Mcmori.J Universityof Newfoundla nd Facultyof Education
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE SOURCES AND LEVELS OF S'-"RESS OF TEACIillRS OF
CHALLENGING NEEDS STUDENTS IN NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
by
Tony 1\1.l\lcC1rthy , B.A.(Ed.),B. Sp. Ed.
June1993
II...
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i i Abstract
The purpose of th is studywas to examinethe sourcesamllevelsofstress experien ce dbyteachersof studentswithcha llellging.needs in me provinceof Newfoundl and and Labrad o randI;.>investiga tetherelatio nship between sources andleve ls of stress experience dbyteacher sinch;l:kng. ing needs classrooms.The WilsonStress Profile fo rTea cher sand aGener alInfor mat ionQucstiomuurcwer e mailedto 302 Challengingneeds teachers.One hundrednnd eighty-four (hO.9.1'X,) co mplete d questionnaireswere returned.The followingstatistics were usedtu analyze theresponses ofthe population studied:(1)a descriptionnfthe demogr a phic characteristics of therespondi ng teacher s ;(2) a representation (Ifthe meansco re obtainedonfactorsInrtococtng stressandstresssco remc-ms:and(J) a correlatio n of personaland pro fcssionn!factors with stressscores . Thert'.sult.s indicated thatcha lleng ing needsteachers lindtheirjobslll11de r;ltel y stressfu l.
Whencompared withotherteachers ,challengingneedsteacher slindtheirjobx more st ressful than do other specialists,andasstressful <Isregu lar classroom teachers.Of (he ninecatego riesofstress,challengi ngneedsteachers lind Employee/ Admin istra torrelations leaststressfulandPhysicalSymptomsof'stress to be the highes t. 1\total of II strcssors we re foun dto significantlycorre late withov erall stres sforchallenging needste acher s,This studyalsoshowedthat low prospectsof promotionortra nsfe r forchllllcnging nee ds teacher s co rrelate highlywithincrease dstre ss.Teachersratedthe administrativesuppo rt they
iii receivedto be high.As administrative suppo rtincreased,stresslevels forthe chnllenging need steachers decreased.An analysis of the results ofthis study suggestedthat alternativesarcavailabletoteachersandschooladministrators to reducestressexperiencedbychallengingneed s teachers.
l\CKNO \\'LEOG EI\ IENTS The writerwishesto expresshis appreciation to allwho pruvidcd assistanceand cooperatedinconductingthisstudy,
Fir st,and foremost, gratitude isexpressedtoDr.William Kennedy fur his advice, assistanc e,and directioninthe preparationofthestudyanti development ofthe report.Aswell,thanksare expressed10MichelleSimplerfurher assistancewitathe statisticalanalysisof the data.
Gratitudeisexpressedto Mr.WayneRussellandthestaffofthe NewfoundlandTeachersAssociation
ro-
their assistanceillthemailing.(If Questionn aire s;and to Dr.ChristupherWilsonfor his pcnuls sion to uscthe Wilson StressProfil efo rTe achers,Mythanksarcalso extendedto participating school boardsfurtheir assistanceandto allchalle ng ing needsteacherswhucomple ted and returned questionnaires, Yoursupportwas invaluable,
Fina lly,thank you to my wifeand partner..s1J.~<UI,alit!daughter,Jcs_~icn;
mytwoso urces of strength. I dedicateIhisthesisto you.
TAIlLEOF CONTENTS
Page
Abstract.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CHAIYrERONE STATEMENT
or
PURPOSE SIGbllFICANCEOF THESTUDY DEFINITIO NS.L1W T ATIO NS
or
THE STUDY CHAPTERTWO ...A REVIEW OFTHE LITERATURE ..,.. ,.. . . . , ....
,ii
11
11 11 12 13 15 15
STRESS .,...• .• •.. • ..15
TEACHER STRESS .•.. . .. • •20
CAUSES OF TEACHER STRESS. 23
CONSEQUENCES OF TEACHER STRESS 29
TEACHERSOF CHALLENG INGNEEDS STUDENTS 32
CHAPTERTHREE .•..41
METHODO LOGY .. . . .•.•41
Instruments ... ..• .•. •41
WilsonSt ress ProfileforTeachers. •. . . 41 GenerallnformarionQuestionnaire.,.. .. .. .. . .. . .•.. 43
Proced ure for the Study .... ..•43
Sampling ...,•.... . . .••••. • . • •. ••44
CHAPTERFOUR.. ... . . ... . . • . . .45
ANA LY~I SOFTHEDATA 45
Demogra p hic Characteristicsof thePopulation.. .. .. . . .. . 45
Summary.. . . .. 54
Analysis of FactorsInfluencing Stressand Categoriesof Stress. 56
Analysis and Comparison of Stress Means. 61
Sum~~... .. . .M
Correlationof Strcssors10Stress Scores. .. 66
Summary 72
CHAPTERFIVE .... . . 75
75
, 75
... 76 . ... .. .. . .. ... . •. 79 SUMMARY.CONCLUSIONSAND RECOfo.1MENDATIONS
Summary.
Conclusi o ns
Reco mme ndatio ns for FurtherResearch
REF ERE NC ES HI
UST OFTAHLES
Page,
T,lblct Tllble 2 Table3 Table4 Table S Tublcf Table7
Table8 Table9 T'lble10 Tllblc11 Tnhlc12 Table13
Table14 Table15
ReturnRarefo r Questionna ires 46
DistributionofRespondentsby Gender 46
DistributionofRespondentsbyAge 47
Distributio nbyNumberof DegreesHeld 48
Distribution ofTotalTeach ingBxpereinceofRespond ents 49
Experi en ceinPresentPosition 49
Relativ ePercentageof TeachingTimeDevotedto Cha llengi ng
NeedsClass 50
SickDaysOverPa st12Month s 51
Presence ofa Student Assistance 52
Pre sence ofStud ents withMultipleDisabilitie s 52
Self-Report ofHea lth 53
Classific atio n of Positions 53
Re sponde ntsWorkingat VariousGrade Levels in Newfoundland
Sch ools 54
MeansofFactorsInfluencingStressLeve ls 58 Mc,lIIScor es Ob tainedfor Categories ofStressand Overall Stress
Score s 60
Table16 MeanScoresfor Eachofthe NineCategoriesof Stress for
Specia list'reachers 63
Table17 OverallStressMean Scores 64
vii
Page Table1g Correlationsof SignificantStressor/Stress Rclatlunships 74
viii
Figure I Figure2
LIST OF FIGURES
Means forFactorsInfluencing Stress MeansforWilson's Categories
or
StressPage 58 61
APP~NDIXA APPENDIX;J APPENDIX C
LIST
or
AI'I'ENIll CE S11 el lAt-rsn ONE
STATEI\ IENTOF PURPOSE
Themajor purposeof th isstudy lJ to examine the sourcesandlevelsof stress experiencedbyteachersof students with challenging needs in the province of NewfoundlandandLabrador.
Asecondary purposeof this study istoinvestigate therelati onshipbetween sourcesof stressandlevels of stressexperiencedbyteacher sinchallenging needs classroo ms.
Questions thisstudywillsecktoanswerare:
Wlmlis the meanlevel ofstress experiencedbyteachersofstudents withchallenging needs?
2. wuatrelationshi p.ifanyexistsbetween(I)the levelof stress experiencedbyteachers of challenging needs studentsand (2)
personalteachercharacteristicsandcharacteristicsofthe individual'steachingsituation?
SIGNIFI CANC E OFTHE STUDY Anumberof factors co mbineto makeastudy of stressofteachersof challenging needs studentsaworthwhile exercise.
First.as a possible result s of theirsmall numbers(slighllyover 300 ) andforthenatureof theirwork, challenging needs teache rs are at risk of being
12 overlookedandexclu ded from the majority of studies of thege neralteac hing populatio n. Nolocalstudieswerefound whic h treated these 300teachersasan identified , distinct group. Second,areviewoftherelatedliteraturehasrevealed limited informationdealingspcciflc nllywithstresslindchallengingneeds teacher s.
Third,while studieshavebeencar riedoutlocallyon stress of regularclassroom teachers andspecialistteachers(Klas,Kendell -woodward, Kennedy,19 85;and Klas,Ke nnedy,Kcndell-Woodwnrd , 1984), thesestudiesdid nor
sr
ccifically addressteachers of challenging need s studen ts(or TrainableMentally Handicap ped students , as they were kno wn when these stud ieswere under ta ken). As such,this study cou ldprove a usefulcomptcmcnrrcthis earlierwork.Finally,thisstudy couldprovideusefulinfo rma tion to aid inthe Iutum developm ent ofpre-serviceandin-se rvicetrainingor challeng ingneeds re achers.
Whilestresscannot be avoided,aw areness of srcssorselmhelptheindividual prepare forthetasks and responsibil itiesbeing underta ken.
DEFINITIONS
I. Stress- No nspeci ficrespon seor the body to ,my de ma nd madeuponit.
Positive stress,cust rcss,leadstoincreaseinperform a nce.Negative stress, distres s,leads[0a decreasein performance(Sctyc.1974).
