
Number of EPs in service 2.65 (SD 0.73) 1.5 43 38.5 17
Time to carry out personnel
functions 2.79 (SD 0.68) 0 34 46 20
Time to carry out administrative
requirements 2.83 (SD 0.65) 0 30.5 52 17.5
Time to carry out direct work
with pupils 2.49 (SD 0.84) 8 45 26 21
Time to work with parents 2.68 (SD 0.75) 2.5 37.5 37.5 22.5
Time to carry out whole school/
teacher development work 2.72 (SD 0.75) 1.5 38.5 40 20
Time to carry out managerial,
leadership requirements 2.57 (SD 0.75) 5 42.5 38.5 14
Time to carry out financial
functions 2.44 (SD 0.71) 3.5 55.5 28 13
Number of meetings required
to attend 2.88 (SD 0.76) 1 31 40 28
Opportunities for professional
development 2.15 (SD 0.79) 18.5 51 21 9.5

1 = very satisfied; 2 = satisfied; 3 = unsatisfied; 4 = very unsatisfied.

Job satisfaction
Levels of satisfaction expressed are presented in Table 1.
As indicated in Table 1, PEPs express overall satisfaction with the job,
with almost three-quarters being satisfied or very satisfied. They express

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 Male and Male: Principal Educational Psychologists in England
particular satisfaction with the quality of secretarial/administrative
support available to them and a relatively high level of satisfaction with role
clarity, career advancement and professional development opportunities.
They are less satisfied with current salary, quality of work accommodation,
financial resources, number of EPs in service, time to carry out personnel
functions, time to carry out administrative and personnel requirements,
time to work with parents, time to carry out whole school/teacher
development work, time to carry out managerial, leadership requirements
and number of meetings they are required to attend.
Feelings relating to job satisfaction are illustrated by the comment of
one PEP below:

Things I like about my job and which motivate me are probably more to do
with how much energy I have over the course of the year – feelings of being
‘on top of the job’ – the timing of my initiatives and the fruition of these
initiatives, the perception of things in the EPS moving forward. If I had a
bedrock of factors that motivated me to become a PEP they would have been
around the words ‘autonomy’, ‘variety’, ‘accountability’. When these are in
balance then I feel very satisfied with my job.

Significant differences (p < 0.05) between groups in relation to job

satisfaction were noted as follows:

• PEPs managing large/complex services expressed greater overall job

satisfaction than PEPs managing small/compact services (means/SD
1.91/0.85 and 2.14/0.71 respectively).
• PEPs managing large/complex services expressed greater satisfac-
tion with role clarity than PEPs managing small/compact services
(means/ SD 2.00/0.85 and 2.27/0.76 respectively).
• Less experienced PEPs showed greater satisfaction with their current
salary than more experienced PEPs (means/SD 2.45/0.87 and 2.82/
0.85 respectively).
• Less experienced PEPs showed greater satisfaction with the time
available to carry out direct work with pupils than more experienced
PEPs (means/SD 2.36/0.81 and 2.77/0.84 respectively).
• PEPs whose services were situated in a predominantly rural/semi-
rural area were less dissatisfied with the number of meetings they
needed to attend per year than PEPs whose services were situated in
predominantly suburban areas; those whose services were in
predominantly inner city/urban areas; those whose services were in
mixed rural/urban/inner city areas (means/SD 2.35/0.74; 3.42/0.53;
2.85/0.72 and 2.97/0.78 respectively).

Attitude to the profession

PEPs’ attitude to the profession are presented in Table 2.

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 School Psychology International (2003), Vol. 24(3)
Table 2 Attitude to the profession
% frequency of rating
Item Attitude to 1 2 3 4 5
profession
Chance of choosing to be a PEP
again 1.92 (SD 0.79) 30.5 41.5 18.5 9.5 –
Importance of role 1.30 (SD 0.46) 67 30.5 2.5 0 –
Satisfaction with degree of
status 1.97 (SD 0.74) 24 51 15.5 9.5 –
Satisfaction with degree of
autonomy 2.01 (SD 0.77) 25 48.5 19 7.5 –
Level of stress 2.93 (SD 0.74) 1 40.5 38.5 20 –
Feelings about nature of change
to role 2.83 (SD 1.14) 6 41.5 17 15.5 20
Feelings about pace of change 3.31 (SD 1.09) 3.5 21 20 31.5 24

