COMMON STRESSORS AND ITS EFFECTS TO THE TEACHERS OF L.R.

SEBASTIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Research Proponent: CONCEPCION F. PALMA Division: Cotabato City

ABSTRACT Every individual experiences stress. Teaching as one of the most stressful job, different
factors should be given consideration. It is to help teachers to cope with the different identified stressors
and its effects among teachers. The participants of this study are 8 male and 22 female teachers of L.R.
Sebastian Elementary School. Modified questionnaire was used to gather data through random sampling
technique.

Majority of the teachers responded that the number one stressor among them is that they bring home
work daily-no time to finish at work and low net take home pay, 21 or 70% of the teachers agreed. Too
much school activities and programs introduced by the DepEd and heavy workloads that give them no
time to relax, 20 or 76% responded. Poor classroom working condition (small room, many pupils), 17 or
57% of the respondents agreed. Teachers are given extra loads aside from and workloads and salary
increase is not in pace with cost of living, 9 or 30% affirmed and lack of adequate instructional materials
and teaching resources,7 or 23% agreed.

As a result 23 or 76.66% of teachers get irritable and aggressive, tension increases and low energy
level/sleeplessness with 20 or 67% respondents, easily destructed, 18 or 60% lack of
concentration/ability to think rationally with 16 or 53% respondents and burnout, 10 or 33% of them
agreed.

These common stressors can be coped through, educating teachers and strengthening financial
management through SLAC Sessions, review on time management, like systematic filing and keeping of
reports and teaching materials, prioritizing works and reports, religious implementation of calendar of
activities and action plan, national calendar of activities for the next school year should be released
earlier, a ratio of 1:45 per classroom will be strictly implemented, implementing activities to manage
stress like, Teacher’s Hataw Program, hiking, outing and retreats, recognizing teachers’ efforts and
accomplishments by giving rewards and certificates, strengthening teachers’ personal development, self-
confidence, and morale through socialization.

INTRODUCTION

Stress is a common problem among teachers in the nation's public schools. In could not be denied that
teaching profession is one of the most stressful jobs. Not only because teachers are dealing with pupils
but a lot of extra loads aside from teaching are given to them. New interventions and programs are being
introduced every now and then by the Department of Education just to give quality education.

Stress was recognized as a major contributor to the onset of significant physical and mental health
problems. In the 1980s, stress began to be implicated in areas beyond the bounds of physical and mental
health. In the organizational environment, stress has been implicated in the deterioration of
performance efficiency. When performance efficiency suffers, the quality of the overall organizational
output suffers. Stressors in organizational environments have been investigated within the context of
occupational, or on-the-job, stress.

Teacher stress has been documented by a number of researchers over the years. For example,
researchers have identified teacher’s stressors existing in the school setting such as relationships with
students, colleagues, parents, and administrators; time pressures; workload; excessive societal
expectations; and feelings of isolation in the classroom. (Boyle, Borg, Falzon, and Baglioni, 1995). In
addition, there are professional issues that impact teacher stress such as low salary concerns,
departmental or school policy problems, demands for continuing education or training for
recertification, and lack of opportunities for part-time employment (Tuettemann & Punch, 1992).

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A reasonable amount of attention has also been devoted to coping strategies. For instance, Carver,
Scheier, and Weintraub (1989) identified a variety of action coping approaches including: planning,
suppression of competing activities, positive reinterpretation and growth, restraint, and acceptance.
Additionally, these researchers describe other coping strategies such as socio-emotional coping which
involves expressing feelings to others and seeking support, and seeking an outlet through increased
religious involvement. Another, less productive, coping strategy might also be chosen in the form of
denial and disengagement. This strategy includes the use of alcohol or other drugs, mental
disengagement, and various forms of behavioral disengagement.

It was necessary to first determine the causes of stress among the teachers, and secondly to develop a
program to assist teachers in learning how to manage the stress in their lives.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

This research aims to determine the common stressors and its effects to L.R. Sebastian Elementary
School Teachers. Specifically, it sought to find out the answers to the following questions:

1. What are the common stressors among teachers of L.R. Sebastian Elementary School? 2. What are the
effects of the common stressors identified to the teachers of L.R. Sebastian Elementary School?

Review of Related Literature

“Stress is a lifestyle crisis” (Masih & Gulrez, 2006, p. 97) and can be “any factor,acting internally or
externally, which makes adaptation to environment difficult and which induces increased effort on the
part of the individual to maintain a state of equilibrium between himself and herself and the external
environment” (Humphrey, Yow, & Bowden, 2000, p. 2-3). Moreover, “stress is a peculiar problem in that
no one can consistently predict the amount or kind of stress that can turn an otherwise normal, positive
human situation into one involving an unpredictable, irrational response” (Neil, 1994, p. 2). Specifically,
“in eastern philosophies,stress is considered to be an absence of inner peace” (Seaward, 2008, p. 4).
Given such descriptions, stress is indeed a critical concern.