13 2. I' r ogram planning team•the learn responsiblefor developing individualized programplansforexceptional students(SpecialEducationPolicy Manual, I992).
3. Exceptlunn lstude nt•a studentwhose behavioral,communicative , imcllcctunl. physical,ormultiple cxccptlonalnies aresuchtha t he/sheis considere dbytheprogram planningteam of aschoolto need aspecialeducation program(S pccia!EducationPolicyManual,1992).
4. Ch:tlll'lIgillg needsst udent-a studentclassifiedas mentallyhandicapped andlitting underCriteriaC oftheDe partmen t ofEduca tionpolicyprovi dingfor specialservicesfor thestudent in the province's public schools.These students werepreviouslyclassified asTrainabl e MentallyHandicapped.
5. Clm llclIging needsteacher•tcnchcrof CriteriaC students whospend part or alloftheir day inasegregatedclassroomwithinaregularschool system, Theseteachers were previouslyreferredtoasTMH teachers .
LIMITATI O NSOFTilESTUDY Thepresent studywillbelimited bythe following:
Thestudy willbelimited to challengingneeds teachersin the province ofNewfound land andLabrador. AsSUCh,generalization toother challengingneedsteachersoutsidethis area islimited.
14 2. The generalinformatio n5('<'[1011oftheqncstlonnnlrc is selective.
Notnilpossibl estrcss o rs havebeenincluded. Items thatcould possibly besrressrutforreachersmighthavebeen emitted . 3. The instrume n tused 10collec t the data(WSJlT) is asel f-report. As
a resul t,subjectsmightusc thesurvey fortheir ownpurposesrather than simplyreportingitems'as theyarc.'
4. Thestudy istobe co n ducted in a limitedlimeframeraruomcutin tlme'').Stresslevelsmightvary fromtimeto time throughoutthe year . II.s such,stresslevelsmeasured atthislime. mightnul prove
[0be true me anlevels ofthe entireschoolyC'\T .
15 CHAPTER TWO
A ((EVIEWOF TilEL1TEltAT UltE fn the discussionofrelated literature,asreviewedinthischapter , the follow ing structurewill beused.
This chapterwillbeginwith areview ofdefinitions for the termstress.
Next the literature willbe reviewedasitrelates tothetopic of teacherstress.
Finall y, literat urerega rding stressasitrelatestoteacher s ofchallengingneeds students will beexamined. Inthisway,the chapterwill move from ageneral over viewofabroadtopic to a morespecific examination of stressfor peopl e similar\0thetarget populationforthisstudy.
STRESS
'111Ctermstressis onewhichhas onlyrecentlycome intousc to describe huma nbehaviour.In its short historystress hasbeendefinedbya numberof researchers.
Inanearlydiscussion of stress,Sclye(1956)defined stressbywhatitis not:
Stressisnotanervous condition.
2. Stressisnotancrncrgcucydischargeofhor mone s...
:t Stress isnot anything that causesa secretion,bytheadrenalcortex, ofitshormones, the ccnlcords.
4. Stress is nota non specific resultofdamage.
16 5. Stress isnot a deviationfrom homocosmsis. the steadystate of the
body.
6. Stress is not anythingthat causes an alarmreaction... (p.5J~54).
Selye alsodefined stress,inamedical context,as"Therate of all thewear and tear causedbylife"(p.vii). Emphasizing thisnature of stress, Sclycalso statedthat "Stressis a pari of life.Itis a natural by-prod uct ofouractivities"(p.
299).
Through a historicalreviewof the usage of theterm stress,l..nzarus and Launier(I978) concludedthatthere arcthree variationsor meusage:(I) stress is seenas a stimulusor a conditioncausing turbulenceorchange: (2) stresscan mean:IICresponse or relictiontothe stimulus; (3) stresshas alsobeenusedto des cribe the rela tionshipor "adaptivecommerce "(p.293) betweenan individual andanenvironment. This third variat ionreceived conside rable attentionfro m LazarusandLaunier.
Perhaps one reasonfo r diversityamong thedefinitionsofstressistill:
dive rsityofstressful conditions such as physicalpain, discomfo rt, emotional uph eaval, demands,fatigue,etc.Whilesimple strcssors suchasnoise and pain canbedefinedin degreesofintensity, more complex stressesmight depend on interpreta tion andmeaning tobe defined(Fishe r, 1984).
Inanattemptto overcometheambiguous nature of theinterpretatio nslind mea ningsderived froma stimulus,thusmakin g the defin ition ofstressunstab le,
17 Hshcr (1984)attemptedto npemtionalizcthe definitionof stress by statingthat stress was" Any condition in whichthe majori tyofpeoplereac tby giving a stress response"(p.xvtlj.
However , determiningcriteriafo r a stressfulresponsehas proven diffic ult.
Apsychological criteria(e.g.,arousal)mightbeassociated withstressorwith othernon-stressfulresponses(e.g.,joy).
Followingaconservation ofresources model forstress,Hobfoll(1988) defined stress as:-1\reactiontothe environmentinwhich thereis either(a)the threatof netJoss of resources, (b)the netloss of resources,or (e)thelackof reso ur ce s gainedfollowinginvestmentofresources"(p. 25). Resource s can include:-(;1)Those obj ects,persona l characteristics,conditions.or ene rgiesthat arcvalued by theimlividual,or(b)themea ns forattainmentoftheseobjects.
perso nalcharacte ristics, conditions,orenerg ies"(p.26).
Thisdefinitionhastwo majorimplications. First,thatstressislimited to lossesand gainsorresources andthat peoplearcmainlyconcernedwith conserv ingtheirresources.Second,a proce ssis impliedinwhichtheactual or potentiallossthre atensthings wevalue andbeginsthe stress process(Hobfcll, 19H5).Folluwing thismodel, ouc's reactionto stress has a simple purp ose:to minimizelossandmaximizegain.
Togaina betterunderstandingofstress,it might be usefu lto examine strcs sors.Levi (1967) definedsrressors as the dangers.externalforcesand strains
\,
ofinfluence 10 whichwe arc exposed dailyandwhichupsetourbo d y's ba lance.
Thiscouldinclude allexcessorde ficiency of influences\1)whichthebody is normally exposedorlheintroduction ofsomethingfUlclgn 0111(1new. l.cvi slaled that these srressorscould be physical(e.g.• lackofOXygl'll,nurrttion,ingl'stioll(If poisons,accidents)or mental(e.g.•fimucinldifficulties,difficult working conditions.unha ppymarriage). While thephysicalsucssorsmightbemore obviousthanthe mental,ntcnml strcssorsarc justas cffcctiv c incausingstress.
To Levi,stressis the orga nism's pnucmofresponsetostrcssors.
With the discussio nof definitions of sucss tothispoint, nodistinctionhas been madebetw ee npositivestress andne ga tivestress.\Vilh,111emphasisOil avoiding stress,minimizi ngstress antimanaging st ress,onemightfallintothe trap ofviewing allstressas unple as ant, negativephenomena. Suchis notthe case.Levi(1967)warnedaboutviewingallstressasunpleasant,dangero u s ,and unhealth y.Rather,he stated that giveninmoderate coscs. that the individualcan copewith,stress can be apositive factor.
Klas,Ke n nedy,andKendell-woodward(19 85) alsoreflected onthemul nature ofstress . "Stress can beamotivator,a growthproducer,ahealthy change agent,itcan alsobe a discouragement,destructivepersonall yandprorcssio nally, aswellasphysicallyandemotionally"(p.33).
19 Also, Sclyo (1974)staled that, "Stressis therare atwhich we live inany mo ment... anything pleasan t orunp leasant that speedsupthe intensityoflife, causesa tem porary increase instress"(p.2).
Sclycdiffe rentiated between positive stress(cusr css) which enablesone10 per formsuccc ssfunj andnegative stress (di stress)whichdecr easesone's ability to per form.
Mauc raand Wright(1981)alsodisti nguished between positive and negative stress. The negati ve stresstheyalso describ ed asdistress. Thepositivestress, cusrrcss.theydefined as. "Thekindof stressthat makesyo u come aliveand makes lifea positiv eexper ience"(I'.53).
Ater mrelated to st resswhichis wor thnotingisburnout. Prcudenberger andRichcfson (198 0) summa rizeda numbe rcldefi nitlousofburno ut. Thes e include,"To deplete oneselfTo exhaustone' s ph ysicalandmentalresources . Towearoneself outbyexc essively striving toreachsome unrealistic expec tation imposedby oneselforby the valuesof society"(p.16).
whendiscussingprofessiona lburnout.Morga nandKrehbiel(1985)slated thattheter mburnoutcommunicates ntlcast four situations:
(a) not coping, intenusof mentalorphysicalhealth, [b not functionin gcompetentlyon thejo b.
(c) beingjob co mpetent bot feel ingwea ry,unful filled, andbored,md (d ) ,\ctuOIII}'quitti ngthejob (p.59).
