Level of Work Related Stress among Teachers in Elementary Schools

BACKGROUND:

Teaching is considered a highly stressful occupation, with work-related stress levels among teachers being among the highest compared to other professions. Unfortunately there are very few studies regarding the levels of work-related stress among teachers in the Republic of Macedonia.

AIM:

To identify the level of self-perceived work-related stress among teachers in elementary schools and its relationship to gender, age, position in the workplace, the level of education and working experience.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

We performed a descriptive-analytical model of a cross-sectional study that involved 300 teachers employed in nine elementary schools. Evaluation of examined subjects included completion of a specially designed questionnaire.

RESULTS:

We found that the majority of interviewed teachers perceive their work-related stress as moderate. The level of work-related stress was significantly high related to the gender, age, position in workplace, as well as working experience (p < 0.01), while it was significant related to level of education (p < 0.05). Significantly greater number of lower-grade teachers perceives the workplace as extremely stressful as compared to the upper-grade teachers (18.5% vs. 5.45%), while the same is true for female respondents as compared to the male ones (15.38% vs. 3.8%). In addition, our results show that teachers with university education significantly more often associate their workplace with stronger stress than their colleagues with high education (13.48% vs. 9.4%). We also found that there is no significant difference of stress levels between new and more experienced teachers.

CONCLUSION:

Our findings confirm that the majority of interviewed teachers perceived their work-related stress as high or very high. In terms of the relationship between the level of teachers’ stress and certain demographic and job characteristics, according to our results, the level of work-related stress has shown significantly high relation to gender, age, levels of grades taught as well as working experience, and significant relation to the level of education.

The association between job strain and emotional exhaustion in a cohort of 1,028 Finnish teachers

BACKGROUND

Teachers' work overload has been the subject of intense research, and the results of these studies show that a substantial proportion of teachers perceive their job as very stressful.

AIMS

To investigate how different formulations of high demands and low decision latitude was related to teachers' burnout, and to estimate the possible interaction between these factors.

SAMPLE

The sample consisted of 1,028 school teachers.

METHOD

Multivariate covariant analyses (MANCOVA) was used to evaluate the relationship between a high-strain job defined by 3 different cut-off points and burnout. Logistical regression analysis was used to estimate the separate and joint effects of demand and decision authority on emotional exhaustion. Interaction between high demands and low decision authority was analysed using relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI). An attributable proportion (AP) was calculated in order to estimate the proportion of emotionally exhausted teachers among those exposed to both risk factors that was attributable to their synergistic interaction. The group of teachers who perceived their job as a low-strain job was used as the reference group in the analysis.

RESULTS

The effect of job strain on burnout was proved to be consistent and robust across alternative formulations. The main effect of high demands exceeded that of low decision authority in relation to emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, the 2 factors acted synergistically to increase the risk of burnout.

CONCLUSIONS

In the case of burnout, teachers who perceived their job as highly demanding and low in control, 69% of the effect could be attributed to the synergism of these 2 factors.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS' STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH STRESS AND THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENT CONTROL

The relationship between prospective teachers' preferred strategies for coping with stress and their perceptions of student control were examined by use of a relational survey model to determine the relations between these concepts. The study group consisted of 267 prospective teachers at the Faculty of Education in Kirşehir, Turkey. Data were collected from senior class faculty students using 2 scales: The Ways of Coping Scale (WCS) originally developed by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) and adapted into Turkish by Şahin and Durak (1994) and the Scale of Locus of Student Control developed by Miller et al. (1988) and adapted into Turkish by Abaci (1996). Pearson moment correlation was used to analyze the data. Findings showed that there was a noticeable meaningful statistical relation between variables. Findings are discussed based on the literature.

Stress and Job Satisfaction among Primary Headteachers

This article reports levels of perceived stress and job satisfaction among primary headteachers. Around half reported high levels of occupational stress but some half were satisfied with their work. Sources of stress and job satisfaction were examined under four headings: managing oneself and others; managing finances; managing the curriculum; and managing change. The highest levels of satisfaction came from personal factors and organizational factors. School organization was a source of stress and of satisfaction. The lowest level of satisfaction was with the level of social support. Two subgroups reporting ‘very high’ levels of stress differed markedly in levels of job satisfaction—one ‘very satisfied’, the other ‘not satisfied’. These differences were related to gender and perceived sources of job satisfaction and stress.

Do nurses smoke because of stress?

A comparison of learner nurses and student teachers indicated that occupational differences in smoking prevalence were established prior to entry. However, learner nurses experienced higher stress for the greater part of their first year of training and this was one factor contributing to the consolidation of smoking among them. In general, smoking was seen as a way of dealing with negative feelings and although smokers did not experience greater stress than non-smokers, the former were more likely to feel anger. Lower levels of perceived stress were associated with moves to lesser smoking, suggesting that stress prevents smoking being given up. Some non-smokers were vulnerable in that they both experienced higher stress and saw smoking as a solution. The use of maladaptive intrapsychic coping techniques and the absence of social support outside nursing were both associated with movements to greater smoking.