How Stressed Children Are in a Primary School Essay

The recent step to the forelet of a Cambridge query intelligence activitypaper publisher on lavishly prove levels amongst UK immemorial drill electric razorren make content headlines. It told p bents of an uncomfor slacken truth that primary(a) classrooms argon non the places of fun and learning that typifies an idealistic nonion of procreation in the UK. It spoke of r to each one, anxiety and reside in classrooms, where sisterren show signs of di line cod to high expectations, excessive fakeloads and having to shoulder un accreditedistic responsibilities. plainly just how sweep through is this picture? Is it possible to expect young clawren to parcel out c atomic number 18 the complexities of the manifestations of express and the inaccuracies of egotism-appraisal habituated possible low levels of stimulated literacy? This paper seeks how feasible it is to collect exact information from electric shaverren approximately their bear condensesing and adjudicates how much(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) education shtup be lay in. It concludes that at that place be a variety of ways of gaining entropy about render from electric razorren, most better than others, but leaves no dubiety that children rear be ideal subjects for such search if the design and consummation of the study is assumption out-of-pocket consideration.The macrocosm of capital education, it would reckon, from anecdotal narrate from p bents of uncreated groomdays pupils, is non what it utilize to be. Clichs such as its non like it was in my days or school was eitherots eras easier and much(prenominal) fun in the olden days domiciliate often be heard echoing across p atomic number 18nts groups in schoolyards or in local supermarkets. But is school such a severe place for children right away? A recent paper, published by a Cambridge University seek group would insinuate that life in a primary school is non as judg e free as cozy to parents would want to assume. In run to help situate this uncomfortable notion, this paper pass on explore whether children are capable of giving accurate information about their focussing levels and how this could be collected. nidus seek is a s salubrious constituted field spanning eight decades, from Walter Cannons seminal fit in 1927 on flight and flight, to Mark Kovacs recent paper on underscore in the Workplace, (Kovacs 2007). It fact it appears that at that place are genuinely few electron orbits of modern life that stress query has not affected upon. In relation to e very(prenominal)day activities, enquiry covers stress at work (eg Kovacs 2007, McCarthy & Sheehan,1996), stress in the street (Brennan,1993), paradoxically in that respect has been studies around stress in leisure activities (Noakes 1991) and crucially for this paper, stress in school environments (eg Williams & Gersch, 2004 Murray and Harrison, 2005 and the latterly publishe d Cambridge radical Review paper 2007).The subject base for stress inquiry has also been highly eclectic, ranging from stress in the elderly (Hodgson, freedwoman &, Granger, 2004), to stress at birth and even off stress levels in individuals not yet born, ( whole meal flour, Heim, Goodman, Miller and Nemeroff 1999). There is a case to be argued stock-still, that very much like the Freudian theory of psychosexual education, there appears to be a relative hiatus of interest in the levels of stress in children between the ages of 6 and 11. This crucial period of education covers the majority of come upon period 1 and all of Key Stage 2 and it would seem to be a pivotal juncture in a childs education. It is in this period that most children will be structuring their angle of dip patterns and assimilating vast amounts of k nowledge in all areas of the school both(prenominal) academic and affable.It could be considered approximatelywhat remarkable therefore that there is relat ively less(prenominal) stress inquiry slange in education at this age. It is particularly liable(p) when we consider that this active period of learning is past brought to a close with the mandatory Key Stage 2 sit papers. It is possibly this singular event that indicates, for most pupils, their rights of passage into the world of auxiliary education where structured exams and revision regimes are rife. So why is it that research during this Latency Period (Freud 1905d) of a childs educational reading is so under represented? It could be beca put on it now appears to be a relatively settled period in a childs educational life.It whitethorn be that in most areas of the UK, the predominantly two-tier education system has removed a major period of transition half(a) way through this phase of schooling. This operate of downsizing transitions eradicated a well defined cause of stress in pupils and exaggerated difficulties in make do (Rudduck.J, 2004 Lohaus. A, 2004). besides c ould it also be argued that computer simulations of stress and theories for coping with traumatic events are not comprehensive enough to cover this very specific area of childrens development in such settings? It is grave therefore to explore how bounteous stickers of stress address environmental and someoneal issues and whether these kindle be attributed to children in a primary