Many teachers experience intense episodes of work-related stress. Elmore (2002) found that teachers are being asked to do something that most people currently working in schools today were not hired to do; they have not been prepared for experiential learning, meeting standards, and/or customized learning (p. 4). Teachers obey representatives from the nation’s capital to the school principal, even when they believe that these mandates and reform initiatives are not in the best interest of students (Moss & Osburn, 2010, p. 122). Teachers faced with these bureaucratic matters are identified with occupational stress (Antoniou, Ploumpi, & Ntalla, 2013, p. 349). Ferguson, Frost, and Hall (2012) found that teacher stress results in physical symptoms such as headaches, psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety, and the deterioration of work performance (p. 11). The aim of this study is to determine the causes of stress in a rural, Maine high school.
…show more content…
This study sought to understand how individual teachers experienced previously stated factors of work- related stress and whether the stress was related to resistance to change or unwillingness to invest in their practices by learning the skills to be successful under new mandates. Once teacher perceptions are documented, this information will be used to make recommendations to the administration as to how teacher work-related stress and/or change resistance might be alleviated.
Research Question
This study sought to understand how individual teachers experienced previously stated factors of work- related stress and whether the stress was related to resistance to change or unwillingness to invest in their practices by learning the skills to be successful under new mandates. Once teacher perceptions are documented, this information will be used to make recommendations to the administration as to how teacher work-related stress and/or change resistance might be alleviated.
Research Question