~(l Apersonexperiencingburnout,acconl ingtoFrcudcnbcrgcrarnlRichclson, is, "Someone inaslate of fatigueor frustrationbrought abourbyadevotion to a cause,wayoflife,orreuuionstrtpthatfailed toproducethe cxpcctcdreward"(p.
13).
Whe the r burnoutisfacili ta ted by the timesin which welive,orthe impact of changeand demands placeduponU~,it is usually aresul tofovcrcnnuuitmcnt or overdcdica tton on thepart of theindividual. Burnout is a slowprocess.The earlystagesareoncnmissed becausemostburno utvictim s arcsclf-sufficicru,ahlc peoplewho arc ableto hide thei rweaknesses(F rcudcnbc rgc r
,mu
ktchclson, 1980).The suddennai r-uporbreakdownisnottheonsetofburnouthutrathe ra later stepinalong process.Whileburnoutmay bea real threat 10ape rson,Frcudcnbcrgcrand Richerson (19 80)offersome comfortby stalillgthat burnou ti.~reversible,
/1('
mailerhowfar it lws progressed.
TI';i\C IIEH.STltESS
Asch ulcr(1980 )St.1tCIJ:~'al"stresscould bea one-wo rd deli nition for teaching"(p.7). Tojustifythisstatement, hegavethe followi ngdescription
or
ateacher 's school da y:Forthemajorpa rt of the schoolday teac hersarcisclntcd Ircm otheradults,aworkingconditionsharedby few otherprn fc\\ ionals.
21 Itisnot possible\0workindepthdailywithasmanyas 150 studentswhohaveunique learning histories,personalitie s,problems anti po te ntials. Dcudiiues, bells, excessivepaperwork,inadequate supplie sarc "givens"in most sc hools, "F ree" periodsarefree in name only.Restandrecuperationtake asecondplace10 preparation and grading. In addition10 the sedemand s,teachersare barmsscd, more or less,ineveryclass. Studentsnipingtakesmany fon-ts: talking,whispering,lipreading,notepassing , insultingthe teache r...WhcnPi\announcementsarc included inthis list.
typicnlly lesstha n 50%ofclasstimeis spe nt on lea rning. (p.7) These interna l pressureswhencombi nedwithexter nal pressuresonschools (c.g.• budgetary,mntnsrrcammg , scrutiny ofparen ts , ctc.jand personalpressures makestress the number onehealth problem among teachers(Aschuler,1980).
Sylvester (1977)also sho wedstre ss10bethe wo rs t healthproblemteachershad to deal with.Thi s study, ccoducnJror~!Qrmagazine,revealedother interes tingres u lts;which include:
33%ofill ness related teacherabsenceswere related tostress.
35% ofrespondents hadcalledin sick for reasonsoffatigue and ncrvoussualn.
40%ofteachers were taking prescriptiondrugs.
7%had receivedpsychiatrictreatme nt.
84%believed therewerehcnhh hazards inteaching, 22%hadfai r to poor healthduringthe schoolyear butonly4%
rep o rtedthe sameforsummer months.
23%claimed10 havepoor tofairability 10 cope withstress.
Coates and Thoresen (1976), intheirreviewofresearchon teacher stress, uncovered resultsfrom studiesdatingbackto the 1930's.Ina 19JJstudy of 6(KlO teache r, P. F.Hicksfound 17%to be "unusually nervous"and11%reported having hadnervousbreakdowns. Anotherstudyof5000teach ersconductedby the NationalEducationAssociation(NEA)(1938)found J7.5 %ofrcspoudcnts classifyingthemselv es as"seriously worried;1Il(\nerv o us." The National EducationAssociation(1951)found43%ofatestedsample reportedworking under"considerablestrainand tension."Afurther studybytheNational EducationAssociation (1967) indicatedthat78% oftheteachersunptcreported to be workingunder amode rate or considerablelevelof stress. In a study of teacher stress,Kyriacou and Sutcl iffe (1978)used a sampleof 257 teachersfrom16 medium-sizedEngl ish schoo ls. Theresultsindicatedthat20%ofthe teachers reportedworkingas II teacher\0be "either ver ystressfulorextremely stressful"
(p.166).
Klas,Kendell-woodwardandKenned y(l9B5)foundunuregular classroom teacher s, regardless of thegradeleveltaught,experiencedII moderate level of stress.
23 These studies revealthatteacher stress has a long history and continues todayintcrr.ationalf y. Teacher stressalso translatedin to healthproblemsand affected reachers recognize this relationship.
CAUSESOFTEACI IERSTRf:.sS
Theabovesection indicatedtherepo rted incidence ofteacher stress. The followingwillreview someoftheSQllrCCSof teacherstressasidentified in the literature.
Needle. Griflin, Swendsen and Berney ([980) stated that,"Stressarises Frcrn the discrepancybetweentheteacher's needs, values,and expectationsonthe onehand and occupationalrewardsor job demands andthecapacityofthe worker 10meet these requirementson the otbcr (p.96).
SOlliepotentialstressor.'> teachersshare with otheroccupationsinclude:(a) the challengeofthe job,(b) workingconditions,(c)relationships withco-workers, (<I)promouonntopportunities,(c)financialrewards,(f)resource adequacy, and (g)one'sroleinancrgnnlzarion(Needleeral.,1980 ).
Somesrrcssorsunique to teaching,asoutlinedbyCichonandKoff(1978) include:(a)studentdisciplineand violence,(b)managementtensions,(c)doinga goodjob ,and (u)pedagogicalfunctionssuch as parent-teacher meetings,planning lessons,cleoAs might be expected, teachersexperiencedgreateststress regarding matters overwhichtheyhadlillieorno control.
,.
CichonandKof f (1978) outlined the len moststressfuleventsf(ITrcaclwrs
\0be :
involuntary transfer.
managing disruptivechildren.
notification ofunsatisfactoryperformam:".
threatof personalinjury.
overcrowded classrooms.
lack of availablebooks and supplies.
otherteachersbclog assnultcd in school.
reorgan ization of classesorprograms.
implementing board ofeducationcurricufuutgoals.
denial ofpromo tionor advancement.
Decl ining en ro lments present twu other po ssible st rcssors for reachers:(I) jobsecurity, and(2) decreased opportunityfor mobilityurthe desire 10change jobs(Needles ct al.,1980).
CoatesandThor esen(1976)distinguishedbetwee n sources of stressfor beginningteachersandexperiencedteachers.Beginningteachers expressed concernabout:(a)the irability tomaintainclassroomdisci pline,(hIstudents liking them, (c)knowledgeofthe con tentor~\'''.icctarea,(d)whatto do incase of mistakes,and (e) ho wtorela te 10otherteachers,admlnlstmtorsand parents.
Experiencedteacher s sawas majorsources ofstressmatterssuchas: (a) lime
25 demand s, (b)difficulties withpupils,(c)large class sizes, (d )fina ncial limitations.
and(c)lackof educational resources.
Dunham(1984)providedthe followingas alist of teacherstressors:
organlzaflonnland curricular changes role connie!andro le ambiguity children'sbehaviour and altitudes difficultworkingconditions.
1\listofseven major sourcesof job burnoutW:lSprovidedbyCedoli ne (1982) , These were divided into organizationalandenvironmentalcauses;and non-orgnnizntionalCilU.'iCS.
Tileorganizationa lcausesInclude:(3) lack ofcontrol over one'sdestiny (implyingthat greaterparticipationin decision-makingresults in higher produc tivity, higherjobsatisfaction, higher self-esteemandlower employee turno ver ); (b) lack of occupationalfeedback and communication (good working relatio nshipsandcommunicationwithfellowworkers arc impo rtant in occupatlonn l and individualhealth); (c) work overload or underload(excessive workloa dsandboring,tediousjobs canbo th providestress);(d)contact over load (contin ued unpleasantencounte rswithother s): and(c) role conllict/a mbiguit y (uncert ainly uboru whal one is expectedto d",atwork).
Non-c rgnrnzntlonatcauses of stress mightinclude: (a) individ ual factor s such aspersonality(neurot icism,introversio n,flex ibility.stressorientation), sex
26 differences, marita ldiscourse.recentlossofloved one.etc.or (Il) trainingdeficits (inadequateinitlal trainlng preventingthe worker from glli:lgcompetently through his/herworkday and retardsa feelingof self-confidencein the worker).
Someofthemajorstrcssors identifiedbyKyriacouandSutcliffe(197H) included:
pupil' s poorattitudetowardwork.
trying to upho ld/ mainta in valuesandsta ndards.
poorlymotivatedpupils.
covering lessons forabsentreachers.
too muchworktodo.
lack of time tospendwhhind ividu al studen ts.
Kyriaco u and Sutcliffefoundlittleassociationbetweenteacherstressand
biographical characteristicssuchas age,sex,qualificillions,andlengthofteaching experience. Rather,they stated that,"Thepersonalitycbumctcrtsucs...ofthe individualmay bethemore important determinantof individualdifferencesin teacherstress"(p.166).