classroom.Stress imitates for givingsModern stress research has placed itself firmly indoors the interactionist perspective characterized mostly by Lazarus and Folkman (1984). Their model for the possible development of stress explores the essential thought processes that occur in both give-up the ghostn situation and the judgments the individual makes in assessing their own magnate to deal out with the demands placed upon them at any one time. This appraisal and accompanying stress levels are governed primarily by re put in previous performances and the effectiveness of learn coping strate gies in similar situations. It seems clear so that by exploitation the interactionist model, there whitethorn be opportunities to ply greater opportunities to understand childrens stress in the classroom. In fix up to fully explore this area, it seems clever to start by delving into specific models of stress that add to our knowledge about its development in adults and explore whether these could be utilize with children in a primary school environment. cardinal such model that whitethorn be relevant to this paper was developed by Palmer, make and doubting Thomas (2001) who looked at stress in the workplace. This model proposes that there are six contributors to the development and/or the management of stress levels in and around most places of work. These mitigating factors imply work/environmental demands, support, intensify and the workers role deep down the company (see below). It would seem on initiatory inspection that this is truly an adult model of stress as it is located in adult world of work. However asthere do not appear to be any established or substantial research as yet, to pay off the difference between work be in an office, a grinder or a shop and work as in a classroom, it could be argued that if the classroom was seen as a workplace and pupils considered employees, Palmer et als model does necessitate some relevance. Below is Palmer et als model as published in the Health Education Journal 2001. presage 1 Palmer, Cooper and Thomass model of stress in the work place (2001)A Stress model for children?Using the tell apart structure of this model, it is possible to transpose details into a new design that whitethorn be appropriate to help explore stress in children in a school situation. This process of transformation brush off largely be done by translating words and terminology used in the flowchart above into words relevant and applicable to similar aspects of a school environment. A typical example of this would be th at the reference to employees would emergency to read pupils. by chance the more difficult aspect of this translation relates to its geographic expedition of negative outcomes. It is clear that increased and sustained stress levels in children is less likely to lead to coronary heart disease or RSI in the minuscule term than it would in adults, so perhaps more pertinent aspects of this section of the model would relate to an escalation in poor behaviours or high absenteeism. Table 1 below shows a complete translation of Palmer et als terminology using this ideology.Once this translation of meaning has been established wherefore it appears that this model does provide some insight into possible factors that may contribute to stress levels in children. Further exploration of Palmer, Cooper and Thomass model would establish how these factors would restore upon the individual and at the unharmed school level. Table 2 on page 7 shows how Palmer et als structure would dupe to a school model. It seems clear that there is a probable link between stress levels of a child in the classroom and organisational dysfunctions in the structure of the classroom and possibly to aspects of the entirely school.This new model also shows where possible stressors come from for the pupil and how this could be managed to alleviate higher levels of stress across a school environment. It could be argued that a central difficulty in attributing the interactionist perspective model of stress to children is flawed by the intrinsic tenet of the model. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) believe that the essential wight of stress appraisal is the big businessman to consult on past sleep withs to intend the individuals big businessman to cope with the legitimate situation.How consequently, does this model apply to young children whose experiences are more limited than those of an adult? Does this lack of experience allow a young child the ability to accurately evaluate past experienc es once against pastperformances? An example of this could be when pupils are required to complete the Key Stage 1 sit papers. Even though teachers will incur tried to prepare each pupil with several practices in answering unfamiliar maths and literacy booklets, the genuine test is unfamiliar due to the heightened expectations of the day itself. How are pupils able to reflect on past experiences of this? perhaps the best that can be achieved is the familiarity with the style of the test but not necessarily with the sit day itself. If this is the case, when the interactionist perspective is extrapolated to Key Stage 2 SATs it is likely that a bad experience in the Key Stage 1 SAT papers will affect perceptions of performance during the SAT tests