A CASE STUDY ON STRESS EXPERIENCED BY TEACHERS … case study on stress experienced by... · A CASE...
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A CASE STUDY ON STRESS EXPERIENCED BY TEACHERS IN AN
URBAN SECONDARY SCHOOL IN SARAWAK
BY
Yong Choo Tiong
A thesis submitted
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science
Faculty of Cognitive Science And Human Development
UMNERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK 1998
Declaration
No portion of the work referred to in this drssertation has been submitted in support
of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or
institute of liigher leanzing.
ABSTRACT
This case study examined the stress experienced by teachers in a selected urban secondary school in Sibu Division, Saralvak. The five main objectives of the study was ( i ) to identify the main stress factors, (ii) to identify the main stressors, (iii) to determine the levels of teacher stress, (iv) to examine the relationship between teachers' stress levels and students' school examination performance, (v) to identify the different responses to stress due to demogaphicat differences of the teachers. A survey questionnaire was used for this study. The questionnaire was modtied from the Occupational Stress Inventory for Teachers in Malaysia. To triangulate the findings, participant observations, document study and interviews were also employed. The researcher spent 6 weeks doing the participant observation and interviews. He taught in some classes and took part in school activities. From a total of 105 teachers in the school, 86 responded to the questionnaire. Forty-five teachers were further interviewed. The findings showed that the best predictors for stress factors were the workload and student factors. The most prevailing stressors were 'poor atbtude of students toxvards learning', 'having to deal with students who continually misbehave', 'having to deal with weak or incompetent students', 'high expectation from school principal', 'having to teach large classes', 'classroom is too congested' and 'students do not respect teachers'. None of the teachers were free from stress. 30.69/0 of the respondents were mildly stressed, 44.790 were moderately stressed, 18.8% very stressful and 5.9% were extremely stressful. The students' performance according to subjects revealed that better performance were enhanced when teachers were at moderate stress or much stress levels. When teachers were experiencing mild stress or extreme stress, the students' performance was relatively low. The iinlngs in this study showed that there was no differewes in the teachers' stress level due to the different demographical differences. Hence, in this school, teachers' stress levels were not affected by their gender, places of ori.gin, races, qualifications, length in service, age, different number of teaching periods, subjects, level of students and classes taught.
ABSTRAK
Kajian kes ini meninjau tekanan yang dialami oleh guru-guru di sebuah sekolah menengah di kawasan bandar, Bahagian Sibu, Sarawak. Antara lima objektif utama kajian ini ialah (i) mengenalpasti faktor-faktor utama stress, (ii) mengenalpasti punca- punca tekanan, (iii) menentukan aras tekanan ke rja, (iv) meninjau hubungan antara pencapaian pelajar dan aras tekanan guru, (v) meninjau hubungan antara ciri-ciri demografi dan aras tekanan guru. Soal selidik telah digunakan dalam kajian ini untuk mengumpul data. Soal selidik ini diubahsuaikan dari Inventori Tekanan Kerja Guru- guru Malaysia. Pemerhatian, tinjauan dokumen dan ternuduga juga digunakan untuk mengukuhkan dapatan kajian. Antara 105 orang guru di sekolah ini, 56 antara mereka rnenjadi responden. Empat puluh litna orang guru daripada responden ditemuduga lagi. Penyelidik telah membuat pelnerhatian di sekolah tersebut selama enam minggu. Dalam tempoh itu, beliau melibatkan diri dalam penyajaran dan akiviti sekolah. Dapatan kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa faktor-hktor utama yang menyebabkan telianan kerja guru ialah faktor beban kerja dan pelajar. Punca-punca utatna tekan kerja guru ialah 'pelajar tidak berminat terhadap pelajaran', -terpaksa berums dengan pelajar yang sentiasa bermasalah disiplin', 'perlu mengurus pelajar-pelajar yang lemah dan tidak cekap', 'pengetua menaruh harapan yang tinggi terhadap guru', ' perlu mengajar kelas yang terlalu rainai pelajar' , 'bili k darjah terlalu sesak' dan 'pelajar-pelajar tidak menzhonnati guru'. Tiada guru di sekolah tersebut bebas dari tekanan kerja. 30.63,0 responden ialah mengalami sedikit tekanan. 44.796 menghadapi tekanan sederhana dan 18.8Ob ialah mengaiami tekanan kuat. 5. gO'o ~nenagalalni tekanan arnat kuat. Pencapaian kcputusan rnata pelaj aran pels-;ar menunj ukkan baha~va apabila guni-guru di aras tekanan sederhana atau kuat. pencapaian pelajar ialah lebih elok. Pencapaian pelajar inenurun apabila guru-guru mengaiami tekan amat kuat atau sedikit tekanan. Tiada perbezaan aras tekanan ke rja yans bererti w j u d berasaskan jantina. tempat asal, bangsa, kelayakan, pengalarnan mengajar, usia, bilangan waktu mengajar seminggu, mata pelajaran, tahap-tahap pelajar dan kelas- kelas yang diajar.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Yong Choo Tiong was born in Sibu town in 1959. He received his primary and secondary
school education in Sacred Heart School, Sibu. He furthered his studies in the University
of Malaya in 1980. In 1984, he graduated from the University of Malaya with Bachelor
of Science With Education (Hons).