Swick(1989)divided sourcesof teacherstressinto two groups:ecological stressandinteractional stress. Ecological stressisinvolv edwithstrcssors thatarc part oftheworkenvironment. Swick felt thatecologicalstressinrelation to teachingoccurs withinthreeareas:the classroom , the school,andthe professional domain.Classroom stress would inc lude class size , availabilityofmaterialsand
27 facilities,work~P<lCC,etc.School-relatedstress wouldinclude the entireleaching- learn ing process. Included would bepoor school climate , ineffectiv eleade rship, schedulingconflicts, conslstcnrinterruptions ,excessive work demands,and exce ssivepaperwor k. Professionalstrcssorsreflect the changingnatureof leachingwith increased training requirements andincreasedjobresponsibilities.
Inte r ac tionalstress can lie dividedintopersonalrelationsh ips andjob- relatedstress. Pe rsonal stresses include financ ialdifficu lties, divo rce , child ren wilhsevere disab ilities and other major personal changes. Job- related stress wouldincl udeincreasingteacherroles androleambiguity.Job-related
rela tionship srrcssorswouldinvolve a teacher's interactionswith students , colleagues, parents. admlnlstraticn, andother groups in contact withtheschool.
Klns, Kcndcrt-woodward and Kennedy (1985),using theWilsonStressProfilefor Teachers(WSI'T ),foundthe fo llo wing items tobe most stressfulforreg ula r classroom teachers (frommoststressful tolea st stressful):
timemanagement parent/teacherrelations interpersonalconflict physicalsymptomsof stress student behaviour
psychological/emotional symptoms of stress teacher/teacherrelat ions
zs
cmployce/admlnlstmtorrelations.xtas(1984)hypothesizedabout the possiblereasonsfortimemanagement being a teacherstressor.Hissuggestio ns include :
I) PerhapseducatorsaTCless effectivelimemangers.
2) ...too manysubjectsnow includedinthe school
curriculum...extracurricularresponsibilitiesalso add burde n... 3) ...the schoolday or yearis tooshort,intenus ofOlvai!;lblc coutuct
time withstudents, 10accomplishour goals.
4) ...100fewhumanresources.(p.26)
Whilea numberof potentialsourcesof teacherstresshave been iden tified and rankedbymanyresearchers,it mustnot beassumed th,,'onlya comtiirsulcn of these sressor swillresult in extremestressfor theteacher."Itshould he noted that a teacherneed findonly one aspectof hisjob extremel ystressful,pe rhaps one notconsideredstressfulbymostteac he rs,for him10 neverthelessratchis ovcrau level of stressasextreme"(Kyrtacouand Sutcliffe,1978 ,p.167).
In conclusion,itcanbe said that when generaloccupntionnl strcssorsarc combinedwiththosesrrcssorsspecific to the teaching proresslon.itis clear that teac hers are at great riskufstress.
The ne xt sectionreviewspossibleconseq uences ofteacherstress .
29 CONSEQUENCES OF TEACHER STRESS
Ham' Sclye(1974) staled that humansrespond tostress inthree stages. He called thisthree-stageresponsea GeneralAdaptlonSyndrome. Instageone,
"alarm," thebody prepare s for"fighting orfleeing." Stagetwo,"resistance,"
SCC.~the individualusing a numberofcoping strategiesinanattempttoreduce the stress. Stagethree,"exhaustion, " iswhatwecommonlycall burnout,
Afterthe flrsr alarm ofstress, thebodyreactsphysiologically.
AdrenalinepOUTSintotheblood speeding up the heartrate and increasingbloodpressure. AsSligar increasesinthe blood. more
"fuel"isnvailnhlcfor energy.. moreenergy is transported tothe musclesandthe brain..
Thisphysiologica l syndrome can aggravate a widevarietyof symptoms:
insomnia,upset stomach, ulcers.•. .headaches,...asthma,...high blood prcssurc•...stuttering....depression,....Atworst,whenstressischronicand severe ,it canleadto illness,accidents,and dcath (Aschuler,1980,p. 9).
Dunham «(984) also discussedstagesof stress toinclude: (a)attempted changeinbehaviour;i(unsuccessful,(b)frustration(ranging from irritationto aggression), (c) anxiety(feelingsof panic or physiologicalchanges),(d) exhaustion(tirednessdescribedas"being drained"),and(e) burnout (with physical.mentalandbehavioralsymptoms).
3D
Somemajoroutcomes of stress, as outlinedbySwick (1989)include:
1. Increaseinphysiological problems such ashigh blood pressure and dramatic changesindietary habits.
2. DisruptionofpsychologicalfunctioningIhatmaybeexhibited in chronic depressionand/o rexcess ivenervousness.
3. Developmentof a personalsense of helplessnessandrcclingsof inferiority.
4. Significant loss of both physicalandpsychologicalenergy.
5. Development of psychosomaticillnesses Ilialseem rc..llbutstem fromthe inability10ticalwithreality.(p.17)
Inaddition10the cost of stressontheindividual,a numberofstudies indicate that stressfulteaching conditions couldntsoresultinlower levelsof teachingperformance (Humphreyand Humphrey. 1986).
Duetotheinteractivenature ofteaching, the resultsofteacher stress cannotbecontainedwithinthe individualortheincividual'sfamily;these problems alsoaffectstudents.There fore, teacherstressisparticularlydangerous becauseofits potential toaffect largenumbers ofboth stuuentsand staffmembers (Klas,Kendell-Woodward, andKennedy, 1985).
As statedearlier,burnoutis a possibleconsequenceof continuedstress withwhichthe individualis unable to cope.Wilson andHall(1981) dividedthe
31 symptomsofburnuut intotwo groups :(1)physical,includingback pain, headaches, ulcers, exhaustion,andsleeplessnessand (2) emotional, physiological, behavioral; including depression,discontent, loss of concern for people, negativism, anger,rigidityto newideas, highjob turnover,low moraleand increasedabsenteeism. Aschulcr(1980) identifiedfo ur psychosocial symptoms of teacherburnout. Theseinclude:
Distance front studentsand colleagues.
2, Emotionalandphysicalfatigue.
3. Attitudeshin to becomecynical.
4. TOI<l I disgustcharacterizedbysuch thingsas depression, drug abuse, hostilityor breakdowns.
Consist ent wlthmanyothers, Swick (1989) identified signals of burnoutto include:
1. Consistentfeelings ofbeing overwhelmed.
2. Continuingand severe problems with humanrelat ionships . 3. Living in a consistentslateofhigh anxiety.
4. Consistentfeelingsof inadequacy and depression . 5. Lack ofinvolvement inpursuing personal gr--wth.
6. Continuingproblems with health, especiallypsychosomatic illness.
7. Constant negative feelingsabout selfand others.
8. Continuingenergyloss, sleeplessnessand relatedsymptoms ofhigh anxiety.(p.18)
Clearly,stress has physiologicaland psychologicalconsequencesfor an individual. For a teacher, stressnot onlyaffectshis/herindividuallifeand professionalperformance;italsohasanimpact on those who comeintodaily contact withthe teacher(colleagues and students).
Thefollowing section willconcernitselfwith challenging needsteachers' experience of stress.
TEi\CIIERSOFCIIi\ LLENG INGNEEI>SSTUI>I~NTS A review of theliteratureon challenging needsteachersrevealedlimited researchconcerningthesespecializedteachers. Literature was found in theareas of generalspecial educators;teachers of theemotionallydisturbed,behaviourally disturbed,and educablementally handicapped;and teachersofstudentsin alternate institutions.Sinceth('~eareas overlapSOI11CWhlltwithchallengingneeds students,theywillbe discussedfirstin thisliteraturereview.
Many ofthe causesofstressfor regularclassroom teachershavebeen outlined ear lier inthischapter.Coupledwithexperiencingthesestrcssors,special educators arc alsoexposedto a numberof specific strcssors.suchCIS;lack of mobility,mediaassaults, publicscrutiny, inadequate training,increasing paperwork, disciplineand violence problems,little extrinsicrewards,lack of
33 perceived studentsuccess , lackofadministrativesupport, lackof supportfrom colleagues (Holland, 1982).
Weiskopf(1980)identifiedsix sourcesofstress for specialeducators . Her Jistof sourcesincluded:(1)workoverload, (2) lackof perceivedsuccess,(3) amountof directcontactwithchildren, (4) staff-childratio,(5) programstructure, and (6) responsibility for others.
Workoverloadinvolvestimepressu resassociatedwithplanningand implementing individualizedprogram plans,meetingparents,instructingstudents, and conferringwithcolle agues.
Perceivedlackof successresultswhen the teachersees only the child's problemsandfails 10 secthe smaller successes gained.Thisleads to decreased teacherself-esteem. Wh:,tis importanthere is notthcchild'ssuccess, or lack tbcrcor,but rather the teacher'sperception ofthis.
The numberthree sourceofstress, amountof direct contactwithchildren, refersto the factthat,unlike regularclassroom students,manychildrenwith special needsrequire constantadultsupervision.Withincreasedcontact,stress increases.As mightbeexpec ted,highchild-teacher ratio settings are generally morc stressfulthanarelow-ratiosettings.