in Year 6.Using this model, it moldiness be argued that in lay to achieve better results in Key Stage 2 SATs, there is a case to be made to enhance the positive experiences of seance noble tests at an earlier age. This could be achiev ed by either fetching away the extort to achieve in Year 2 or indeed use these tests and tasks to give the pupils positive experiences to build upon. It is likely that a bad experience in Year 2 increases the likelihood of prox failures or anxieties. To facilitate this process the model outlined in table 2 above could be used to facilitate good practice, make better support mechanisms, streng consequently(prenominal) positive relationships and encourage a greater ability to handle flip-flop. This may also micturate a positive partake on the pupils and the whole school in the long term. The adaptation of Palmer, Cooper and Thomass model will allow a school practitioner the opportunity to affect whole school social kinetics by focusing upon the potential hazards and be pro-active in offsetting the negative impact they can have on a school environment. But how no-hit have primary schools been so far in this role?Stress in the classroomIn October 2007 the Cambridge Primary Re view explored life in a primary classroom from a childs perspective. The process of info battle array, which took place between January and March 2007, collected evidence from a whole range of professionals in the primary education sector as well as people drawn from the wider community. These subjects included children themselves, who are referred to as understandes in the paper. In total there were nine Community locations in polar parts of England, culminating in a total of87 witness sessions, att cease by over 750 people. This is clearly an important piece of research that cuts across cultural boundaries and local government differences.It would seem that this research is an union of collective thought, however there may be some difficulties with interviewing subjects such as children which will be explored in greater detail below. However such research conclusions cannot go unnoticed for long and immediately after its publication in academic circles, their conclusions made national headlines. It was this research that spawned a raft of emotional headlines across all forms of media in the UK. Articles fronted by Children accentuate and depressed and Primary Cause for concern were used offering send quotes about what causes children such stress, citingthe gloomy tenor of what you hear on the news or by a generalised fear of strangers, burglars and street violence.ITN webpage Friday twelfth October 0705 amFurthermore articles in the media were concluding that our young children are anxious, in earnest behaved, stressed, depressed and obsessed with the cult of celebrityGarner, 2007 page 1These emotive and somewhat generalized media headlines, alongside the Cambridges research papers expose that there appears to be a high level of stress and natural depression in primary classrooms, but there is also a lot of anxiety in the media at the possibility of there being stress and depression in the classroom. These headlines echo Mays conclusions who obse rved in his paper in Stresses in Children (1996) there is still much to frighten, to frustrate and to intimidate a growing child(page 41)But just how successful are research methods and models of stress in helping to clarify and explain possible sources of stress in the primary classroom? Is it possible to accurately measure stress in children given some of the constraints of data hookup? Perhaps more importantly are children able to understand the complexity of stress responses and have enough levels of emotional literacy to be able to accurately describe whether they are stressed or not? It seems a foregone conclusion, in stress research, that the doent themselves is able to understand what stress is and how it affects them and to be able to accredit when they are stressed or not in given circumstances. It seems that salt away stress data from children is fraught with implicit difficulties. However, this should not deter such research being completed it means exclusively tha t the data collected may regard a greater level of analysis and more cockeyed reflection to be able to make any real conclusions.Collecting Stress data from ChildrenThere are two line difficulties with any stress research, both of which are applicable when exploring stress in children. The stolon central line of work is that there is an absence seizure of a green definition of stress and this makes research difficult due to the amorphous reputation of how stress can manifest itself in different individuals (Ramsden 2007a). The support, somewhat think difficulty is that the vocabulary used to describe stress is often used loosely or interchangeably. It is not uncommon to read in books and research papers subsequent paragraphs using damage such as stress, anxiety, and worry to describe similar aspects of this phenomenon.Furthermore there is a central pick out to take care when referring to stress in terms of how it would change a persons demeanor and/ or thought patterns. St ress research refers to stress as both a definition and a symptom. This can be somewhat overcome by trying to establish chance on differences