PEPs indicated that there was a good/very good chance that they
would choose to be a PEP again (1 = very good; 2 = good), they felt the
role was very important (1 = very important; 2 = important) and were
satisfied/very satisfied with the degree of status and autonomy (1 = very
satisfied; 2 = satisfied). They described the level of stress experienced as
‘stressful’ (2 = somewhat stressful; 3 = stressful). They felt generally
neutral about the nature and pace of change (2 = positive; 3 = neutral)
although reference to frequencies indicate that more than a third felt
negative or very negative about the nature of change whilst more than
half felt negative or very negative about the pace of change (4 = negative;
5 = very negative).
Significant differences (p < 0.05) between groups were noted as follows:
• Male PEPs described experiencing higher levels of stress than female
PEPs (means/SD 2.87/.67 and 2.60/.80 respectively).
• More experienced PEPs felt more negative about the nature of change
to the role of PEP than less experienced PEPs (means/SD 3.25/1.17
and 2.69/1.06 respectively).
Additional comments made by PEPs relating to attitudes to the
profession are given below:
The job is stressful and the service is over-stretched. Recruitment is difficult.
I am trying to manage a patch and the service as a whole. I am not unsatisfied
over-all: tired but happy!
Parts of the job are fantastic but the pace and amount is difficult – however,
this is because the EPS is seen as central to the strategic work of the LEA.

Challenges to the service

Categories which emerged in response to the request to PEPs to describe
up to three major challenges which faced their service at the current time
were described as relating to the following:

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 Male and Male: Principal Educational Psychologists in England
• recruitment and/or retention of EPs/SEPs;
• funding;
• change;
• demands;
• ensuring/maintaining quality of service;
• resources;
• interpersonal relations;
• inclusion;
• supporting pupil behaviour.

Remaining responses (two percent of total) were of an individual or

idiosyncratic nature.The percentage of PEPs citing particular challenges
are presented in Table 3.
It can be seen from Table 3 that the most frequently cited major
challenge to the service relates to funding arrangements – most usually
uncertainties about the possible implications of continued devolvement
of funding for the EPS from the LEA to schools. Related to this, PEPs
cited difficulties in negotiating SLAs with schools and the need to
‘market’ and ‘cost’ their service.
‘Change’, ‘recruitment and retention of EPs’, and ‘quality’ were all also
frequently cited major challenges for PEPs, e.g: ‘the constant need to
respond to new government and LEA initiatives – in the face of LEA re-
structuring and changes in service delivery’, ‘insufficient number of EPs
to cope with increase in demand (no applicants for last vacant post
advertised)’, ‘trying to escape from the SEN ghetto and being able to
apply psychology in a much broader, systematic and intelligent way’.
‘Resources’, ‘demands’ and ‘interpersonal relations’ also featured in
PEPs’ citations, e.g: ‘inadequate accommodation and information
technology’, ‘ever increasing expectations from schools and parents’,
‘role tensions with other LEA advisory/support services’. So too did the

Table 3 PEPs’ citations of challenges

Challenge % of PEPs citing

Funding 72
Change 52
Recruitment/retention 46
Quality 46
Resources 16
Demands 12
Interpersonal relations 10
Inclusion 8
Supporting pupil behaviour 4

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 School Psychology International (2003), Vol. 24(3)
promotion of inclusion (particularly promoting it to schools in a climate
of accountability / raising of standards) and supporting pupil behaviour.

Perceptions of role preparation

PEPs’ perceptions of role preparation are presented in Table 4.
As indicated, PEPs felt adequately prepared/well prepared for educa-
tional psychology matters but less well prepared for all other specified
work activities. This was particularly the case with financial matters,
where almost three-quarters felt inadequately prepared or not at all
prepared. Similarly, over half of PEPs felt inadequately prepared or not
at all prepared for personnel matters and using information communi-
cation technology (ICT).
Significant differences (p < 0.05) between groups were noted as fol-
lows:

• Less experienced PEPs felt better prepared for personnel matters

than more experienced PEPs (means/SD 2.41/0.72 and 2.05/0.68
respectively).
• Less experienced PEPs felt better prepared for ICT matters than more
experienced PEPs (means/SD 2.39/0.99 and 1.88/0.93 respectively).
• Male PEPs felt better prepared for ICT matters than female PEPs
(means/SD 2.51/0.98 and 2.01/0.93 respectively).

