published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

There is growing concern over the large number of Indian teachers in South Africa resigning from the profession to seek alternate employment or to emigrate. Despite this concern, very little empirical research has been undertaken to investigate the probable sources of stress and dissatisfaction among Indian teachers in this country. The present study was planned to investigate the incidence and association between emotional distress, work-related stress and job satisfaction among South African Indian teachers. The research design involved the analysis of data on Psychological Stress, Event Stress and Satisfaction with Teaching, which was obtained from a sample of 75 Indian teachers drawn from schools in the Durban area. Informed consent was obtained from the subjects prior to participation in the research. The 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), a Teacher Stress Questionnaire consisting of a 25-item Event Stress Inventory and a 25-item Satisfaction With Teaching Questionnaire, were administered. The following were the major findings: 1. The degree of emotional distress experienced by Indian teachers was significantly high. 2. Although the overall levels of work-related stress were high they were not significantly related to the number of years of teaching experience or to the mental health of the teachers. 3. There was a positive association between psychological distress and job dissatisfaction. The older teachers experienced greater psychological stress and job dissatisfaction. 4. Secondary school teachers were found to be experiencing more severe degrees of psychological distress, much higher levels of work-related stress and lower levels of job satisfaction than primary school teachers. The findings highlight the need for further research and have implications for therapeutic intervention. / Thesis (M.Med.)- University of Natal, Durban, 1990.

There is little or no information regarding stress levels among teachers in semi-rural government secondary schools in South Africa. Furthermore, findings regarding the relationship between gender, age and teaching experience and teacher stress appear to be equivocal. The present study aims to examine the levels of stress among a group of semirural secondary school teachers, and whether there is a relationship between stress levels and gender, age, teaching experience and medical/psychiatric treatment. The researcher employed a survey using the Professional Life Stress Scale (PLSS) to assess teachers' stress levels. The demographic checklist consisted of the following items: gender, age, length of service in the teaching profession, psychiatric or medical treatment during the previous 3 months. Participants included 102 teachers, 38 of whom were males and 64 were female, from 9 selected government schools in the Durban semirural area. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample. T-tests were used to determine the relationship between gender and total stress scores, as well as to determine gender differences on individual items on the PLSS. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationship between age and teaching experience and total stress scores. Chi squares were used to determine whether there was a relationship between gender and category of stress. In addition, reasons for obtaining medical/psychiatric services were examined. The research findings indicate that these secondary teachers are experiencing high levels of stress and that gender, age, teaching experience have no significant effect on their levels of stress. In addition, few participants seek psychological and medical services and most participants report psychosomatic symptoms. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

There is a growing body of evidence that occupational stress is a problem for a significant number of teachers. Teacher stress has a detrimental effect not only on the physical and mental well-being of teachers, but on their efficiency and productivity in the school setting as well. This study investigated teacher stress within the interactional framework. Its main aim was to determine the nature and extent of stress patterns in a sample of 360 Indian school teachers selected from ten secondary schools in the Greater Durban area. Other closely related aims were to identify the most important task-, situation- and role-based sources of stress among these teachers, their most common reactions to excessive stress, their common modes of coping, as well as their most important sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Furthermore, this study sought to investigate the influence of demographic characteristics on the teachers' experience of stress and coping. For this purpose intra-group comparisons were made involving six subsamples of teachers male - female, married - unmarried, younger - older, less experienced - more experienced, diplomates - graduates, Level One teachers - Heads of Departments. A self-administered questionnaire and in-depth interviews were used to obtain the quantitative and qualitative data required for this study. Among the most important findings of the study are the following: 1 . Over one-half of the number of the secondary teachers surveyed (54%) perceived their job as being very stressful. 2. The four most frequent and intense sources of stress were related to the working conditions of teachers rather than to the actual task of teaching. These stressors relate to poor career development prospects and a lack of accomplishment. More specifically, these are, in rank order: (1) the system of awarding merit notches; (2) the system of promotion; (3) the system of evaluation; and (4) a relatively low salary. 3. The four most important sources of role stress are, in rank order : (1) the volume and variety of tasks that teachers are expected to perform and the adverse effect this has on the quality of work they produce because of the limited time at their disposal; (2) being compelled to perform duties that appear to them to have little value; (3) having too heavy a workload; and (4) uncertainty about how superiors evaluate their teaching. 4. At least one-third of the teachers are "at risk" of developing more serious health problems. Finally, the limitations of this study are discussed, and various recommendations are made. It is argued that stress among teachers is a complex phenomenon arising out of the interaction of a whole host of factors and circumstances. Consequently, any attempt at amelioration should be multidimensional in nature and involve a variety of disciplines. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1992.

This study aimed to describe the stressors perceived by a group of Health Science lecturers in a School in a South African University, and to describe the coping strategies these lecturers used. The sample consisted of thirty, full-time lecturers in the three Disciplines that constituted the School. Three focus groups, one in each of the Disciplines, were held to gather the research material. The study reveaied that change in Tertiary Education and organisational issues such as the image of the institution, lecturing to a diverse student group, curriculum transformation and leadership issues were perceived as enduring stressors. An increased workload, brought about through the training of future health professionals, trying to stay abreast both professionally and as an academic and the nature of their academic appointments were further identified as potential stressors. Role conflicts in terms of juggling home and work responsibililies and role ambiguity with respect to being both a teacher and researcher were presented as additional stressors, as were certain day-to-day occurrences. Lastly, the lecturers identified a number of personal issues that were perceived as stressors. The study failed to highlight meaningful differences in the three Disciplines within the School, which is in keeping with other published research. The study also showed that the lecturers in each of the Disciplines had access to, and knowledge of, a wide range of coping mechanisms, both problem-based and emotion-focused. The lecturers in the three Disciplines used very similar coping strategies, and once again meaningful differences were not reported. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

The general purpose of the study was to assess the motivation for a sample of anglophone school teachers using the complete "Job Characteristics Model" designed by Hackman and Oldham (1980). / The findings revealed that the schools were very homogeneous. In the core job characteristics, autonomy was the most important motivating factor for teachers, followed by task significance, skill variety, feedback from the job and lastly task identity. In the critical psychological states, experienced meaningful of the work was the highest degree, followed by experienced responsibility for outcomes of the work, and knowledge of results of the work activities. Other dimensions revealed that dealing with others had a relatively high score, followed closely by internal work motivation, an outcome factor of the theory, and finally that feedback from agents was the lowest score. The motivating potential score of 174, out of a possible 343, reflected the overall potential of a job to foster internal work motivation on the part of the teacher.

Thesis (M. Min.)--Northwest Baptist Theological College and Seminary, 1992. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67).

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-46).

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-46).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1982. / Title from title page screen, viewed April 21, 2005. Dissertation Committee: David Franklin (chair), Dale Jackson, Vivian Jackson, John McCarthy, William Piland. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-110) and abstract. Also available in print.