The purpose of this study was to identify the educational stressors that are the predominant sources of teacher distress and burnout, discover and classify the common and persistent distressful situations in the educational environment, and illustrate a variety of coping strategies that can be practically implemented at the secondary school level. The analyses of data were accomplished through the statistical use of t-tests, one-way analysis of variance tests, and qualitative exposition. The sample consisted of 446 secondary school instructors, selected senior high school and junior high school respondents from five high schools and five junior high schools in the Tucson area. The examination of 54 educational stressors was conducted under the auspices of six research hypotheses which identified the variables on which senior high school teachers and junior high school teachers differed. The independent variables that were investigated were: sex (male and female teachers), teaching experience (0 to 4 years of completed teaching experience, 5 to 9 years of completed teaching experience, 10 to 16 years of completed teaching experience, and 17 to 38 years of completed teaching experience), age (21 go 30 years of age, 31 to 40 years of age, 41 to 50 years of age, and 51 to 67 years of age), marital status (married, single, widowed, divorced, and separated), and types of college degrees (bachelor's, bachelor's plus, master's, and master's plus or doctorate). An additional 63 educational stressors were named by the secondary school participants and listed in the study. For the purpose of this study the researcher developed the Teacher Stress Survey which was given to the 10 Tucson secondary school teaching faculties. The survey consisted of five parts: (1)15 demographic items, (2)54 educational stressors and their degrees of discomfort, (3)common and persistent distressful educational situations in the secondary school environment, (4)the coping strategies used to reduce or dispel the stress in the distressful educational situations and their levels of effectiveness, and (5)more appropriate or better coping strategies that might have been used. Over 70% of the secondary school instructors responded. The immediate crises' situations involving teaching materials and personnel seemed to be more distreeful to junior high teachers than high school teachers whose primary concerns were centered on the school's misuse of power and authority and the teacher's struggle with inadequate salary and unrealistic educational expectations. The 20 educational stressors identified by female teachers involved all areas of the educational spectrum--from paperwork to the future of education--while male teachers evinced concern with the lack of adequate salary and inconsistent educational methods and philosophies. The teachers with the least experience showed the most distress, particularly in the areas of school policy and populace. The teachers with the most experience were concerned about teacher representation, salary, and materials. The oldest teachers had the greatest distress in their lack of control over assignment, salary, and subject matter as well as their feelings of lack of self-esteem through professional stagnation. The marital status of the teachers did have a significant effect derived from their dissatisfaction with salary, the power of the school board and the superintendent, lack of teaching materials, lack of job security, the derogatory public view of education, and the paperwork overload. The teachers with the least amounts of educational preparation had the greatest distress in school policy formulation and ineffective parental support while the secondary school teachers with the advanced degrees were most distressed about the assignment of school duties.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

Integrated curriculum reform in China is meant to change the traditional teaching culture. Based on the findings, it is recommended that the education authority should implement the reform in a gradual manner and takes cultural changes into consideration. It is also essential to support the reconstruction of teachers' beliefs and their professional identities. / The education system of Mainland China has been dominated by the discipline-based curriculum. One of the major curriculum reform initiatives launched in September, 2001, is curriculum integration. Two new integrated curricula, "Science" and "History and Society" are implemented in junior secondary schools in the experimental zones. The ideology and teaching approach of these new integrated curricula differ from teachers' usual classroom practices. To what extent are the integrated curricula implemented? How have teachers' beliefs changed? What are the factors shaping these changes? / The study reveals that the deep and core belief of teachers is very stable. The factors influencing teachers' belief changes included the personal experience of teachers, the school environment and the societal context. During the reform, teachers were trapped in two contradictory discourses, one treasured humanistic values fostering personal growth, while the other emphasized standard examination and competition. Facing two paradoxical educational value stances, teachers experienced serious conflicts in their educational beliefs, and their professional identities were challenged. The changes of belief reflect the process of adapting and adjusting to their new roles in the education system. / This study, from a cultural-personal perspective, aimed to show teachers' beliefs and their changes. In this study, two schools and fourteen teachers were chosen to be studied. Ethnographic research methods, including in-depth interview, field observation and document analysis were adopted to inquire into teachers' collective daily experiences, their beliefs and their changes, and factors shaping the changes in beliefs. / 張爽. / 呈交日期: 2006年11月. / 論文(哲學博士)--香港中文大學, 2007. / 參考文獻(p. 369-384). / Cheng jiao ri qi: 2006 nian 11 yue. / Adviser: Lam Chi Chung. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-08, Section: A, page: 3270. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Lun wen (zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2007. / Can kao wen xian (p. 369-384). / Zhang Shuang.