Table 4 Perceptions of role preparation

% frequency of rating
Work activity Perceptions of 1 2 3 4
role preparation

Educational psychology matters 3.48 (SD 0.67) 1.5 4.5 35 59

Administration 2.74 (SD 0.77) 6 27 50.5 16.5
Financial matters 1.99 (SD 0.88) 30.5 42.5 16.5 10.5
Personnel matters 2.30 (SD 0.73) 12 46 34 8
Leadership/ management matters 2.74 (SD 0.69) 2.5 31.5 51.5 14.5
Using information communication
technology (ICT) 2.25 (SD 0.99) 24.5 34 26 15.5

1 = not at all prepared; 2 = inadequately prepared; 3 = adequately prepared; 4 = well

prepared.

Workload
In terms of the number of hours worked, 75 PEPs (66.96 percent)
described their previous working week as ‘moderately’ or ‘very’ typical.
The mean number of hours worked by this group was 52.4 hours (SD
13.08). This compares with 58.9 hours worked by primary school
headteachers, 60.8 hours worked by secondary school headteachers1 and

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 Male and Male: Principal Educational Psychologists in England
46.6 hours worked by teachers of children with SEN (Male and May,
1997). The remaining 37 PEPs (33.04 percent) described their previous
working week as ‘not at all’ or ‘somewhat’ typical. The mean number of
hours worked by this group was 51.3 hours (SD 11.74).
No significant differences in hours worked were noted according to
more/less experience as a PEP, gender, size/complexity of service or
geographical situation.

Proportion of time spent/preference for how time is spent

The proportion of how PEPs’ time is spent on specified work activities
and their preference for how time is spent (rounded to nearest 0.5
percent) is presented in Table 5.
Significant differences were noted between actual and preferred time
for all activities except educational psychology matters and finance. As
indicated PEPs would like to spend significantly less time on
administration and personnel matters and significantly more time on
leadership/management matters, on developing the professional
capability of others and on personal professional development matters.
It will be noted that PEPs estimate that they spend a fifth of their time
(i.e. one day a week) on administration (one PEP described how, the
previous week, she had spent five hours negotiating a window-cleaning
contract). It will also be noted that administration is the activity where
there is the greatest disparity between actual and preferred time, with
PEPs indicating that they would prefer to reduce the time spent on this
activity by half.

Table 5 Proportion of time spent/preference for how time is spent

Activity % actual time spent % preferred time

Educational psychology matters 15.5 17.5

Administration 21 10.5
Financial matters 6 6
Personnel matters 8 6
Leadership/management matters 26 32
Developing the professional capability
of others 11 16
Personal professional development matters 4 7.5

Other comments
27 PEPs (i.e. 24.11 percent) chose to add additional comments. Of these,
eight PEPs elaborated on pressures of work, e.g:
The major part of my work is actually not involved with managing the
Educational Psychology Service. The Senior EPs do most of this. As an LEA

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 School Psychology International (2003), Vol. 24(3)
we are very ‘lean’ . . . and officers at my level are involved in a whole range of
things that aren’t implied by our job descriptions. . . A major source of stress
for me is the number of corporate (county council) initiatives! These – and the
amount of work they demand of me – suggest that there are others in the
organisation who are significantly underemployed. . .

This PEP concluded with the comment, ‘Thanks for letting me get this
off my chest!’
Eight PEPs commented on current/future changes to the role of PEPs
and service delivery:
There are considerable changes in DfES and LEA funding arrangements
which will directly affect the role of EPs in EP services. Over the next two
years I will decide if this is what I want to continue doing. . . .
Education world is changing – EP role changing – cosy profession in the past
– now need to walk our talk – fine if remuneration, training and status are
equivalent to the demands of the tasks.
I do not see myself as a PEP – most of the role is Manager of SEN Services –
a very wide role.

Seven PEPs commented on the lack of support and/or induction into

the role of PEP and the need for it:

The lack of second/third tier officers in the LEA at present means that I had
virtually no induction or supervision.
In my first year particularly it was good to meet up with other PEPs in the
area who were very supportive. A mentor would have been useful and I’m
sure nearby PEPs would have offered but time constraints made this diffi-
cult.

Remaining responses were of an individual nature.