He joined Sacred Heart Secondary School in April 1984, teaching fonn six mathematics
and physics. In his service as a teacher, he was appointed as mathematics resource
personnel for the Integrated Curriculum for Secondary School (KBSM). He also
conducted courses for education officers in 'evaluation and testing'. He was the head of
the Mathematic Resource Pool for Sibu Division.
In 1995, he was promoted as the senior assistant in Sacred Heart Secondary School. He
was then transferred to SMK Belaga, Kapit as the principal in December 1995. He served
in the school until July 1997 and was given the opportunity to follow the Master's
program offered by the Ministry of Education in IAB and UNIMAS.
DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to all teachers
and
my parents, my sisters and brother
my wife and children, AIbin, Alene and Fiona.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Dr Razali Arof for his patience and
advice. My sincere thank to Dr Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid, the Director of Institut
Aminuddin Baki, Professor Dr Razali Arof, the Dean of Faculty Science Cognitive and
Human Development, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and the Ministry of Education for
giving me the opportunity to follow this Master's program. I would like to extend my
gratitude to Dr Haji Abang Ridzuan, the course coordinator, all my lecturers and all the
cohort three members for being very encouraging and helpful. My appreciation to the
Director of the Educational Planning and Research Department, the Director of Sarawak
State Education Department, the Divisional Educational Officer, the principals and
teachers in the selected schools for permitting me to carry out this case study. I would
like to thank Professor Dr Hazadiah Mohd. Dahan and Miss Mai Sumiyati Bin Ishak for
their valuable suggestions in improving this thesis.
Abstract
Abstrak
Biographical Sketch
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
List of Graphs
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pages
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction 1.1 Problem Statement 1.2 Objectives of Study 1.3 Definitions 1.4 Significance of the Study 1.5 Limitations of the Study 1.6 Summary
CHAPTER 11: REMEW OF LITERATURE
2.0 Introduction 2.1 Definitions of Stress 2.2 Stress IblodeIs 2.3 international Studies 2.4 National Studies 2.5 Framework of the Study
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... 111
iv
v
... Vlll
X
xi
CHAPTER N:
CHAPTER V.
METHODOLOGY 3.0 Overview 3.1 Research Design 3.2 Subjects of the Study 3.3 Pilot Study 3.4 Instrument
3.4.1 Questionnaire 3.4.2 Interview 3.4.3 Document Study 3.4.4 Observation
3.5 Analysis of Data 3.6 Summary
4.0 introduction 4.1 Description of the School and Respondents 4.2 Findings on the Research Questions of the
Study 4.2.1 Main Stress Factors 4.2.2 Main Stressors 4.2.3 Levels of Stress 4.2.4 Relationship between levels of
teacher stress and students' results 4.2.5 Relationships between Stress Levels
and Different Demographxcal Characteristics
4.3 Discussion
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.0 Overview 5.1 Summary of Findings 5.2 Implications 5.3 Recommendations for Future Studies 5.4 Summary
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX B
APPENDIX C
APPENDIX D
APPENDIX E
APPENDLY F
APPENDLY G
APPENDLY J
APPENDIX K
Approval Letter from EPRD
Approval Letter fiom State Educational Department
Approval Letter from Divisional Educational Department
Letter to School
Reliability Analysis of questionnaire- First School
Reliability Analysis of questionnaire- Second School
Reliability Analysis of questionnaire- First and Second School
Reliability of Questionnaire in Chosen SchooI
Occupation Stress Inventory for Teachers in Malaysia
Questionnaire for Teacher Stress
Rank Order of Stessors
LIST OF TABLES
Title Table 2. I Summary Comparison of Three Stress Models
Table 2.2 Percentage of Very or Extremely Stressful Levels in Reported Teacher Stress
Table 3.1 Research Methods Employed for the Different Research Questions
Table 3.2 Distribution of Items under Each Stress Factor
Table 4.1 Distribution of Teacher Population According to Gender and Sessions
Table 4.2
Table 4.3
Table 4.4
Table 4.5
Table 4.6
Table 4.7
Table 4.8
Distribution of Teacher Population According to Gender and Race
Gender Composition of Respondents
Places of Origins of the Respondents
EthrucaI Composition of Respondents
Qualifications of Rssponaents
Teaching Experience of Respondents
Age Group Distribution of Respondents
TabIe 4.9 Distribution of Teaching Periods Per Week