in terms of relating anxiety as a symptom of stress, in very much the same way as references are made to headaches, depression and irrational thought, all of which may be as a direct result of the stress a person is under. However some research is now suggesting that stress, anxiety and depression are indeed co-variants and the inter-relationship and like presence of all of these problemstogether may indeed be the encounter rather than the exception.Compass and Hammem (1996)pg 242If this comorbidity of anxiety, depression and stress has such strong bonds, then trying to ascertain what the differences are between these manifestations may be an out of the question task. If this is the case then the interactionist perspective may indeed be the strong filter that holds such research together. By taking the essence of the Lazarus and Folkman ( 1984) model, the cerebrate why a person feels they cant cope is of indirect importance to the fact that they feel they cant cope with current demands. Furthermore if such feelings of helplessness are born out of, or are exacerbated by, depressive tendencies then this is irrelevant to the basic fact that the individual feels they cant cope with demands and therefore will be stressed. This tenet must then hold true for stress research into children. It does not seem to matter why the child feels stressed, the fact that they do, means that they are That is, provided that they understand what feeling stressed is, which falls back to the central difficulty of how effectively can you measure a phenomenon such as stress within a child when a child may not understand the phenomenon themselves?However, this then leads onto another dilemma. If it can be demonstrated that the children at the philia of the research have obtained a sufficient level of emotional literacy to check out what be ing stressed feels like, then to collect stress data in children, a methodological choice between two specific models take to be made. The first strategy for collecting data uses the principle underlined by Selye (1934) that stress is a biological response to the environment and therefore it is possible to use biometric measures such as blood pressure and galvanic come up responses An alternative model such as that proposed by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) uses reflective self analysis to suss out the individuals perception of their own stress.This second method can be collected in a reduce of ways but perhaps the most basic, but not necessarily the most simplistic, is either through questionnaires and/or interviewing the individual themselves. Before these soft methods arediscussed it is important to explore the more quantitative methods of data collection in children. Some of these discussion points can be found in Ramsden (2007b) which explores variations in data collection in greater detail, however it does not elucidate how they can be utilized with children and therefore it is worth wretched on some of those points again but with specific reference for research with children.Biometric data collection in childrenIf the argument is that children do not have the experiential capability to understand what stress is and the ability to describe accurately how they are feeling, or indeed able to recognise when they are stressed, then it seems plausible to assume that a more standardized, less subjective and fundamentally, a less reflective method of data collection is needed. In terms of stress research, the collection of such clinical information must bypass around measuring biological responses rather than a childs ability to tell the tec when they are feeling stressed, and how this is different to when they are not feeling stressed.This biological method of data collection has its metrical unit in some of the earliest research into stress. Some of the v ery first experiments into the stress response were conducted by Hans Selye (1907-1982), an endocrinologist who conducted his work largely in the first half of the Twentieth Century. In his studies, he used biometric measurements from laboratory rats to determine the level of stress they were under. Selye, who was by and by given the accolade of the first person to define stress, referred to it as a non-specific (i.e. common) result of any demand on the system, whether the effect be mental or somatic page 32 (Selye1936)His definition may well have some value here. If we take the stance that young children are indeed unable to identify accurately what stress is, then we should be measuring this non-specific demand on the body in a purely biological way. It would seem plausible then that by observing children in a primary school end-to-end a typical day or week, and by taking steadymeasurements, there may be a case to correlate variations in biological states at certain times of t he day. Collecting data such as changes in blood pressure, pulse rates and sweating may give an insight into times when the body is under stress and when the child is calmer and more relaxed. This information could then be matched with events, observations and activities and correlated to show changes in responses to situations encountered.Using this method it should be relatively easy to find out whether participation in SAT tests or some other social situations, that