Special educatorsoften workinlessstructuredenvironments than do regularclassroom teachers.Thisisoften necessaryto meet the child'sspecial
needs.Whilethisis the preferablesellingfo rthechild,it canexact agn:at emotio nal price andcanbe ernotionallyexhaustingfor thereacher.
Thefinalsourceof stressdealswith thercsponsibllhyfor others, Asin manyhelping profess ions,tea chersgive theiremotio nalstrengthtostude ntsand receivelittle,ifany,inreturn.Children wilhspccla:needsrequireevenmore supportfromtheteacher.Withl,)utsupport,theteacher'sstre ss increase s and burnoutis possible(Wcb\;op f,19 80),
Bcnsky(19 80)indicated thatthebestpredictorsofperceivedstressfor special educa to rswere",..clear roleexpectationsand discrep ancybe tween teacher ' s percep tion ofthe roleversusother'sexpectationsoftheteacher' srule"
(p.27).
Johnson, Gold , and Vickers(1982),in their study ofteachersoflearning disabled ,behav iourallydisordered , and ed ucablementally re ta rded, fo und nine itemsto bestress fulacrossthe gro ups.Theseincluded:
I. Being threatenedwithalawsuit.
2. Studentviolence.
3. Lack ofacceptanceofhandicappedstuden tsbyregular educationteachers.
4, Lackof administrativesupport.
5. Inappropriatesupe rvisory services.
6, Insufficien t psych olog ical services .
35 7. Inappropriate psychological services.
8. Dispute regardingstudent placement (p. 554).
Theseresea rche rs also found that teachers of behaviourally disturbedstudentsfelt that theirteaching situations weremore stressfulthan the situations of teachers of learningdisabledorcducably mentallyretarded students. Itwas sugge stedby johnson ctnl,thatthe perceived lack ofsupervisoryand psychologica lservices added 10 this feeling.Finally,itwas found that teachersof behaviour disordered students were more fearfulof verbal and physicalassault. Most,however, admittednever being abusedin eithermanner.
The issue of administrativesupport as a source ofstress for special educators wasalsoexaminedin a study of Lawrcnson and McKinnon (1982).
Withitsample of:\3teachers ofemotionally disturbed children,the researchers foundthat, witha 48% attrition rate over a three year period, the major reason teachers gave for leaving thejob was hassles with the administration.On the other hnud, the reachers'major source of satisfaction came fromtheir relationships with the students.Based on theirfindings,Lawrenson and Mckinnon concluded that;"Administrators and supervisors needto be moreaware ofthe significantimpact they have upon the job satisfactionsand dissatisfactions.
and attritionof teachersofemotio nally disturbedstudents"(p.41).
Klas,Kennedy, and Kendell-woodward(1984)foundthatwhile special educators shared similarstrcssors and levels ofstress withother teachers.some
36 stressorsweremore stro nglyfeltbythespecialeducators. Theseincluded:
M. ,.poor home environmentsoftheir students,parents' disinterestin their children.
heavywo rkload s andoverloads,limitedtime , poor stlldcntmotivatio n leading to slo w progress in the subjectsta ught,and feelingsof frustration,anger.and anxiety abouttheirjobs"(p.68-69).
Usingalocalscale applicable10the province ofNewfoun dlandnnd Labrador, theresearchershypot hesized that where ateacherlivedmightuffcct his/her level of stress. The results showeda lack of recreationaland leisure time outlets and activities outsidethe schoo l to be a majorsource ofteacherstres s; fur the specialeducator thelack of resources to mee t the specialneeds of students is ano ther stressor. Many ofthe supportservices arclacking in Sill'l lI,isolated communitiesin theprovince.
Special educator s,with specializedtrainingfelt theyhadliulcinputimu decisionsregardingprog ramm ing forspecialneed s studen ts.Specialeduc a to rs alsoexpressed concernsaboutjobsecurity when students areinte gratedinto reg ularclassroo ms.
Most feelingsofteachers of challcn!!in<.: need s sueteus inregular.\c1 100 1s areshared by teache rs ofspecial needsstudentsin alternateinslit ution.\ ,Two authorswhodiscussed teachers inalternateinstitutions arc r'rcuccn bcrgcr (1975) andMcadow (1981).
37 Workersin alternateinstitutionsoften begin witha "missionary zeal"
(Mcadow,p.20). The worker, however, begins to"takeloamuch, fo r100lo ng andtoo intensely"(Frcudcnbcrger,p.74).Workers hav e their owninternalneed
to succeed plusthey sec the immense need ofothers 10 behelped.This creates an cmouon ntsrraln. Seeingthe needsof others and one'slimitations, the workers begin tofecI guilty.This guiltcauses them10workharde r andlonger. With increased work comesincreasedfrustration.Thisleadstoincreasedstressand
pote ntial forburn out .
Anothersource of stressidentifiedbyFrcudcnbc rgcr(1975) is boredom.
"No mailerhowinitially exciting our work maybe,in time the boredom of the task and the monotony ofthe problems,complaints,andhassles..• can get the better of us" (p.75).To alleviate boredom, the opportunity for periodic shifting ofstafftasksis necessary.'111eworkermustfeelthey have some powerto change or influence theirownjobsuuelonor selling (Mcadow,1981).
Anothe r major stressorwhen working withpeople withspecia l needs isthe necessity to be open to others amiin touch withtheir wants andneeds (rrcudcub crgcr,1975).Unfortunately,theworker's wants and needs are, atleast, seconda ryand oftenforgotten. TI1Cworkeris oftenemot io nally expose dand drained.There is aneedto replenishand build up; oftenthroughthepositive strokesof ethers.Ho we ver,awarning must beissued:
JR If theadministrator, the directors,or co-ordinatorsare not alert[0
this needand dismissa worker'sopenor covertucggi,:gfor slmkcs as mere self-indulgence or childishness,or non-productive behaviour,a burnout syndromecanbestarted, (Prcudcnbcrgcr,p.
76)
In a comparison of stress for teachers ofmeniallyretarded(MR)andnun- mentallyretardedstudents,Fimiam(1983)fount! thai while reachers of mentally retardedstudents reportedl1Ianysourcesof stressttlbeless intenseandfrequent than their non-retardedcounterparts.this\II:\Snotthecuwfor hehavioraland emotionalsourcesofstress. ForbothSOlITCCS,teachers of thementallyretarded were affectedmore frequentlyandmore intensely.
Sultonand Huberty(1984) comparedteacherstress andjobsatistactiou for regular publicschool teachers and teachersofseverely handicappedstudentsin private schools. They found nodifferences in sourcesofstressor strategiesfor coping with stress betweenthe two groulls.
Utilizingthe Mnslach BurnoutInvcmory, Johnson,Gold,andKnepper (984)foundthefrequencyandintensityof burnoutfor teachers ofh;mdic;lp~d studentsto be linked tothe demographiccharacteristics of:yearsofexperience.
education,educationandsex.
Whiteand Phair(1986)statedthaI the processofteachingseverely handicapped childrencan producein teachersfeelingsorsadnessand helplessl1ess;
39 guiltconce rn ingthe lack ofprogress ;and angerdirectedatthech ild and his/her parentsand the teach er' ssupervisors. Other commonreactions include denialof l~lCexistence ofmild handicap s,fearoftheteacher'sown abilityto copewiththe handicapped chilli and ovcrpr otccrivcnc ss. Finally, they stated thatde fensiveness. fatalismandfrustrationarc possible. Theauthors emphasizedthe needtoview thehandicappedchildas an individualanti to keep expectat ionsin line with the child'spotential.
Fo rteachers expectingnew challengingneedsstudent sin theirclasses, Ward (1981)proposedinscrvtcc.The purpose of such in-service would beto providebasicinlcnnalion about students to fncilitatc the students'assimilation into theclasswithminim u m stressanddisruptiontothe classr oom.
Toreduce stress ofteacher sdealing with hand icap ped stud ents,Taylorand Soland(198 3) sugges tedthebu ilding ofa suppor t systemthatincludes:school personnel ,communit yagencies .parc ntalorgan izations andprofessionaland personaldevelopmentresourc e s. TaylorandSeland also encouraged the teacher of thc handicappedtota keall activeroleinthe developm entofthe support system .To do this.the teache r is to makehis/ herneed s known to school perso nnel, to enlistthesuppo rtofcomnumlty organization s .to contact professional organiza t ionsandtoallot timeforactivities thatarenot job-related.
Whilespecialeducator s andchallenging needsteac he rs oftendealwith fewer students 111<111 do regular classroom teach ers,they are subjec ttomany ofthe
'0 same andadditionalstrcssors.Like any group,varietyof stress levelsisprevalent amongthese educators. Therearc suggestionsin thelite rature whichnrc aimedat helpingteachers reduce the levelofstressexperienced.
41 CIIAIYrER 3
l\1ET I IOn O LO GY
Toexplore the resea rchques tio nspresente din ChapterOne,the following instruments antimethodologywereused.
Instrum ents WilsonSlre.~ sJ)rolil c for T{,Hch{'rs The instrumen tchosenfo r thisstudy is the Wilson Stress Profilefor Tea ch ers(WSI'T)(S('('Appe ndixA). Thisprofilewas prepared byDr.
