Head teachers can be left “traumatised” and “publicly humiliated” by school inspection reports and the experience may stop them recommending the job to subordinates, according to a major new survey.

The study, commissioned by the Scottish government and carried out by Cambridge, Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities, says that visits from HM Inspectorate of Education can be an alarming experience for teachers.

It comes after a head teacher from the Scottish Borders was found dead days after being criticised by inspectors. Irene Hogg, 54, who taught at Glendinning Terrace Primary School in Galashiels, is believed to have committed suicide in March 2008. An inquiry into her death is due to take place next month.

The new research, The Recruitment and Retention of Head Teachers in Scotland, surveyed 1,137 heads and 1,218 teachers, with some follow up interviews. More than half of heads interviewed described the inspection experience as “adversarial”, “undermining” or “stigmatising”.

Of those heads who had been inspected recently, some spoke of their resentment at their professional judgment being questioned so publicly. “Tension” and “anxiety” were commonly used to describe the experience but there was also stronger language by a few respondents — such as “fear”, “trauma” and “public humiliation”.

The report recommends that central and local government and professional associations keep working with inspectors to address the concerns flagged up by the research. The authors add: “While there is only a small amount of evidence from our study as to the impact of recent inspectorial changes there would still appear to be room for a ‘more generous informed professional dialogue’ in respect of school self-evaluation, external scrutiny and the nature of accountability.”

A spokesman for the inspectorate said: “Education professionals are aware of the changes in the inspection regime made recently and our view is they welcome these changes.”

The findings were welcomed by the Scottish Conservatives. Liz Smith, the party’s schools spokeswoman, said: “Many head teachers feel local authorities make too many demands upon them and do not always provide the most effective support.

“This is a very worrying message for the SNP government. A good head teacher is one of the essential planks of a successful school and if these top professionals feel that they are being undermined in the work that they do then there are obvious detrimental consequences for the education of our pupils.”

The survey was commissioned to make recommendations on how to attract professionals to the challenging role. The report paints a clear picture of what it means to be a head teacher today. They described their work in terms such as “fire fighting”, “battles”, “ground down”, “frazzled”, “washed out” and “being hammered”.

However, the study suggests that, despite difficult conditions, head teachers are generally happy with their jobs and take pride in their schools.

Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish education secretary, welcomed the report and paid tribute to the work of head teachers. “While there is not a head teacher shortage in Scotland — the number of posts vacant for more than three months has fallen in 2009 compared with last year — we need to ensure they are properly supported.”

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