Table 4.10 Distribution of Respondents in Terms of Subjects Taught
Table 4.1 I Levels of Students Taught by the Respondents
Table 4-12 Types of Classes Taught by the Respondents
Table 4.13 R Values for the Different Models of Stress Factors
Table 4.14 Best Model with Predictors
Pages 29
Table 4.15 The Different Models of Predictors
Table 4.16
Table 4.17
Table 4.18
Tabte 4.19
Rank Order of Stress Factors
Ten Most Prevailing Stressors
Stress Levels Experienced by the Respondents
fighe& Lower Secondary Students' Results by Teachers Stress Levels and Subjects
Table 4.20 Lowest Students' Lower Secondary Results by Teachers Stress Levels and Subjects
Highest Students' Upper Secondary Results by Teachers Stress Levels and Subjects
Table 4.21
Table 4.22 Lowest Students' Upper Secondary Results by Teachers Stress Levels and Subjects
Table 4.23 T-test for Difference in Stress Levels for Male and Female Respondents
Table 4.24
Table 4.25
T-test for Difference in Stress Levels Experienced by Teachers from Different Places of Origin
ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels Experienced by Different Races of Teachers
Tabte 4.26 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels Due to Teacher Qualifications
Table 4.27 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels Experienced by Teachers with Different Number of Years in S e ~ c e
Table 4.28 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels from Different Age Groups
Table 4.29 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels by Teachers with Different Number of Teaching Periods Per Week
Table 4.30 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels by Teachers Teaching Different Subjects
Table 4.31 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels by Teachers Teaching Different Levels of Students
Table 4.32 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels Experienced by Teachers Teachng Different Classes
LIST OF FIGURES
Titles
Figure 2. I A Response-Based Model of Stress
Figure 2.2 A Stimulus-Based Model of Stress
Figure 2.3 An Interactive Model of Stress
Figure 2.4 An interactive Model of Teacher Stress
Figure 3.1 Research Procedure flow Chart
Pages
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28
48
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LIST OF GRAPHS
Graph 4.1
Graph 4.2
Graph 4.3
Graph 4.4
Graph 4.5
Graph 4.6
Graph 4.7
Graph 4.8
Graph 4.9
Graph 4.10
Graph 4. I I
Graph 4.12
Graph 4.13
Titles
Mean Students7 Performance in Bahasa Melayu (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels
Mean Students' Performance in English (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels
Mean Students' Performance in History (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels
Mean Students7 Performance in Geography (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels
Mean Students' Performance in Mathematics (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels
&lean Students' Performance in Living SkiIls~ (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels .
Mean Students' Performance in Science (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels
Mean Students' Performance in Bahasa Melaju (Upper Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels
Mean Students' Performance in English (Upper Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels
Mean Students7 Performance in Moral Education (Upper Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels
Mean Students' Performance in History (Upper Secondav) against Teacher Stress Levels
h4ean Students7 Performance in Mathematics (Upper Secondary) agaiilst Teacher Stress Levels
Mean Students' Perfonnance in Pure Sciences (Upper Secondaryj against Teacher Stress Levels
Pages
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125
CHAPTER 1
1.0 Introduction
Stress is an -inescapable facets of modern living and working life' (Sutherland alld
Cooper, 1994. p. 13 1 ?. Science and technologies have improved our standard of living
but are not able to remow stress from life or xvork place. Some of the comlnon
stressors in urban l ivinz include crowding, noise, air pollution; commuting and crimes
(Graig, 1994). The common stressors in njork p!ace include job demand, job design,
role conflict; role ambizuity, work overload, inadequate career development
opportunities, leader relationsh~ps and organisational culture (Matteson and
Ivancevich, 19891. Stress affects everyone in a society or work place. Nobody can
really claim to be tie:: from stress. Selye ( 1956) co!nmenrs that a person without
stress is a dead person.