Christopher wilson. "TheWSPT mea sures .byself- repo rt, perceivedstress in majo rstress fulcategories related 10 tcac.dng and alsoprovides an ove rall general teachingstressscore" (Wilson, 1980 , p.9).
The majorcategories of stress containedin the WSPT arc:Student Behaviour(SB), EmployedAdministratorRela tions(EA),Teac her/Teach er Relati ons
er n,
Parent/ Teache r Relat io ns(P1' ) ,Time Mana gement(TM), lnrmpcrsouul Conflicts(IC), Physical Sympto msofStress (PS), Psychologicnl/nmotionalSymptomsofStress(PE)lindStressManagement Techniq ues (St\I).There(I!'Ca10t,,1or36items:fourpercategory. Responsesare givenon a I(vucvcr")10 5("vcryoften")Likert scale.An overall stressscorecan be obtainedby adding the scoresof eachof the nine categories.
42 Wilso n offeredameasure of stress levelfor each
or
thenin e catego ries: 1- 8=LowStress; 9-15<::Mode rateStre ss;16·20 ::. HighStress. For theoverall score,thefo llowingis available:36-73 ""Low Stress;74·108:=Modera te Stress;109-180""High Stress.
Theprofile requiresabo ut15 minutes 10complete (Wilson .1980).
A re liability lest,usingSpearman'sRhoyielded a correlatio nco-e fficient of+0.68. Based onthis, Wilsonconcludedthat the lest was reliable(W ibll l1, 1980 ).Wilson (1980)slatedthai, withacorrelation of0.50 betw een thepre-lest scores of theprofile and cumulativescores onthe Strait-Trait Anxietylndcx,"tt appea rstha ttheinstrumenthas sufficientconstruct reliabilityto warrantits uscfor the measurementof stressamong teachers"(Wilson, 1980,II.28).
Luh,Olejnik,GreenwoodandParkay(1991)investigatedthe construct validity,internalconsistencyand predictivevalidityofthe wSlyr .Resultssuggest thatteacher relationswithadministrators,otherteachersandparents arcimportant factors discriminating highIrom low-stressschools.
Kendell(1982) rested this instrumenton40 NcwfoundlandandLabrador teachers andfound thill, •... the instrumentperformedadequately, includedmost of theappropriatesourcesofstress,wasusable forthc populationofteache rsinthe province ofNewfoundland" (p. 93).
The profile was later used inher 1982study ofnearly 600 teachersinthe provinceofNewfoundland. Otherslucliesofteacher stress using the WSJYrarc:
43 Sutton and Huberty (1984);Abel (1989); Soh~! 988);Herbster(1999); and Greenwood,Olejnik, and Parkay (1990).
GC'llcrn! InfonualiollQursli onnai re
To help determinewhichfactorsmightbe correlated[0various stressesand stresslevels,a generalinfo rmatio n questionnaire(OIQ)was given to the same sample . In addi tion tobiographical Ullin(age. sex, crc.),factorsthai,inthe literat ure , have been foundtobe related 10 teacherstresshavealso beenincl uded (sec AppendixB).
Procedurefurthe Study
Initialworkco ncerningresear ch in thearea ofstressof challengingneeds teachersbeganinMarch ,1992.Throughmeetings with Dr. W.Kennedy, Education Professorat MemorialUniversityof Newfoundland,preliminary plans were made furresearch directions and procedures.
AmeetingwasheldwithMrs. Brenda Kelleher-Hight,Directorof M-R Services with the Departmentof Education.Thepurposeofthemeeting was 10 define andidentifythepopulationofteachers10bestudied.
Correspondencewasdirectedto Dr.ChristopherWilsonandtheWright Publishing Group requestingper mission to lisetheWilsonStressProfilefor Teacher s (sec Appendix C).Followinga lackof success contacting Dr.Wilson byletter ,Dr.WilliamKennedywas able toreach himbyphone attheNat ional
Universityin SanDiego, California. Dr. Wilson gave verbalpermissionforthe WSPTto be usedin this study.H~also statedthat written permission was not necessary.
When permissionto usc the WSPT wasreceived,school boards superintendentswere notifiedin writing ofthe purpose ofthe studyand permissionwas requested to surveytheir teachers. Surveys werethensent tothe challengingneeds teachers through school principals.
Sampling
TheDepartment of Educationrecords, provided by Ms.BrendaKelleher- Flight,indicatedthe total identifiablepopulationof cballeuging needs teachers in the provinceto be slightlyover 300. Theseteachersrcprcscurall threeschool levels:primary, elementaryandsecondary.
Itwas determinedbytheresearchertharthe totalpo pulation or challenging needs teacherswas manageable forthe purposes ofthe study.As aresult,itwas decided that survey instrumentsshould besent to allidentifiedchallengingneeds teachers in theProvince of Ncwfcunulaud and Labrador.
45 CIIAI'TEH FOUl{
ANALYSISOF TilEDATA
The purposeof thischapter is toprovide a comprehensiveanalysisof the datagainedfromIIself-devisedGeneralInforma tion Questionnaireand the Wilson StressProfilefor Teachers concerning stress experienced byteacher s of challengingneeds studentsintheprovinceof Newfoundlandand Labrador .To accomplishthis,thechapteris divided into three sections:(I)a description of the demographicchumcrcrlsncs of thepopulation studied; (2) a representat ion ofthe meanscoresobtained onfactorsinflucneing stress(asidentified inthelite rature) nndstress scoremeans;and(3)acorrelation of personalandprofessional factors withstressscores.
ncmogmptrtcCharnctcrt stlcsof the Populati on Part A of the questionnairewastreated firstin thisstudy andthe findings concerning the reachersand theirpro fessional situat ionsarediscussedand presented in tabularform.
n('.~ll nll s!'naI l' - Table I presentsthenumber ofquestionnaires mailedto teachers and thenumber,andpercentage,of completed questionnairesret urned.
Of the 302 qucstionn..lres mailed to challengingneeds teachersonMarch 13, 1993,184 questionnaireswere completedand returned in the self-add ressed,
46 stamped envelopespro vided bythecut-offdateof April17,1993. This represents60.93% of allquestionnaires.
TAIILE1
!{(-Illrll Hal e!Ir Q ll{'sl i ol1 w l i n·.~
Totalquestionnairesmailed Completedquestionnairesreturned Percentageof questionnairesreturned
302 18' 60.93%
Gcnder,Table2 presentsadistribution ofrespo ndentsacc ording10sex .Ofthe 180 reacherswhoresponded to this item,153.or85%,werefemale.This isa large majoritywhencomparedwiththe27 maleswho madeup only15 % of the total respondingpopulationof teachers ofchallengingneeds students.
TABLE 2 Dislribuli ollu[Ht's])ondt'nlshyGt'ndl'T
Male Female TOTAL
Gender nespondenrs Nc mner 27 153 180
% 15.0 85.0 100.0%
Age-Table3presentsthe distribution of respondentsaccordingto age.The ages rangefrom20to ove rSIyears.The largestnumber (76) fallwithintherange of
47 31-40 years of age.This represents41.3%of the 184 peoplewho eompleted questio nnaires. Over3 outof 4 teacherssurvey ed (75.54%)are 40 yearsof age orunder.Thistoulindicatesthattheprovinceof NewfoundlandandLabrador hasarelativelyyoung populationof challengingneedsteacherswhcn compared withtheprovince'sfullteaching force(only45%of whichare 40or younger).
TARLe3 ni~tl'ihUli Ollof l{t'spond c lllsbyA~
20-25years 26-:'1\)years 31·40 years 41-50years 51+years TOT AL
Ag e Respoudcnt sNcmbcr
19 44 76 JJ
184
% 10.33 23.91 41.30 20.11 4.35 11)).0 %
UllivCIOSilyDeg rees .Tubtc 4 presentsthe distrib ution of respondentsaccording to thenumberof universitydegreesheld. 172 teac hers respondedto this item.All respondingteachershadatleast oneuniversity degree. 104leachcrs (60.47%) had two degreeswhilelessthan 2%had4or moredegrees. Almostallteachers holdingtwoor moredegreeshad degrees inSpecialEducation.Thisrepresents almost75%of thepopulationstudied.
'8
TABLE4
l>ist l'ih nl iQIlbyNumb" "ofJ)"gn'{'s!Id el
NumberofDegr ees
TOTAL
RespondentsNumber %
,) 25.00
104 60.47
22 12.79
2 1.16
0.58
172 100.0%
TotalTeachingExpcrlcncc-Table 5prese nts thetotalteaching experienceof the respondents. 182 teachersrespondedto this item, '111elargest numbe r(7J)falls wit hin the11-19yellTra nge.This represents40.1 1%of theresponding population.Whencombin ingthe!'·4yeaTrangewiththe 5-10yearrange,89 teac hers wereshown to haveteaching experience between 0und/0years. Thisis 48.9 %ofteacherswhore sponded 10 this item.Onlyasma llminority(10.99%) ha ve more than19 yea rs ortotalteac hingexperience.
,.
