Salient Stressors of Teachers Employed in Private Schools in Andhra Pradesh, India
Abstract
Traditionally, teaching has been considered a noble profession. However, it has become one of the most physically and intellectually demanding service occupations in the present day. Particularly, teacher stress harms both their health and their students’ learning and performance. Stressors for teachers might vary depending on the type of school administration. Although studies have established the stressors experienced by teachers in public schools, relatively little research has been conducted on the stressors experienced by teachers in private schools. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the most significant stressors affecting teachers in private schools. It employed an explorative qualitative research design using convenience sampling. Twenty-one school teachers (nine males and twelve females, mean age of 32, and average teaching experience of 7.5 years) participated in semi-structured telephone interviews that were recorded with a call recorder. The audio data was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis, yielding five significant themes: concerns with compensation; poor work environment; demands from parents, students, and management; interpersonal problems at work; and excessive workload. The results revealed the presence of workplace bullying and jealousy in schools, as well as new sources of stress for instructors, such as student evaluations. In addition, the report highlighted how teachers' financial restrictions and administrative responsibilities were exacerbating their stress levels and recommended administrative initiatives, such as psychological interventions for the teachers' well-being.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.22.5.29
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Ashkanasy, N., & Daus, C. (2002). Emotion in the workplace: The new challenge for managers. Academy of Management Executive, 16, 1. https://doi.org/10.5465/AME.2002.6640191
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2017). Job demands-resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 273-285. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000056
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Verbeke, W. (2004). Using the job demands-resources model to predict burnout and performance. Human Resource Management, 43(1), 83-104. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20004
Ballard, K., & Bates, A. (2015). Making a connection between student achievement, teacher accountability, and quality classroom instruction. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 560-581. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2008.1574
Bhuvaneswari, G., Bernard, C., & Amuthan, F. A. (2020). A comparative study to determine the level of occupational stress among teachers of private and government schools in Chennai. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 8(4), 376–382. https://doi.org/10.25215/0804.046
Brady, J., & Wilson, E. (2021). Comparing sources of stress for state and private school teachers in England. Improving Schools, 25(2), 205-220. https://doi.org/10.1177/13654802211024758
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. In H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & K. J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol. 2. Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological (pp. 57–71). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13620-004
Chang, M. L. (2009). An appraisal perspective of teacher burnout: Examining the emotional work of teachers. Educational Psychology Review, 21(3), 193-218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-009-9106-y
Chudgar, A., & Sakamoto, J. (2021). Similar work, different pay? Private school teacher working conditions in India. International Journal of Educational Development, 86, 102478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102478
Clausen, T., Pedersen, L. R. M., Andersen, M. F., Theorell, T., & Madsen, I. E. H. (2022). Job autonomy and psychological well-being: A linear or a non-linear association? European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 31(3), 395–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2021.1972973
Cohen, S., Miller, G. E., & Rabin, B. S. (2001). Psychological stress and antibody response to immunization: A critical review of the human literature. Psychosomatic Medicine, 63(1), 7-18. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-200101000-00002
Crum, A. J., Salovey, P., & Achor, S. (2013). Rethinking stress: The role of mindsets in determining the stress response. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(4), 716–733. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031201
Deb, S., Strodl, E., & Sun, J. (2015). Academic stress, parental pressure, anxiety and mental health among Indian high school students. International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 2015(1), 26–34. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.ijpbs.20150501.04
Desouky, D., & Allam, H. (2017). Occupational stress, anxiety and depression among Egyptian teachers. Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health, 7(3),191-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2017.06.002
Dewe, P., & O’Driscoll, M. (2002). Stress management interventions: What do managers actually do? Personnel Review, 31(1–2), 143-165. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483480210416847
Du, J., Huang, J., An, Y., & Xu, W. (2018). The relationship between stress and negative emotion: The mediating role of rumination. Clinical Research and Trials, 4(1), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.15761/crt.1000208
Einarsen, S., Matthiesen, S., & Skogstad, A. (1998). Bullying, burnout and well-being among assistant nurses. Journal of Occupational Health and Safety - Australia and New Zealand, 14(6), 563-568.
Flick, U. (2014). The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis (By pages 3-18). SAGE Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446282243
Hoglund, W. L. G., Klingle, K. E., & Hosan, N. E. (2015). Classroom risks and resources: Teacher burnout, classroom quality and children’s adjustment in high needs elementary schools. Journal of School Psychology, 53(5), 337-357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2015.06.002
Johnson, C., & Bowles, M. T. (2010). Making the grade? Private education in Northern India. Journal of Development Studies, 46(3), 485–505. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220380903002939
Kang, L. S., & Sidhu, H. (2015). Identification of stressors at work: A study of university teachers in India. Global Business Review, 16(2), 303-320. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150914564421
Katete, S., & Nyangarika, A. (2020). Impact of teachers’ delayed salaries and its effects on teaching process in public secondary schools Coast Region. International Journal of Advance Research and Innovative Ideas in Education, 6, 1291–1305.
Kaur, M., & Kumar, R. (2019). Determinants of occupational stress among urban Indian school teachers. Research in Education, 105(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034523717745341
Kidger, J., Brockman, R., Tilling, K., Campbell, R., Ford, T., Araya, R., King, M., & Gunnell, D. (2016). Teachers’ wellbeing and depressive symptoms, and associated risk factors: A large cross sectional study in English secondary schools. Journal of Affective Disorders, 192, 76-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.11.054
Kim, S. K., Jung, D. I., & Lee, J. S. (2013). Service employees’ deviant behaviors and leader-member exchange in contexts of dispositional envy and dispositional jealousy. Service Business, 7(4), 583-602. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-012-0174-6
Kingdon, G. (2010). The impact of the Sixth Pay Commission on teacher salaries: Assessing equity and efficiency effects. Research Consortium on Educational Outcomes and Poverty Working Paper No. 29, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.