A person experiences stress when he or she is unable to maintain balance due to
internal or external stimulus. These stinluli are also referred to as stressors. Tn a work
place, stress is a product of the person. the source of stress and the \\orking
environment. Some of the stress responses are ph_vs~olo~cal, psychological and
behabroural ontcornes Sellit: (1934) uses the term 'general adaptation syndrome'
(GAS) to de.jcnbe the three stages of yhys~ological responses to ttusats and demands.
I t is referred to as the general adsptation syndrome because humar~ bodies respond to
threats and stress in similar ways. In the alarm reaction stage, the brain receives a
signal from the stimulus. Adrenaline is then produced to prepare the body for 'fight or
flight'. This hormone provides the body with burst of energy but for a short duration
onlv. The body system will enter the second stage, that is the resistance stage. of the
GAS when the first stage failed to remove or neutralise the effect of the stressor. In
this stage, the initial alarin system is OK However, the endocrine system supplies
hormones and minerals in order to enable the body to resist or adapt the stress. If the
body can adapt to the stressor successfully. the body system will return to normal.
However, if this fails, then the body system will enter into the exhaustion stage.
During this stage the body is most vulnerable to stress-related physical and mental
illness (Bernard, 1990, p.23). The immunity system and the physiological system are
weakened. Some of the somatic symptoms of stress are: abdominal pain, difficulty ;11
breathing, eczema, high blood pressure, kidney or bladder trouble, cardiovascular
disorders (e. g., Bernard, 1990; Rice 1957).
Stress may lead to reduced productivity and effectiveness of an individual worker
(Sutherland and Cooper, 1993, p.132). For example, workers may exhibit 'active
behaviours' because of work stress. They will 'decrease the work effort', 'going on
strike' or unwilling to undertake a designed job (Matteson and Ivancevich, 1989,
p.60). On the other hand, some workers under stress will exhibit 'passive behaviours'.
They will not pay attention to the supervisor's instruction, ignore quality control and
ignore safety procedures. High absenteeism and tun1 over rate as well as the above
mentiotled behaviours are causing big losses to companies. The National Science
Foundation reports that stress costs over $100 billion annually and is increasing
(Matteson and Ivancevich, 1989, p.6j.
Each occupation or organisation has its own environmental sources of stress. For
example. factoc workers may be affected by long hours of working or shift work.
Sutherland and Cooper (1994) claim that shift workers are more fatigued and have
more gastrointestinal troubles than day workers. They also ha;.e problems in circadian
rhythms. social and family life c hiairnunah Aminuddin. 1997. p. 113 1. Reslow and
Buell (clted In Sutherland and Cooper. 1994. p 146 ) found that llght ~ndustp workers
in the United States who worked more than 48 hours per week had h\lce the risk of
death from coronaq heart disease compared to those ~vho lvorked 40 hours or less a
week. Rosch and Pelletier (cited in \Vexley and Latham. 1991, p.297) estimate that
stress has caused an average of 1 million American workers to be absent from work
on any given workday. Office workers encounter other forms of stressors. Research
shows that the use of Visual Display Terminal (VDT) or computer monitors causes
high level of stress, eye strain, physical disco~nfort in the neck and shoulder areas
(Maimunah Aminuddin, 1997, p. 157j. Sutherland and Cooper ( 1994) indicate that the
most stressful aspects of dentists are to handle difficult patients and to be on schedule.
Marshall (cited in Sutherland and Cooper, 1994) reports that the main stressors for a
nurse are workload, death and dying. uncertainty. responsibilities and role conflicts.
In the educational institutions, studies suggest that teaching is a stressful profession
(e.3.. Capel. 1957: Kyr~acou and Sutcliffe. 1978. 1379: Smilansky, 1981 ).