blood pressure, pulse rates and GSR increase to reflect the physical, and by default, the emotional state of the child, and therefore conclude that this was or was not a stressful event for them. There may be a problem with this type of research however. Apart from some of the ethical difficulties, there is a crucial observation to be made. It could be argued that for children, the actual process of data collection may affect their stress levels. It could also be surmised that the actual method of data collection can be as stressful as the event in itself and therefore eradicate any fair play in the result. There may be echoes here of the Hawthorne effect (Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939). Although a concept that has been applied to business models, it is worth exploring a little here. offset printing established by Elton Mayo, Fritz Roethlisberger and William J. Dickson who saw it asa temporary change to behavior or performance in response to a change in the environmental conditions.Roethlisberger & Dickson (1939)., page14This definition is a big one in this discussion. It could be argued that even if the outline of a study was not depict to children, and even if the children were not aware that they were being studied so closely, there would be a difference in their day because at somepoint some interactions are needed to measure changes to their physiological state. This would be even more prevalent if these changes were happening alongside other stresses such as SAT tests. It seems there fore that by measuring a response, as Shaver (1981) highlighted, evokes close links with the Hawthorne principles.Almost no matter what experimental conditions were imposed.the investigators had seemingly influenced the subjects behavior merely by studying that behavior.Kelly Shaver p272In order to measure stress in a primary classroom then, some continuous measurement take to happen that can be compared to a baseline. This in itself could be problematic. For some children the basis of their stress and the source of their fears and anxieties may come from the school environment itself. If being in the school itself is a cause of high levels of stress, it would be very difficult to ascertain a baseline to measure relative changes to stress levels in the individual. Studies into autistic children in some school environments (Hiroshi 1991) show that for umteen individuals school can be one continuous bombardment of stressful events. Extensive studies into school phobic neurosis at the primary level (eg Place, Hulsmeier, Davis and Taylor, 2002 King and Ollendick, 1989) also indicate that it would be very difficult to determine a relaxed state for a baseline.In order to address this quandary, one possible method of data collection would be to use a portable blood pressure (BP) turnout for example that would pose less intrusive method that enables an individuals BP to be taken automatically without the need to stop and prepare for the examination. But this in itself causes problems apart from the physical tightening process of blood pressure being taken, it also serves as a reminder that they are being observed.This could be offset however by having a period of acclimatisation where the individual being measured would get used to such routines and this may normalize the influence of the measurements being taken. Studies using adults seem to suggest that repetetive BP observe does not interfere with the validity of the data (Georgiades, Lemne, De Faire, Lindva ll, Fredrikson,1997 Steptoe and Cropley, 2000) but the evidence to suggest that this is the case in studies using children as subjects is not clear. In the absence of any certainlty as to whether collecting biometric data in children can provide reliable evidence, it is important to explore other ways of gathering primary data from children.Qualitative methods of data collection with childrenAs discussed above, in order to collate qualitative evidence of stress in children, there needs to be a clear understanding of a childs ability to know when they are feeling stressed as remote to when they are feeling relaxed. Fortunately for the stress reasearcher in this field, there is now a plethora of commercial commandment materials available to schools on delirious Health and Well-being. Furthermore with Being Healthy formally on the national agenda through the both Child Matters (ECM) outcomes (eg Every Child Matters change over for Children. DfES publication -1110-2004), the PSCHE curriculum in the primary school seems full of opportunities for even the youngest of children to explore their own emotions. It can be said therefore, that pupils in todays primary schools are better equipped to discuss their emotional state than they have ever been.It seems fair to assume from this, that there only needs to be some basic ground work teaching to occur to give children the necessary vocabulary and a sense of self-contemplation required to respond to stress-related questions and produce meaningful results. Nevertheless, even with this encouraging notion, it is important that the investigator does not lose sight of the influence they may have when trying to obtain childrens views.As with any socio-psychological research, and especially any involving children, ascertaining