Stress is an occurrence that must be recognized and addressed in various professions- the teaching
profession is no exception (Oliver & Venter, 2003).

Within the general area of occupational stress, teaching has been identified as one of the most stressful
occupations in many countries (Cooper, Sloan, and Williams, 1988). Teaching related stress, commonly
termed ‘teacher stress’, is defined as a teacher’s experience of “unpleasant, negative emotions, such as
anger, anxiety, tension, frustration, or depression, resulting from some aspect of their work as a teacher”
(Kyriacou, 2001, p. 38). Like other forms of occupational stress, it can have serious implications for the
healthy functioning of the individual as well as for the organization in which the individual serves. At a
personal level, teaching related stress can affect a teacher’s health, well-being, and performance
(Larchick and Chance, 2004). From an organisational perspective, it translates to unproductive employee
behaviours such as alienation, apathy, and absenteeism (Gugliemi and Tatrow, 1998). Hence, even after
nearly three decades of research effort, the study of teacher stress, particularly its sources and
manifestations, continues to attract widespread interest and attention. Sources of teacher stress are
varied (Dewe, 1986). Some of the more common sources include the need to make adaptations to
sudden curriculum changes and feeling of disempowerment (Brown, Ralph and Brember, 2002; Moriarty
et al., 2001). Apart from school curriculum changes, a change in school structure is also a stressor. Such
change causes erosion of collegial relationship (Troman, 2000) and harbours feeling of inequity and
uncertainty (Taris et al., 2004). Other often reported stress catalysts include role overload, namely the
need for teachers to cope with a number of competing roles within their job (Pithers and Soden, 1998),
excessive over-time work (Cooper and Kelly, 1993), and management problems associated with student
misbehaviour and large class sizes (Gordon, 2002). Too much work and not enough time to meet the
needs of all students are two constant themes in any examination of teacher stress. Most teachers are
intrinsically conscientious and dutiful in meeting their students’ learning needs, which

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drives them harder than all other external pressures (Forlin, 1998). The British Columbia Teachers’
Federation in Canada lists the top five causes of teacher stress as “unmet needs of students, class
composition, size of workload, attitudes of provincial government, and the inclusion of students with
special needs” (Naylor, 2001, p.3).

Continuous exposure to stressful situations seriously depletes teachers emotional and physical
resources, thus leaving an individual unable to cope successfully with further stress (Barmby, 2006;
McLeskey et al., 2004). In teaching profession, distress has been linked to dissatisfaction with job and to
negative affective and professional consequences. It is claimed that teachers who work in special
education experience more job-related stress than teachers who work in regular education (Ruma et
al., 2010; Eichinger, 2000). Other factors include excessive work, lack of administrative and parental
support, inadequate salaries, disciplinary problems, lack of students' interest, overcrowded classrooms,
and public criticism of teachers and their work (Rice and Goessling, 2005; Ruma et al.,2010). According
to Alkhrisha (2002), major sources of stress of Jordanian teachers are workload, low salary, lack of self-
esteem, lack of in-service training opportunities, and lack of access to new information and knowledge.
Also, this study discovered that demographic variables are the major predicted variables of teacher
distress. In addition, some demographic variables, such as age, marital status, experience and sex, were
found to be related to burnout (Harris et al., 2008). Reaction to stress depends on external
circumstances (environment, working environment, family, and friends) and individual factors (age,
gender, personality type, motivation/satisfaction and lifestyle) (Karasek, 1990; Seley, 1973; Pranjić et al.,
2006). Distress and job dissatisfaction often result from lack of support and social role problems (Nagel
and Brown, 2003; Barmby, 2006).Teachers enter the teaching profession with the distinct goal of making
a difference in the lives of students with, as well as fulfilling their own goals and selfworth. But due to
the powerful effects of stress and emotional strain from both internal and external factors, they often
are forced to abandon their chosen profession.

METHODOLOGYAND RESEARCH DESIGN

Research Design The study utilized the descriptive method of research. The researcher used the survey
as cited by Dela Cruz (2005), survey signifies the gathering of data regarding the present condition.
Locale of the Study The study was conducted to the teachers of L.R. Sebastian Elementary School. Rufo
Mañara Street, Rosary Heights XI, Cotabato City.

Respondent of the Study The respondent of the study were 8 Male and 22 Female teachers a total of 30
teachers. All Grade levels were represented. 1 Kindergarten Teacher, 7 Grade I teachers, 6 Grade II
teachers, 5 Grade III Teachers, 4 Grade IVTeachers, 3 Grade V Teachers and 4 Grade VI Teachers of L. R.
Sebastian Elementary School using random sampling technique.

Research Instrument The study utilized modified questionnaires. The Table I questionnaire ask for the
responses of common stressors consisting of 20 common stressors, and the Table 2 questionnaire ask
for the effects of the identified common stressors among L.R. Sebastian Elementary School Teachers.
The respondents will tick the common stressors and tick 5 stress effects based on their personal
experience.

PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Table 1. Ranking of Common Stressor Among L.R. Sebastian Teachers Stressor (N=30) Responses
Percentage Rank Poor classroom working conditions (small room, many pupils) 17 57% 3

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Lack of adequate instructional materials and teaching resources 5 17% 6 Lack of proper facilities within
the school (lighting, media facilities, computer) 1 3% 9 Low net take home pay 21 70% .5 Little
opportunity for promotions 2 7% 8 Salary increase not in pace with cost of living 9 30% 4 Interruptions
during teaching time 2 7% 8 Teachers roles: (teacher, mother/father, coach, counselor) 7 23% 5 Heavy
workloads that gives teachers no time to relax within a day 20 67% 2 Teachers bring work home daily –
no time to finish at work 21 70% .5 Responsible to pupils, parents and school head 0 Physical and
mental abuse by pupils 0 Emotional conflict with spouse 0 Problematic children at home 2 7% Extra
loads aside from workloads 9 30% 4 Workloads not in line with expertise 3 10% 7 Financial obligations
(undeducted debts in the pay slips) 3 10% 7 Conflict with co-teachers 0 Conflict with the school head 0
Too much school activities and programs introduced by the DepEd 20 67% 2
It can be easily observed in the table above that the number one stressor among teachers is that they
bring home work daily-no time to finish at work and low net take home pay. 21 or 70% of the teachers
agreed. Second in rank is too much school activities and programs introduced by the DepEd and heavy
workloads that give them no time to relax, 20 or 76% responded. Third is poor classroom working
condition (small room, many pupils), 17 or 57% of the respondents agreed. Fourth is that teachers are
given extra loads aside from and workloads and salary increase is not in pace with cost of living, 9 or 30%
affirmed. And the fifth one is lack of adequate instructional materials and teaching resources,7 or 23%
agreed.

Table 2. Ranking of effects of common stressors identified to teachers Stress effects Responses
Percentage Rank 1. Lack of concentration /ability to think rationally 16 53% 4 2. Easily destructed 18 60%
3 3. Reduced memory 8 27% 6 4. Increased errors 5 17% 9 5. Organization and planning deterioration 8
27% 6 6. Tension increases 20 67% 2 7. Change in personality 2 7% 11 8. Irritable/aggressive 23 77% 1 9.
Reduced self-esteem 6 20% 8 10. Less enthusiasm 7 23% 7 11. Lower energy level/sleeplessness 20 67%
2 12. Absenteeism 4 13% 10 13. Burnout 10 33% 5 It can be gleaned in the table as the result of tallied
teacher’s responses that 23 or 76.66% of them get irritable and aggressive as a result of stress. It is the
number one in rank on the common effect of stress among the teachers. Second in rank is tension
increases and low energy level/sleeplessness with 20 or 67% of the respondents agreed. The third one is
they are easily destructed, 18 or 60% affirmed. Fourth is lack of

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concentration/ability to think rationally with 16 or 53% respondents agreed and fifth is burnout, 10 or
33% of them responded.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Based on the data presented above, most of the teachers are irritable/aggressive, tense, destructed, lack
of concentration at work and exhausted due to the feeling of uncompensated because of low net take
home pay, heavy workloads, too much school activities, poor classroom working condition and lack of
adequate instructional materials.

Considering all common stressor cited, top 5 stressor are the following: 1. Low net take home pay and
teachers bring work home daily. 2. Heavy workloads and too much school activities. 3. Poor classroom
working condition (small room, many pupils). 4. Given extra loads aside from workloads and salary
increase is not in pace with cost of living. 5. Lack of adequate instructional materials and teaching
resources. Effects of Stress: 1. Irritable/aggressive 2. Tense and low energy level 3. Easily destructed 4.
Lack of concentration/ability to think rationally 5. Burnout/exhausted

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Educating teachers and strengthening financial management. Through SLAC Sessions. 2. Review on
time management through SLAC Session, like systematic filing and keeping of reports and teaching
materials. - Prioritizing works and reports. 3. Religious implementation of calendar of activities and
action plan. 4. National calendar of activities for the next school year should be released earlier
before making the action plan of teachers. 5. A ratio of 1:45 per classroom will be strictly implemented.
6. Implementing activities to manage stress like, Teachers Hataw Program, hiking, outing and retreats.
7. Recognizing teachers’ efforts and accomplishments by giving rewards and certificates. 8.
Strengthening teachers’ personal development, self- confidence, and morale through socialization.

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competency inventory for tertiary level faculty members. International Journal of Human and Social
Sciences, 6(3), 171-176. de Leon Jr., F. M. (2007). Hiyang: A Filipino approach to healing. Humanities
Diliman, 4(1), 187-191. Ng, W., Diener, E., Aurora, R., & Harter, J. (2008). Affluence, feelings of stress, and
well-being. Social Indices Research, 94, 257-271. Seaward, B. L. (2008). Managing stress: Principles and
strategies for health and well-being (5th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Hill, A. (2008,
August 31). Depressed, stressed: teachers in crisis. The Guardian. Retrieved from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/aug/31teaching teachersworkload