The purpose of the study was to attain a deeper sense of understanding of the teacher’s stress experience during interactions with a learner suffering from behavioural and emotional problems. The study was undertaken within the interpretive paradigm. A qualitative research design of three case studies (schools, with two participants per school) was used. The case studies were carried out per school since the school establishes the context for the narrative of the stress experiences. Data capturing was conducted by means of semi-structured interviews. The main themes that emanated from the interviews were: the emotions of the teachers, the handling of stress resulting from the relation to the learner and own stresses, and a general reflection of the teachers regarding their own stress experiences. An overall view was taken of the relationship between the context and participants’ stress experiences. The main findings showed a clear correlation between the intensity of the stress experience on the one hand, and the individual’s perception of an incident and his/her need for control on the other. The headmaster’s leadership style and the organizational culture can influence the participants’ experience and their handling of class incidents. Professional and personal stressors have a mutual influence on one another. Reflections appear to play a major part in how stress is dealt with. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Educational Psychology / MEd / unrestricted