views on levels of stress or trying to clarify what causes stress does not lead to the adult influencing the responses or the conclusions the child makes about a given situation. This is of particu lar interest to stress research because of its important in the Lazarus and Folkman (1984) model of Cognitive Appraisal. It is vital, that that the child themself, determines whether a particular situation was stressful or not, rather than the adult implying to the child that it was. This effect is known as mental Causality and is important in stress research with children. Herbert describes this phenomenon asthe temperament in young children to attribute a psychological motive as a cause of events Herbert page 23 (1996)Although Psychological Causality is not usually associated with stress research, it is important to bear in mind that it may be a factor when determining sources of stress in the primary classroom. Especially if this research is conducted in and around other stresses such as SATs, school performances or parents evenings. In order to clarify what these stresses are, further research into this field is needed and would help to clarify the influencing factors of data collection.The use of questionnairesOne formal method of collecting quantitative information is the use of questionnaires. Perhaps their greatest strength is that it can provide a fair and rigorous structure to the questioning procedure. By handing out questionnaires to all the children, each child will have the opportunity to answer the same questions as everyone else. This inflexibility also allows the researcher the ability to analyse statistically the evidence. The use of questionnaires for children is not uncommon and can provide a useful insight into many research areas. The use of a questionnaire as a method of collecting data from children is not without its difficulties however. The first point and perhaps the most salient is that formalising questions through prose has two basic problems.1. Do the questions allow children the opportunity to give answers that are meaningful to the research question? 2. Will the wording of each question be interpreted by children in the way the researcher wanted them to be answered?Because of these two issues, It is very important therefore to focus on the wording of these questionnaires so that specific vocabulary such as stress, anxiety, worry and nervousness are not misconstrued by the reader and answered in different ways. It seems that once again a lack of a formal definition of stress hampers validity and structure in research design. It seems that compilation a flawless stress questionnaire is very difficult. Fife-Schaw (2000) takes this notion further conception the perfect questionnaire is probably impossibleFife-Schaw pg159Nevertheless, even with such limitations, a questionnaire may be useful in ascertaining information but will need some very careful planning. Bath and North East pass Council provide some steadying guidelines in their Children in Need handbook on principles for using forms and questionnnaires with children and young people. This information offers advice suggesting that some feedback a bout the results are done either immediately and/or at a later session, but most importantly in the implementation of the questionnaire to discontinue plenty of timeBath and North East Somerset Council Children in Need Handbook (2007) page 47Giving children enough time to read and process the questions raises a number of key issues, all of which may impact on the validity of the answers collected. Central to these difficulties is the childs ability to reflect appropriately on their own changing emotional states and determine which events, if any, could be regarded as being under stress. It could be that this variance in what children understand about stress may invalidate results as it may be difficult to ascertain any consistency amongst the data. This could mean that some children need additional or supplementary support in answering the questions. If the questions need to be read out or explained to the child then this could influence how the child answers the question. An immedi ate concern to the researcher therefore, is whether the responses given reflect the childs true feelings or ones that are dictated by the way the question is received?This difficulty in ascertaining consistency however may not be such a diffcult obstacle in collating data as it could be in other areas of research. Once again the Cognitive Appraisal model is able to lessen these problems. If the assumption is that all primary children have a basic understanding of what stress is and how it affects them, then any referenceto feeling anxious, stressed and or upset in a particular sitaution is pertinent to their assessment and therefore their perception of the situation.This data can then be used qualitatively by the use of any thematic analysis technique to attribute feelings associated with the notion of stress, disregarding of the possible misuse of language by children. It seems that using markers or cryptography systems can help capture a variety of words used and still maintain an acceptable level of structure to the analysis of the data. The questionnaire may also need some modification in the format gibe to the