Kingdon, G. G. (2020). The private schooling phenomenon in India: A review. Journal of Development Studies, 56(10), 1795–1817. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2020.1715943
Kong, M. (2018). Effect of perceived negative workplace gossip on employees’ behaviors. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. 1112. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01112
Kosalai, S., & Maheswari, G. S. (2018). A study on stress and its effect on private school teachers. Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development, 9(11), 165. https://doi.org/10.5958/0976-5506.2018.01445.6
Kumar, P., Batta, A., Kumar, V., Sharma, P., Bhatia, G., & Bhuchar, V. (2019). Organisational commitment and hardiness personality in relation to occupational stress of primary school teachers. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, 7(6), 472-475.
Liu, J. J. W., Ein, N., Gervasio, J., & Vickers, K. (2019). The efficacy of stress reappraisal interventions on stress responsivity: A meta-analysis and systematic review of existing evidence. Plos One, 14(2), e0212854. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212854
Malesza, M. (2019). Stress and delay discounting: The mediating role of difficulties in emotion regulation. Personality and Individual Differences, 144, 56–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.02.035
Ministry of Human Resource Development. (2020). dashboard.udiseplus.gov.in.
Mouza, A. M., & Souchamvali, D. (2016). Effect of Greece’s new reforms and unplanned organizational changes on the stress levels of primary school teachers. Social Indicators Research, 128(3), 981–994. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-1065-8
Nauman, S., Malik, S. Z., & Jalil, F. (2019). How workplace bullying jeopardizes employees’ life satisfaction: The roles of job anxiety and insomnia. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2292. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02292
Ozamiz-Etxebarria, N., Mondragon, N. I., Bueno-Notivol, J., Pérez-Moreno, M., & Santabárbara, J. (2021). Prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress among teachers during the covid-19 pandemic: A rapid systematic review with meta-analysis. Brain Sciences, 11(9), 1172. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11091172
Prochilo, G. A., Costa, R. J. S., Hassed, C., Chambers, R., & Molenberghs, P. (2021). A 16-week aerobic exercise and mindfulness-based intervention on chronic psychosocial stress: A pilot and feasibility study. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 7(1), 64. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-020-00751-6
Rana, A., & Soodan, V. (2019). Effect of occupational and personal stress on job satisfaction, burnout, and health: A cross-sectional analysis of college teachers in Punjab, India. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 23(3), 133-140. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.IJOEM_216_19
Sattar, A., Khan, S., & Nawaz, A. (2010). Theories of job satisfaction: Global applications & limitations. Gomal University Journal of Research, 26, 45–62.
Shkëmbi, F., Melonashi, E., & Fanaj, N. (2015). Workplace stress among teachers in Kosovo. SAGE Open, 5(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015614610
Singh, R., & Sarkar, S. (2015). Does teaching quality matter? Students learning outcome related to teaching quality in public and private primary schools in India. International Journal of Educational Development, 41, 153–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2015.02.009
Skinner, B., Leavey, G., & Rothi, D. (2021). Managerialism and teacher professional identity: Impact on well-being among teachers in the UK. Educational Review, 73(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2018.1556205
Turnage, J. J., & Spielberger, C. D. (1991). Job stress in managers, professionals, and clerical workers. Work & Stress, 5(3), 165–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678379108257015
Vander Elst, T., Van den Broeck, A., De Witte, H., & De Cuyper, N. (2012). The mediating role of frustration of psychological needs in the relationship between job insecurity and work-related well-being. Work & Stress, 26(3), 252–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2012.703900
Vecchio, R. P. (1995). It’s not easy being green: Jealousy and envy in the workplace. Leadership: Understanding the Dynamics of Power and Influence in Organizations., 13, 201-244.
Vecchio, R. P. (2000). Negative emotion in the workplace: Employee jealousy and envy. International Journal of Stress Management, 7(3), 161-179. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009592430712
Venkatanarayanan, S. (2015). Economic liberalization in 1991 and its impact on elementary education in India. SAGE Open, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015579517
Viac, C., & Fraser, P. (2020). Teachers’ well-being: A framework for data collection and analysis. OECD Education Working Papers, 1(213).
Von der Embse, N. P., Pendergast, L. L., Segool, N., Saeki, E., & Ryan, S. (2016). The influence of test-based accountability policies on school climate and teacher stress across four states. Teaching and Teacher Education, 59. 492-502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.07.013
Wettstein, A., Schneider, S., Grosse Holtforth, M., & La Marca, R. (2021). Teacher stress: A psychobiological approach to stressful interactions in the classroom. Frontiers in Education, 6. 681258.
a. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.681258
Yang, X., Ge, C., Hu, B., Chi, T., & Wang, L. (2009). Relationship between quality of life and occupational stress among teachers. Public Health, 123(11), 750-755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2009.09.018
Zaheer, A. (2016). Occupational stress and work-life balance: A study of female faculties of central universities in Delhi, India. Journal of Human Resource Management, 4(1), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20160401.11
Zhang, L. G., Li, L., & Sun, Y. L. (2020). A study of the relationships between occupational stress career calling and occupational burnout among primary teachers. [Zhonghua Lao Dong Wei Sheng Zhi Ye Bing Za Zhi = Zhonghua Laodong Weisheng Zhiyebing Zazhi] = Chinese Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Diseases, 38(2), 107-110. https://doi.org/10.3760/cma.j.issn.1001-9391.2020.02.006
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
e-ISSN: 1694-2116
p-ISSN: 1694-2493