TABLE5
Ills!rihulionof TotplTeachingExperie n ceof Respondent s
TotalTeac hi ng Experience Respond ent sNumber 4%
0-4years 46 25.27
5·10years 43 23.63
IH9 ycars 73 40.11
20
+
years 20 10.99TOT A L 182 100.0%
ExperienceillPresent Postrtcn. Table 6presentsthe experienceofrespondents in theirpresent position . 183teachers responded to this item. The largest number, 78,have 2 yearsor lessin their present position.This group represents 42.62%oftherespondentpopulation.84.7%ofthe teachers have 8 orless years
Intheir present position.
TABLE6 Fxnc.-j(,llceIn!)..Nelll !'osition
YenrslnPrcscntPosltlon 0-2years
3-5years 6-8years 9
+
years TOTALRespondents Numbe r 78 48 29 28
183 100.0%
50 Time in Challeng ing Needs Class -Table7 prcscrusthe timeteachers spend in ChallengingNeeds classesre presented as relativepercentage oftheir overall teacbing time.Themajorityofteache rs studied,51.38%,lcad\between 76%and 100 %oftheir totalteaching timein ChallengingN1,,'Cd s classes. 122 teachers (67.4 %)leach
<I'
IcaslSO%oftheirtime inaChalleng ingNeedsclass.Tha t is.forovertwo-thirds of therespondents,the majorityoftheir teac hinglimeis spent with Challenging Needs students.Teaching assignmentsoutside challengingneeds classroomsusuallyinvolve instruc ting regularspecial education students.
TABL E 7
RelativePel'centilg!!orTC:lchi n gTillle I)evoh.'d10Ch'~in~
Percentag e
or
Time RespondentsNumber %0-25% 28 15.47
26·50 % 31 17.13
51·75% 29 16.02
76·100% 93 51.38
TOTA L 181 100.0%
SickDays• Table8 presentsthenumber ofsickdays taken by respondentsover Ihepast 12 mo nths . lSIteachersrespondedtothis ite m.25teachers, 13.81%of the population,re ported no sicktimefor thisperiod. 129 (71.27%) reported between one andseven sick days. Less than 15 % took more than7daysas sick leaveoverthe12 month pe riod.
51
Ti\IlLE8 SickDimOverPrtst12 Months
TOTAL SiekDays
1-3
4·'
8+
daysRespondent sNumber
25
81 48 27 181
%
13.81 44.75 26.52
14.92 100.0%
StudentAssislllnt-Table 9 presents thedist ributio nofrespondentsaccordi ngto whetherorn011\Student Assistantis presentinthe classroom . 183teachers responded10tltisite m.The vast majorityof teachers(143)ind icatedtheyhave theassistanceor St ud ent Assistants. Lessthan22%ofrespondingteachers reportedworking withoutthe aid or a Student Assistan t .
52 TAULE9
Pn's rn rr ofaStlll!l'lIt Assistant
Response
No TOTAL
RespondentsNumber 143 40 183
% 78.14 21.86 100.0%
Stu dentswithMulliplcDisabilities-Table10presents thedistribution of respo ndentsaccordingtowhe therstudentswithmultipledisnbilitlcs makeup,at leastpart of,theteacher's ChallengingNeeds class. 183teacherrespondedtothis item.Themajority ofteachers (115)reponednothaving multiplydisahlestudents intheirclass.68teach ers,37 .16%ofthe population,respondedyesInthisltcrn
TABLE
to
l' l'esencc(IfStudcntswilli"'tullioleIlisahilitil's Respon se
TOTAL
RespondentsNumber 68 115 183
% 37.16 62,114 J(X).O %
Health-TableIIpre sentsthedistributionofrespondent saccording to selfreport ofhealth. 181 teachersrespondedtothisitem. 158teac hers reported theirhealth
53 tobe "excellent"or "good." Thisrepresents87.3% of the responding population.
LessthanI%(only one respondent) reportedhavingpoor overallhealth.
TABLEIt Sclr -ren crt ofIlt'al1h
RCS1JUIl SC ){espondents %
Excellent 61 33.70
Good 97 53.60
Fair 22 12.15
Poor 0.55
TOT A L 18 1 100.0 %
I'llSilioll'Table12presen ts the distributionofteachers accor ding tothe classificationof their position as:half-lime ; three-qua rterlime;orfull-time. 182 teachersrespondedtothis item. ResultsindicatedIhalthe vastmajorityof teacherssurveyed(74.73%) leachinfull-time positions .
TABI.E12
Ctnsslf'lcntlon Half-time Three-quartertime Full-time TOTAL
ucspoudcuts Nutalier
3' 14 136 18::!
% 17.58
7.69 74 .73 100.0%
School-Table 13presentsthe distributio nof teachersaccordingto thele velof schoolinwhichthey teach. 183teache rs responded10thisite m. Thela rgest group(90)teachin Elementary schools whilethe smallest group(I) teachin schoo ls thatare exclusivelyPri mar y schools.Teache rsarcevenlydistr ihutell betwee nhighschool(22.95%) andAll-grade schools(20.77 %) .
TABLE13
Rrsp oudrn hWork ingal"nriulIS Gn ll!l'!l'\'l'lsillNt'\\'fnllll(lIam lSd lUuls
SchoolLevel RespondentsNumber %
Primary I) 7.1U
Eleme nta ry 90 49.JH
High
"
22.95All-Grade J8 20.77
TOTAL 183 100.0%
Summary
111e purpose of this section was to presentanoverviewofthe datagathered from quest ions#2 to#14oftheGeneralInfo rmation Oucstlonnalrc. Atotalof 184teache rs wert:studied. Someteache rs selected toopl outoransweringsome question s. There fo re , not everyteac heris represente dinevery item .The findingsinthedesc riptive analysis of the personal and professional charac teristics of there spondentspointed to thefollowingconclusions:
55 The majority ofchallenging needs teachers(85.9%) intheprovince arc female.
2. The provinceof Newfoundlandand Labrador has a relatively young
pcpulaticn of ChallengingNeeds teachers.15.54% of teachers surveyed arc 40 years of age or younger. Only45 % ofthe province's full tcachingforceis 40 oryounger,
3. Thepo pulation of challengingneeds teachers inthe provincehavea highacademic background. Almost 75% of teachershold2or more universitydegrees.
4. Whileover40%ofteachers have lola]teaching experiencebetween IJand 19 years,lhe majority of teacher (66.95%)havelessthan 6 years experienceintheirpresentposition. Almost 43%ofteachers haw less than 3 yearsin their present position.Thisindicates a possible highturnover rate for challenging needsteachersin NewfoundlandandLnbmdor.
5. For overtwo-thirdsofrespondents,the majorityof their teaching timeis spent with challc ngingneeds students.67.4 % ofteachers spend atleasthalftheir time in challcngingneedsclassroo ms.
6. StudentAssistants arc present to assist the vast majorityof challengingneeds teachers. Less than 22% of teachersareteaching withoutStudentAssistants.
56 7. Thelargest groupof chalkngingneeds teachersarcfoundin
Elementary schoolsettings.Almostone-halfofallreachers surveyedworkin Elementary schools.
Allal}'sis ofFactorsInflucncingStressandCuregortcs ofSl l"l's.~
The literaturereviewill Chapter 2presentedfactorscausing stressanlong teachers(regularandspecialist). These influences wereincludedin theGcncrul InformationQuestionnaire fl'] challengingneedsteachers10 rareas he/she experiencedthem(seeAppendixIl).factorsincluded:(I) amountofpaperwork required oftheteacher;(2)severityof physicaldisabilities of studentsinthe Challenging Needsclass;(3)administrativesupportIIII'teacherreceives;(4 )the teacher'spercep tionofhis/herprospectsfor promotionor transfer:(5)severitynf menialdisabilitiesof studentsin the ChallengingNeedsclass; (6)theteacher's degreeofphysicalexe rcis e; (7) theteacher'sinvolvementinhouhies;(8)the severityof behavioraldisabilitiesofstudentsin the ChallengingNeedsd<ls_~;and (9)Iheteacher'sfeelingof cohesionwithotherstaffmembers.
Teache rs ratedtheirexperienceofeach usingaIto 5Likert scale;I re presen tingtheLOW endofthescale and5 fOi 'heHIGlIlimit.Table14and Figure1 present the mean scoreobtainedforeach of theseninefactors.
57 The mean ofPaperwork (PW) was 3.57. This indicates that challenging needs teachers feel the paperwork required ofthem is neither excessivelylowor high;onlyslightly above the midpointof3.
The item011severity ofPhysicalDisabilities of students(PD) yieldeda meanof2.75.This score showsthaI most challengingneeds students inthe province have onlymild to moderate physicaldisabilities.The itemonseverityof BehavioralDisabilitiesof students(130) gaveresultssimilarto (but slightly higher than)theitem onPhysical Disabilities.The mean for Behavioral Disabilitieswas 3.21,indicating11I0sichallenging needsstudentsin the province have moderate behavioraldisabilities.As might be expected from thepopulationstudied (teachersassignedto studentswith mentaldisabilities),the mean score forseverity ofMental Disabilitiesofstudents(MD) was highat 3.92.