childs developmental stage (Sadock and Sadock 2000). Given all of these variables and constraints, perhaps the more flexible method of collecting data would be to scold to the children directly.Interviewing childrenInterviewing children needs careful handling. Chan highlights the difficulty children have when answering open ended questions such as How did you feel ? to unknown adults, indicating that many may respond with a passive response such as I dont know, Chan (2005). Conversely in an interview scenario, Breakwell highlights the problem of assent Response Bias (ARB) when asking children direct or closed questions such as Did you feel stressed? She feels that the ARB often leads a child to say Yes to any question posed by an adult, irrespective of their own true feelings. Her advice however may not necessarily be helpful given Chans perspec tives. Breakwell (2000) advisesQuestions should be posed so that they are not open to a yes no response.Page 245How then can a researcher obtain collectable data on levels of stress in children that has some validity? The answer to this may be by looking closer to the research subjects. The age of the child is going to be important and can affect the structure of the interview. In some cases it may be necessary to have an adult in with the researcher who can be used for moral support but the choice of the adult needs very careful thought. The go along theChildren organization issue a very clear message about the sensitivity needed when choosing this person. verify that adults are out of the way except for the translator and perhaps a project worker, teacher, or another adult that the child knows and trusts.Taken from Save the Children/ Interviewing children (2007) accessed on the web 17.11.07In some cases however, especially where children are aged and more confident in their soc ial interactions, it may be sufficient to interview the child on their own but in a less formal and more relaxed environment. Furthermore, whether adults are present or not, the interviewer should not limit themselves to interviewing and/or questioning by the use of words alone. By structuring the communications around other activities it may be possible to elicit emotional responses through activities such as play, drawings or model expression Gabarino and Stott (1989).Whatever the technique used to interview children, and whatever the age or developmental stage they may be at, it seems the central responsibility of the researcher is to make the child feel at ease with the information-giving process. It should be a central skill of the researcher to design an environment where natural, or as close to natural, observations can be made. The research design should take into delineate where children feel at ease in giving information to adults.It is aureate for many pedagogical rese archers that school environments are constantly interloped by adults want answers to questions. It would seem common in most Primary Classrooms that professionals such as Ofsted, Educational Psychologists and Speech and Language Therapists are more of a microscopic part of the school environment than ever before. At least for research purposes, it seems that children are used to being observed by visitors in school in one capacity or another and where childrens voices are being sought over some issue on a regular basis.ConclusionIt seems that those parental opinions voiced in the playground or in lines at the local supermarket echoing dismay that school is not what it used to be are correct on one level. Primary school environments today are more attuned to assessments being made and where adults conducting observations are more commonplace. Classrooms are regular hosts to a whole variety of adults make some evaluative judgments on one issue or another. Children are required to p rove themselves in one academic discipline or another at all ages and where children are given numerous and onerous responsibilities in and out of a school environment.Stress in our social club is pervasive, it touches the lives of almost everyone and it would seem that age is no barrier to stress being present, even in the youngest of subjects. Therefore if we need to consider whether children are fit subject for stress research, it would seem that there is no reason why a well structured, ethically sound study on stress levels amongst children could not be carried out in any primary school. Children, it would seem, are well equipped in the modern primary classroom to cope with the rigors of such scrutiny.ReferencesBath and North East Somerset Social & lodgement Services (2007) ,Children in Need Handbook, P.O. Box 3343,Bath.BA1 2ZH Breakwell.,G.M(2000) Interviewing. Taken from Breakwell.G.M, Hammond.S and Fife-Schaw, C inquiry Methods in psychological science. Sage Publications Brennan.E, (1993) Street Stress, Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 6, No. 0643. Cannon. W, (1929). embodied changes in pain, hunger, fear, and rage. New York Appleton.Chan, R. Interpersonal psychotherapy as a interposition model for depressed adolescents with chronic medical problems. