A Comparative Study of Teacher Stress in American and British Middle Schools

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the level of stress and the relationship between job-related stress and sources of stress for teachers in the United States in comparison to their counterparts in England. Self-report questionnaires from 773 middle school teachers served as the sample. Teachers in the survey reported a higher level of job-related stress than teachers surveyed in England in a previous study. A standard multiple regression analysis was used to determine the degree of association between levels of stress and sources of stress for teachers in urban, suburban, and rural middle schools. The multiple R's for cases in American urban, suburban, and rural schools were .56, 41, and .47, respectively. The standardized beta weights from the multiple regression procedures were analyzed and significant sources of teacher stress were identified. The results of the current study supported the previously reported findings of research based on a sample of teachers in the United Kingdom.