Theitem receivingthe lowest overallrncnn (2.02) concerned the teachers' prospec ts for promotionortransfer fromtheircurrentteaching position(PT). On average,challengingneedsteachers seclittlechance of movingfromtheir position to otherpositionswithin the school system.
When studying questionsconcerningteacher's degree of PhysicalExercise (1'12)and involvement inHobbies (H), identicalmean of 2.99 wereobtained. This wouldindicatechallengingneeds teachers consider theirinvolvementin physical exerciseand hobbies to be neitherhighnorlow.
Thefinal factor,Staff Cohesio n
{sq,
gave amean uf 3.20 pointing(0 challengingneedsteachers'beliefthat theyha ve amode ratelycloserelationsh ip with other teacherson staff.TAIlLE1-1 l\!t'iIllSorF~ll"lllrsIll rhll'lId lll::Sll'l'SS1.!.'I.!.±:i
,8
Factor Paperwork (PW) Physical Disabilities (I'D) Administrat ive Support (AS) Promotion/Transfer(PT) MentalDisabilitie s (MD) Physical Exercise(PEl Ho bbies (H) BehavioralDisab ilities (BD) Staff Cohesion (SC)
I\k all(Scaleufl-5) 3.57 2.75 3.89 2.02 3.92 2.99 2.99 3.21 3.20
Means forFactorsInf luencin g Stress
:~J\~~·i
PW PT ~ e~
F~ttot
59
Using the WilsonStressProfilefor Teacher s (1979),itwas possible todetermine teacher stress innine categories aswe ll as overall teac her stress. Themeans for eachof thesestress scores was calculated. Table 15 and Figure2presentthe dist ributionof mean scores forall 10 stressscores.
Thecategory of StudentBeha vio ur(SB) yieldeda mean score of 9.87 which is inthelowerend of theModerate range establishedbyWilson.
IImean score of 6.63in theemployee/ Ad ministratorRelatio ns(EA) categoryindicated a low level of stress experie nced by challengingneedsteachers when dealing withtheiremployers.
Teach er/Te ache r Relations
ern
proved borderlinelowtomoderately stressfulfor Challenging Needsteachers. A mean of 8.69 was obtainedinthis study .The meanfor theParent/Teac herRela tions[PT] category was10.81.
AccordingtoWSPT(1979),thiswouldindicate a moderate levelofstress for these relations. Time Management(1' M) was also moderatelystressfulwith a meanscore of 10.97. The categoryof tmmpcrscnal Conflicts(Ie)yieldedamean sco re of10.82; aguin withintheMode rate range.
The stresscategorywiththe highest mean score(11.64) ,while stillin the moderate range, wasPhysicalSymptoms of Stress(PS).
Anobtnincdtucanof 10.50 forthecategoryof Psychological/ Emo tional Symptoms of Stress (PEl placed it in Wilson'sModerate range ofstress.
Finally,challengingneeds teachersfind their inabilitytousc stress manage ment techniquesmoderatelystressful. The obtained menufor the category of StressManagementTechniques(Sr-.t)was9,47,
The meanfor theTotal OverallStress ScoreW:lS89.50. Like the1l1~"U1 scores0118 of9stresscategories,this overall meanis withinthe Moderaterunge.
Overall, Challenging NeedsTeachersinNewfoundlandandLabrador lindtheir jobs moderatelystressful.
TMILE15
!\:1t"1l 1l5('OI'('sObl ai lll'll furCal ~'g u..k~of Sln'ssami()vl'!'a ll Sln'SsSrun's
Clllc gol'Y 1-Student Behaviour(513) 2- Employee/AdministratorRelations (EA) J.Teacher/T eacher Relations
err)
4- Parent/T eacher Relations(PT) 5- Time Management(TM) 6-InrmpcrsonatConfli cts(Ie) 7-Physical Symptoms of Stress (PS) 8·Psychological/Gmotionat Symptomsof Stress (1'13) 9-StressManagementTechniques(SM) TOTALOVERi\LLj\lI~ANSCOHE
!\1l'llllScore 9.87 6.63
!I.69 10,81 10,97 10,82 11.64 10.50 9.47 89.50
61
Means for Wilson's Categories of Stress
8.7 10.5 11.64
4 5
e
Categorle.
Figure 2 10. 81 10.97 10.8 2 8.6
19~---, 18
17 18 15 14 13 12
~i
79 8 7
e •
4 3
21L_~~~~_~_~_~_~_-.1
1
Allal)'sisandComparisonof Stre ssMeans
Table 16 presents a comparisonof mean stress levelsfor challengingneeds reachersuncoveredinthis study withmean stresslevels of otherspecialistteachers obtainedfromaNewfoundland andLabrador studyof 588regularclassroom teachers and211 specialistteachers.Thislarge-scale studywas conductedbyDr.
LeroyKIa.'),Leonie Kennedy,and SharonKendell- w oodward .
6'
In the category of StudentBehaviour (SB), challcngf g needs teachers appear to experience less stressthanany ether specialistgroupstudied.The mean ar9.S7 waslower than the other8means Inthiscategory.
The challengingneeds teachers'meanscoreof8.69for Teacher/Teacher Relations(TI)is the highest of allspecialistscores; indicatingthatchallenging needs teacherslind theserelationsmorestressfulthandootherspcclallsr teachers.
Inthe category ofPhysical Symptoms ofStress (PS), challenging needs teachers obtained a mean score of11.64.Thisis adose second tothehighest score of11.69 obtained byHome Economics teachers.
Challenging needs teachers arc atthelower end uftherange of mean scores for TimeManagement (TM)with a score (10.97) only :;lightlyhigher11];11) the scoresof Special Educators(10.80) and Music Teachers (10.80).
For theremaining5 categories; Employee/Adm inistratorRelations (EA), Parent/Teacher Relations (PT),lntrapcrsonal Conflicts(lC),
Psychological/EmotionalSymptoms of Stress(PE), and Stress Management(SM), the mean scores for challenging needsteachers arcwell"couched"in theranges of meanscoresofthe other specialists.For each of these categories,challenging needsreachers arc more stressed than some specialistteachersbut less stressed thanothers.
63 TAIiLE16
M~~!l&:" o.'SrorEarll uftiltNine Cat,v" rk'SofStn"[urSDl-'Cialis!Tt-ll£h!·.,
GROUl'MEAN
Table 17 presents a comparison ofOverallStress Scoremeans forall specialist teachers,SpecialEducation teachersandregular classroomteachers (fromtheKlas,Kennedy.Kendell-woodwardStudy,1984) andchallengingneeds teachers (ofthis study). Themeanlevel ofstressforchallengingneedsteachers (8950)is:1I11l0s1identicaltolhehighestme an of the group; thatisthe89.51 scorefurregular classroom teachers.Thescore is higherthan themeanscorefor
Spcci;JEducators (87.40) andallspecialistt..-ach.:r::(87.46).Ch.~lIcngingnl",..ds teachers experience slightlymore stress than otherspecialisttea chers.
TABLE17 OVeD,1ISln: ssM("fIlISeon'S
TeacherGroup Regularclassroom ChallengingNeeds SpecialEducation AllSpecialists
On' r.lllMl"lIl1Score 89.51 89.50 87.40 87.46
Onelimitation ofthese comparisons isthe age oftheKlas,Kenrn.«ly, Kendell-woodward study (1984). 111eresultsofthis studynrc appruximatelynine yeanold. Becauseofthis, some fluctuationin mean scores ispossible. IIis, therefore,also possible thatthecomparisonsgi...enabove mightnotbecxncuy as presented.
Suuuunry
The purpose of thetwoprecedingsec tionsW:LSto:(01)analyzefactors influencing stress(asfoundintheliter ature)andcategories ofstress(fromthe Wilson StressProfile for'reachers)and(2)comparemeanstress scoresobtained in this studyfor challengingneedsteacherswithmeanscoresforotherspecialists asstudiedbyKlas,Kennedy, andKendell-w oodward(191i4).
65
or
all thefactors influencingteacherstress(asidentified in the literature),Challengingneedsteachers rated theseverity ofMental Disabilitiesofstudentshighest,with a meanscore of 3.92.2. On average,challenging needs teachers considertheirprospects of promotionortransferfrom their presentposition tobelow.The obtained mean (2.02)wasthe lowestofall factorsstudied.
1. Employee!Administrator relationscauselittlestressfor challenging needstcecbcrs intheprovince. Challenging needsteachers also ratedthe amount ofsupporttheyreceivedfrom theiradministrators ashigh.
4. Challenging needsteachers aremoderatelystressedby 8 of9 of Wilson'scategoriesof srrcssors(withthe exceptionof EmployeelAdministratorrelations).
5. Overall,cbnllcngingneeds teachers find their jobs moderately stressful. An overallmeanof 89.5 wasobtained.
6. Challengingneedsteachers are lessstressed by Student Behaviour than am :IIlYotherspecialistteachers.
7. Teacher/Teacher relations arcmorestressfulfor Challenging needs teachersthanfor otherspecialists.
