Sources and patterns of stress among teachers : the case of Lusaka secondary schools
Date
2011-06-10
Authors
Namangala, Phanwell H.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Occupational stress has been described as an epidemic in that it is affecting every occupation, profession and work place around the globe (UNReport, 1998).
The sources, patterns and other issues pertaining to occupational stress in
organisations and work environments have recently attracted the interest of
administrators, human resources management practitioners and researchers
from various disciplines. This interest, inter alia, may have been motivated by
findings which have associated stress at work with workers' poor physical and
mental well-being, dissatisfaction with life and work, as well as low labour productivity.
The study examined occupational stress as it occurs among secondary school teachers, as a selected category of workers, in Lusaka region. In particular, the study aimed at identifying the sources of teachers' tress, its patterns and the coping strategies used by teachers. Further, the study
investigated the awareness of educational authorities of the problem of
occupational stress among teachers.
The study used a randomly selected sample of 187 secondary school teachers drawn from both public and private secondary schools around Lusaka urban and peri-urban. The main instrument used for data collection was a
Teacher Stress Index Questionnaire (TSIQ) designed to elicit information about
stress experienced on the job.
The findings show that the major sources of occupational stress among teachers are poor conditions of service and work situations. Teaching and teaching-related activities emerged as the lowest source of occupational stress among the study sample.
It was revealed that demographic factors such as gender, years of experience, qualifications and status, influenced respondents' perception of occupational stress.
The results also made an interesting revelation that environmental stressors in urban schools contributed greatly to the total occupational stress experienced by teachers. Principal among these were extremes of temperature and destructive noise from certain neighbourhoods. One of the important observations made in this study was that of a possible nexus between
occupational stress and infringement of workers' rights. In this regard it was
observed that a good deal of job stress could be avoided if workers paid attention
to their general as well as job-related rights. Most importantly, the study
established that the major sources of stress among teachers were poor
conditions of service and work situations.
The coping strategies identified were collapsed into two categories.
These were adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies. Adaptive coping included strategies such as seeking support from superiors, prioritizing workload,
recognising limitations and talking to friends and close colleagues. On the other
hand the major maladaptive strategies that emerged included denial, taking on
more than can be handled, working long and irregular hours and avoiding
discussing stressful experiences. The fact that maladaptive coping strategies
emerged as the most frequently used was interpreted as indicating that the level
of stress experienced by the teachers was extremely high, and that it was overtaxing
the teachers' coping resources.
In summary, with regards to coping strategies, it was discovered that
teachers of different personal characteristics dealt with stress differently. The two major coping strategies used were adaptive and maladaptive coping
strategies.
The study also revealed that teachers were not receiving any assistance from the Ministry of Education to help them cope with the severe occupational stress they are facing.
On the basis of the findings, some conclusions were drawn and some
suggestions for further research of the phenomenon were given. In addition
recommendations were made in the light of the findings.
Finally it must be pointed out that although the study focused on teachers
as a particular category of workers, the issues addressed and the principles
generated have relevance to a wide spectrum of occupations and organisations.
Description
Keywords
Stress (psychology) -- Zambia , Teachers -- Zambia