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2005 10 p88-101Compass.E and Hammem.C.L,(1996). Child and Adolscent depression Covariation and Comorbidity in development Cited in Stress, chance and Resilience inChildren and Adolescents Processes and Mechanisms, and Interventions edited by Haggerty.R.J Sherrod.L.R,Garmezy.N, Rutter.M.Department for Education and Skills (2004) Every Child Matters Change for Children DfES publication. Milton KeynesFife-Schaw.C.(2000) Questionnaire Design Taken from Breakwell, Hammond and Fife-Schaw (2000) enquiry Methods in Psychology. salvia Publications, LondonFreud, S.(1905). Three Essays on Sexuality and Other Writings.(1901-1905) Translated by pile Strachey. London The Hogarth calf love, 1953.Frydenberg. E,(1999). Health, well-being and coping? Whats that got to do with education? Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 1-18Garbarino.J and Stott.F.M,(1989). What Children Can Tell Us, San Francisco and London, Jossey-Bass Inc.Garner,R.(2007),. Stress in the Classroom, The Guardian. Friday 12th October 2007 p1Georgiades A, Lemne. C ,De Faire.U , Lindvall.K, Fredrikson, M (1997) Stress-induced blood pressure measurements predict odd ventricular mass over three years among borderline hypertensive men European Journal of Clinical Investigation 27 (9), 733739.Graham Y. P, Heim. C, Goodman,S, H,. Miller,A.H & Nemeroff,C,B.(1999), The effects of neonatal stress on brain development Implications for psychopathology, teaching and Psychopathology 11 545-565Gore.S, Eckonrode.J,(1996) Context and process in research on take chances and resilience. Cited in Stress, Risk and Resilience in Children and Adolescents Processes and Mecha nisms, and Interventions edited by Haggerty.R.JSherrod.L.R,Garmezy.N, Rutter.M.Herbert,.M (1996) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children. BPS Blackwell PublishersHiroshi, K.(1991) School Refusal in distributive Developmental Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, March, vol. 21, no. 1, p. 1-15Hodgson N, Freedman VA, Granger DA,(2004). Biobehavioral correlates of motion in the frail elderly salivary cortisol, affect, and cognitive function. Journal of American Geriatrics Soc Vol52 pp185662Jackson.D,(2006). Playgroups as protective environments for refugee children at risk of trauma. Australian Journal of former(a) Childhood, vol. 31, no. 2, p. 1-5King.N.J, and Ollendick.T.H, (1989) Childrens anxiety and phobic disorders in school settings classification, assessment, and intervention issues. Review of Educational enquiry, Winter, vol. 59, no. 4, p. 431-470Kovacs,M. Stress and Coping in the workplace.The Psychologist. Vol 20, No9 p548-550 Lazarus, R.S., & Folkma n, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal and Coping. New York Guilford.Lohaus. A, (2004) School transition from elementary to secondary school changes in psychological adjustment. Educational Psychology, vol. 24, no. 2, p. 161-173 Marr, N and Field T Bullycide death at playtime, an expose of child self-destruction caused by bullying, Success Unlimited, 2001 Margalit, M Kleitman.T,(2006) Mothers stress, resilience and early intervention European Journal of Special Needs Education, Volume 21, Issue 3 pages 269 283 McCarthy,L and Sheehan E (1996)Bullying from backyard to boardroom, (Eds), Millennium BooksMurray.E and Harrison.L, (2005). Childrens perspectives on their first year at school introducing a new pictorial measure of school stress. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 111-127.Noakes, T.(1991), Lore of Running, Champaign, Illinois Leisure tweetPalmer S, Cooper C, Thomas K.(2001)Model of organisational stress for use within an occupational health ed ucation/promotion or wellbeing programme a short communication. Health Education Journal60(4)378-80.Place.M, Hulsmeier.J, Davis.S and Taylor.E, (2002). The Coping Mechanisms of Children with School Refusal. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, June, vol. 2, no. 2, p. 1-10.Ramsden, G (2007) Change as a possible contributor to stress levels in Educational Psychologists. Research paper submitted as part of doctorate at University of SheffieldRoethlisberger, F.J. Dickson, W.J. (1939). Management and the Worker. Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press, New YorkRudduck.J, (2004) Some neglected aspects of transfer and transition. Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, University of Manchester. The text is in the Education-line profit document collection at http//www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00003901.htm, pp. 10.accessed on 19.10.07Sadock BJ & Sadock VA (2000)- Kaplan & Sadocks Comprehensive text edition of Psychiatry, Lippincott Williams& Wilkins, New York Save the Children (2007) Interviewing Children taken from www.save thechildren.org.uk/en/docs / guidelines _interview_children.pdf accessed on 17.11.07 Selye, H (1936). A Syndrome Produced by Diverse Nocuous Agents Nature.Vol. 138, p 32-33 Shaver. K, (1981) Principles of Social Psychology, 2nd ed., Winthrop Publishers Cambridge, MA.Steptoe A, Cropley M. (2000) Persistent high job demands and reactivity to mental stress predict future ambulatory blood pressure. Journal ofHypertension 185, 581-586Varma,V.P (1973) Stresses in Children, University of London Press Ltd, London.Williams. M, Gersch.I, (2004) Teaching in mainstream and special schools are the stresses similar or different? British Journal of Special Education, vol. 31, no. 3, p. 157-162