Occupational stress is critical in the teaching profession because it affects the health
and reduces work performance and work effectiveness. Some of the stress related
health probleins include coronary artery disease, alcoholism. fatigue, headaches,
insomnia and nervous tension (e.g.. Rice, 1987, Kyriacou and Pratt. 1985). The State
Education Department of Penang reported that there was an average of a problem
teacher In every school in the state (The New Straits Times. October 9, 1997).
hlost of the studies in teacher stress were carried out in the United States, Great
Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. These studies focused on
the prevalence and sources of teacher stress (e.g., Kynacou and Sutciiffe, 1979;
Tuettemann and Punch. 1990; O'Connor and Clarke, 1990). Stress was found to be
prevailing in teaching profession. The common sources of szess were -pupii
misbehaviour', 'poor working conditions'. 'poor staff communications*, 'time
demand', 'poor remuneration', 'workload' (e.g., Kyiacou and Sutcliffe, 1979;
Dunham, 1980; Manthei and Solman, 1988; Trendall, 1989: Bo!.le, Borg, Falzon and
Baglioni, 1995 ). Some of the studies reveaied that the teachers' demogaphical
differences like gender, age and teaching experience affected teacher stress !e.g.,
Lauglzlin, 1984; Manthei and Solman, 1988; Fontana and Abouserie, 1993;
McCorn~ick, 1996).
1.1 Problem Statement
In recent years, there were also studies belng done in Malaqs~a regarding teacher
stress ( e g . Sit1 Roham Sharif, 199 1 ; Suseela Malakolunthu, 1994, Junaidah Abdul
Jamll, 1995, Seah Kwee Siang. 1995. Tan Huat Ch>e. 1996: V~ckneasvar~
Krishnasamy. 1997, Abang Mat Ali, 1993; Pvlokl~tar Blil L h i ~ ~ a d , 1998) Some of
these studies sholved that teachers in hlalaqsia \\ere also under h~gh stress Sussela
Malakolunthu ( 1991) reported that 36 89.0 of the respondents In her study were v e q
or eutremelq stressful fvfokhtar Bin Ahmad ( 1998) and Abang Mat Air Bin .4bans
Masagus (1998 3 found that 17 5O 0 and 2 1 3?6 of the~r respondents resyectlvely \\ere
very stressful. The maln sources of stress were ident~fied as 'students' attitude',
-workload'. -teaching poorly motlbated students' ( e g., S I ~ I Rohanl Shanf, 199 1. Seah
Kwee Sianz, 1995, Juna~dah Abdul Jamil. Mokhtar Bin Ahmad. 1998) The only
study on teacher stress in Sarawah tias conducted b! Abang Mat '411 Bln Abai~g
Masagus (199Sj He focused on the stress coping strategies used by secondary
teachers In Zone A of Kuchingtsarnarahan Dlviston. The find~ngs showed that
'ensuring that one understood what one was about to teach was the effective strategy'
in stress coping.
Prolonged stress will lead to mental and physical ill-health (Kyriaucou, 1987). Some
of the stress-relared illnesses rncludes heart attack. palpitation, hypertension,
migraine. hae:norrho~ds. angina. ~ndigestion. premenstrual tension. asthma. dizz~ness.
breathing difficulties. back-ache, alopecia, insomnia. ~astrou~testinal disorders,
physical fatigue and eczema (Cranwell-Ward, 1987, p 80, Rice, 1957, p.2 10,
Markham, 1992, p 154). Teacher stress leads to burnout and lower perfor~nance of
teachers' work In Malaysia, it was reported that almost 400 teachers apply for
ret~re~nent every month (The New Stra~ts Times, September 27, 1994). This
phenomenon could possibly be due to the etlfect of teacher stress Gold and Roth
( 1Y93) polnt out that the stressful and emotional d ~ l e ~ n n ~ a s that teachers encounter
daily debilitate teachers' health and lead to burnout and dropout. In hlalaysia, Noor
Azzuddtn Abdul -4212 i 1990) supported thls wew and potnted out that teachers under
the new curr~culum (KSSi\ll; tend to leake the senice if they w r e under hizh stress.
Considering teachers are the architects for future nation builders. the stress problems
of teachers capnot be taken lightl?.. With the cballenzes stipulated in Vision 2030, we
are depending on the teachers to help the nation in materialising this mammoth
visicn. In the process of realising vision 2020, schools administrators are taking
initiatives to improve the academic performances of the students. Hence there is a
need to study relationship between teacher stress and students' performance.
To date, there is only one research being done on teacher stress in Saralvak. In the
research, Abang Mat Ali (1998) found that 49.0941 of the respondents from secondary
schools in Zone A of Kuching:' Samarahan Division were at least moderately stress in
their profession. 21.3 O,,b of the respondents were highl). stressed or estretnely
stressed. The study by Abang Mat Ali exemplifies that teachers sen-ing in Sarawak
also face the same stress problems like their counterpans in L1;est blalaysia and other
parts of the world. Hence, it is hoped that, a case study of teacher stress in a chosen
secondary school in the Sibu Division, which has good acadenlic performance, \vill
give further insight into the teacher stress situations. The precious studies on stress
were usually associated with negative effects or loner performances. Hence the
objective of this study is to investigate whether stress can enhance performance.
