Stress Management of Teachers

Introduction

Teachers are the key persons within the frontline to guarantee the quality of teaching to provide to succeeding generation. They have an enormous role in generating great leaders. The majority sensible leaders can agree that they learned valuable organization skills and personal development skills from their teachers. These skills helped them to achieve where they are today. Some students are great. Not because they are born with greatness but because teachers helped them to become what they are today. That’s why teachers are great human beings who have immense influence within the way forward their students. As educators, they are expected to fill many roles in their daily tasks. These roles include assessor, planner, curriculum developer, information provider, role model, facilitator and resource developer. As a result of balancing these roles, stress will always be a part of their profession.

According to Etymology Dictionary, the term “stress” is borrowed from the discipline of physics. Stress actually means pressure. The word stress was derived from the Latin word ‘stringere’ which means to ‘draw tight’. It is a universal phenomenon that results in excessive, intense and distressing experience. As a positive influence, stress will compel a person into action; it may end up in new awareness and exciting perspectives. Whereas as a negative influence, it may end up in feeling of distrust, rejection, anger and depression. It is outlined as any amendment within the atmosphere that needs a person’s body to react and alter in response. The body reacts to those changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. As a consequence, the person becomes overworked and stress-related tension builds. It brings physical symptoms together with headaches, dyspepsia, elevated vital sign, chest pain, and issues in sleeping.

Education undoubtedly represents one of the most critical sectors when speaking of work-related stress. Research in different cultures indicates that school teachers are among those professionals with the highest levels of job stress. It is often caused by an excessive workload, failure of pupils to work or behave properly, poor relationships with colleagues, lack of suitable resources, constant changes within the profession, an inadequate salary and difficult interactions with the parents of students.

Teachers are the cornerstone in developing and advancing the systematization of any society and they aim to be respected, to be appreciated, and to possess a right working atmosphere that will enable them to perform academic services well. They are over-burdened with an everyday teaching load. A standardized work load for all the teachers may not be an adequate solution but differential work generates discontent among teachers, occupational satisfaction is a necessary condition for a healthy growth of teacher’s personality. The main reason for the psychological stress of the teachers is because of their current vulnerable position and low self-esteem. Generally, teachers cannot complete their educational duties properly, because of such stressors.

Secondary education provides an indispensable link to the whole education that forms the inter connectivity to the higher education system, by providing the required input. As an important point, secondary education offers a significant perspective of understanding and analysis of the prevailing education scenario of the country. Secondary school teachers play a vital and crucial role in the whole education system. If a secondary school teacher succeeds in creating a sound knowledge in a particular subject among the students, then it is right to say that the learners will be motivated in learning the subject and may develop the interest in the concerned subject which may motivate them for higher studies. Therefore, it is justified to say that secondary school teachers possess the most crucial position in the entire system of education.

Stress management is important for teachers so that their stress would not hinder the achievement of their educational goals and for them to have a better quality of life; both personally and professionally. Individuals who are experiencing occupational stress might use different coping strategies either to avoid it totally or to alleviate it in so that its negative effects in their life would minimize. In line with this statement, Curtis (2000) in his study indicated that people use different types of stress management strategies, which are believed as they have better benefits in minimizing stress like physical exercise, relaxation, behavioral modifications, cognitive therapies, bio feedback, meditations and so on. Furthermore, Leungaetal, (2009) also depicted that active coping strategies and health promoting behaviors help teachers to minimize their occupational stress and enhance both their physical and psychological well-being, which again lead them to have better performance in their work areas. This can be achieved if an appropriate help from different health professionals, educational leaders and other concerned bodies is provided for them.

This proposed research study was conducted to recognize and investigate the stressors that affect high school educators of the selected private schools in Baliuag, Bulacan and also to identify the stress management that they do in response to these stressors.

Statement of the Problem

Stress can hinder one’s productivity. It can affect anyone in the workplace, regardless of the size of the company or position held. It is something that affects the majority of the people at some time or another. This study intended to find out the stress management of high school educators of the selected private schools in Baliuag, Bulacan. It also aimed to fulfill the following problems:

The profile of the respondents in terms of;

1. age
2. gender
3. years in the field of teaching

The stressors that affect secondary level school teachers.

The coping behaviors that secondary level teachers use in response to these stressors.

Stress Level of High School Teachers

The conceptual framework shows the relationship between the independent variable (Stress management) and dependent variable (Stress level of High School Teachers). Stress management coping strategies can be used to regulate stress level among high school teachers.

According to Glossary of Oxford University Press (2005), stress management is the intervention designed to reduce the impact of stressors in the workplace. These can have an individual focus, aimed at increasing an individual’s ability to cope with stressors. Stress Management programs can also have an organizational focus and attempt to remove the stressors in a role. In line with this, coping is essentially the way people manage those life conditions that are stressful. Stress and coping can be considered to be reciprocals of each other. When the coping behavior is effective, the level of stress tends to be low or on the decline. However, if the individual has ineffective coping skills, there is a tendency for stress to be high or continue to increase.

Significance of the Study

The results of this study will benefit the teachers, school administrator, Department of Education, students, future educators and the future researchers. This study is significant because it will recognize the stressors and coping behaviors of the high school teachers. This study will serve as the basis for future plans of action by the teachers, either primary, secondary or college to manage their stressors for it not to affect their occupational performance. Teachers, including the future educators will have a better understanding how to manage the stress so that it would not interfere with the job performance and life.

Teachers will have better understanding how to manage the everyday stress they undergo because of work. This proposed study will also explore possible strategies that secondary level teachers can use to cope with stress that is a directly related to their specific work environment. This study will contribute to the field of health education and promotion by providing teachers with insight and information on how to effectively cope with stress at work so that they can continually meet educational goals.

School Administrators may be guided about the stressors that the teachers used to experience. With that, the pressure and expectations they have on teachers might go well and as a result, they will have an organized faculty relationship.

Department of Education can help the teachers by providing workshops or seminars to help them cope with their work stress. This study will also serve as an eye opener to them about the serious stress that the teachers are facing and its negative effects not only on their personal lives but also in their work performance.

Future Educators will also become aware of the stress they are about to face when they already entered the field of teaching. In addition, this study will help to make themselves prepared for the stressors they are about to encounter.

Future Researchers this study will serve as a theoretical model for the future studies in the same nature. Future researchers will benefit from this study, and it will provide the facts needed to compare their study during their respective time and usability.