Summary
PEPs in the present study have a generally positive attitude to the
profession and express overall satisfaction with their jobs. PEPs managing
large and/or complex services express significantly greater overall job
satisfaction and greater satisfaction with role clarity than PEPs managing
small and/or complex services. There are some indications that less
experienced PEPs are more satisfied with certain aspects of their work
than more experienced PEPs (e.g. time to carry out direct work with
pupils) and have more positive attitudes in certain areas (e.g. regarding
the nature of change). Less experienced PEPs also feel better prepared
for certain aspects of their work than more experienced PEPs (i.e.
personnel and ICT).
Despite their overall satisfaction, PEPs find the job stressful, with
male PEPs expressing higher levels of stress than female PEPs. They are

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 Male and Male: Principal Educational Psychologists in England
particularly dissatisfied with time constraints relating to administration;
and this is an activity on which they would like to spend significantly less
of their time. They are also dissatisfied with other aspects of the job,
including the number of meetings they are required to attend. The
‘average’ PEP works in excess of 50 hours in a typical week. PEPs cite
funding as being a particular challenge to their service at the current
time; finance is an area of work activity for which they feel especially ill-
prepared. The issues of change, recruitment and retention, and ensuring
and maintaining quality are also cited as significant challenges to the
service at the current time.

Discussion
At the time this survey was conducted, EPSs in England typically were
providing their services on a cost recovery basis, largely financed by
schools’ devolved funding. PEPs have emerged exclusively from the
ranks of the service and come from an educational background that
requires them to have a degree in psychology, qualified teacher status
and to have undertaken vocational training at Masters level through a
small number of approved providers. There is no formal requirement for
the study of leadership and management theory and neither is there any
pre-service requirement for PEPs to demonstrate professional
competence in the role. The shift in emphasis to their role occasioned by
the creation of a market for LEA services has devalued their expertise
and experience in psychology in favour of the administration of the
service. Leadership formerly exhibited in terms of determining and
developing psychological provision has been diluted by the need to
determine strategy for economic survival. Management of a profes-
sional service has been largely replaced by the tasks of time allocation
and monitoring of SLAs. Administration of case loads has been sup-
planted by the demands of accountability. This transference of role and
tasks is further exacerbated by the corporate structure of the LEA
requiring them to engage at the strategic level with issues wider than
their service. In short, therefore, the PEP role has been transformed
from a professional to an executive capacity and PEPs are subject to
demands that are of a different order to that which their education,
training and expertise have prepared them.
This may account for some role tension that is evident in this study,
particularly that which is manifested in their preferred choice of how
their time is to be spent. There is a clear desire to undertake more in the
way of leading and managing their service, particularly in developing
themselves and other members of their team, in favour of administration
and personnel issues. Conversely, however, there is also recognition that
the demands of the new environment are beneficial to the service in

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 School Psychology International (2003), Vol. 24(3)
moving it from a ‘cosy profession’ to a leaner, more consumer conscious
existence. This conclusion appears to be reinforced by the findings that
demonstrate those newer to the position are generally more inclined to
accept the changed nature of the role.
What has emerged from this survey is that PEPs are not unhappy with
the changed nature of their role and are effectively managing the
transition to the new demands of the post. This appears to be particularly
the case for PEPs who are managing larger and more complex services.
The areas of concern that manifest themselves through this study do not
outweigh the overall job satisfaction, neither do they appear to be
associated with intolerable levels of stress. What has also emerged are
some perceptions of inadequate role preparation. We can deduce from
the typical profile of a PEP that little, if any, formal preparation for the
leadership and management tasks have been a part of their rise through
the ranks. It would seem, like their headteacher counterparts in schools,
their capability for adopting the role has been accrued largely through
experience and self-directed learning rather than through a series of
planned activities and learning experiences (Male, 2001). Given the
demands of the role this is an area that may need further consideration
if the standards of the profession are to be sustained in the future. Whilst
the requirement for EPs to be eligible to register for chartered status
with the British Psychological Society (BPS) brings with it an assurance
of professional capability, the ability of PEPs to sustain those standards
in the face of economic and political pressure is not assured. Pre-service
and in-service leadership and management training, development and
education for PEPs and perhaps even an appropriate qualifying standard
may be needed if we are to ensure the best quality of provision is
available into the future.

Concluding comment
The decentralization of the state maintained school system is not unique
to the English context: and we therefore suggest that the findings arising
from the present study are of international relevance, particularly to
those nations considering the devolution of educational services.

Note
1. Source: Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, Teacher Workload Study, December 2001.

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