This chosen school has been consistently achieving good results in the form three
(PMR), form five \'SPMj and form six public examinations (STPhl:). For example,
149;b of the sntdents who sat for the PMR in 1997 obtained 7As and SAs. 34.1% of
the total number of candidates obtained 54s or better results. Out of nine sut?jects, the
passing rates for eight subjects were higher than 87.49.6. In 1996, there were 26.196 of
the candidates who obtained at least 5As.
In the SPM results the school maintained a passing rate of above 75?~0. In both the
1996 and 1997 SPM, there were 10 candidates who scored either 6AI or 7A I. In the
1997 SPM, 33.00/0 of the candidates secured grade one and another 24.50;0 of them
obtained grade two. Out of the 17 subjects taken by the students, four of the subjects
achieved 100% pass and another three subjects with passing rates Illore than 90%.
Only three subjects had passing rates less than 80%.
The school has outstand~ng performance In the 1997 STPhl results as \yell Out of the
ten candidates XI ho obtained 5Xs in the Sarawak State. thrce of them were from this
school There itere another i 1 candtdates who obtai~sd 3.4s or -!As The percentage
of students who obtained five principle passes were 65.1°/;6. This result was
outstanding because there were only 19.989'; of the total number of candidates who
obtained fdl principle passes in the Sarawak State. In this.school, nine out of eleven
subjects in STPM had passing rates higher than 8096. In both the 1995 and 1996
STPM results. the school maintained 65.5q6 of candidates with five principles passes.
Through Informal conversation and observat~on by the researcher prlor to the study,
the teachers in this school remarked that they were under stress They also showed
signs of stress There were complaints about their work and students. Soine of the
teachers colnrnented that they were under stress because of workload. They lamented
that they had to put In extra hours after school m order to check through the students'
work and preparc far the school lessons Other teachers Indicated that students were
puttlng them on the~r nenes Some of the students were misbehaving In classes and
had no interest In their stud~es The teachers were hatlng dlft'icult tlnles trying to help
these groups of students Some teachers had problems in class control. They had to
refer students' dlsclpline cases to the admlnlstra:ors or the dlsc~pllnary teachers. A
number of teachers ivere d~sappointed with the prornotional opportunities. There were
few prolnotional exercises The expectations from school and the cormnunlty also
exerted a lot of pressure on the teachers.
Findrnzs on stress hace sholin that stress leads to reduced productivity and
effectneness. Ho~ve~er, this choscn school was one of the outstanding schools III
Sibu Di1 ision ~chlch produced 200d x a d e ~ n ~ c results desplte the fact that the teachers
9
were under stress. Hence it would be useful to find out the nature of stress that the
teachers in thls school are experiencing and how this is related to students' academlc
performance. The find~ngs would add to the existing knowledge that stress can
enhance performance. The relat~onshlp between teachers' stress and students'
academic performance would help administrators to detennine the optimum stress
levels for teachers The admlmstrators can enhance better students' academic
performance by modulating teachers' stress in their schools.
Hence this study focused on.
What are the natures of stress experienced by teachers In this school?
How are teacher stress related to the students' pertkrmance?
1.2 Objectives of Study
The purpose of this study is to
(a) examine the nature of stress experienced by teachers serving in a selected
urban secondary school in Sibu Division
(b) ~nvestigate to what extent the teachers in this school are under stress
(c) investigate the relationship between teacher stress and students'
performance
(d ) in\ estlgate the demosraphical dlfferznces of the teachers related to stress.
Consistent with the above objectives, the research questions (RQ) of this study are the
following:
RQ1: What are the main stress factors experienced by the teachers in this school?
RQ2: What are the main stressors identified by the teachers in this school?
RQ3: What levels of stress are these teachers experiencing?
RQ4: How is the relationship between levels of teachers' stress and students'
school examination results?
RQ5: Are there an? differences in the stress levels for the drfferent demographical
subgroups?
1.3 Definitions
For the purpose of this study, the follow-in definitions are used.
1.3.1 Stress
Stress is defined as a pattern of emotional states and physio10,uical reactions occurring
in response to demallds from outside or inside an organisation (Greenberg, 1996,
p323 1. For the purpose of this study, stress is defined as a process of behavioural,
emotional, mental and physical reactions caused by prolonged. increasing or new
pressures lvhich are siggii>cantiy geater than coping resources