Faculty and Staff Perceptions of Stress, Efficacy, Personality, and Health Practices During Implementation of Comprehensive Educational Change at One Secondary School

Abstract

FACULTY AND STAFF PERCEPTIONS OF STRESS, EFFICACY, PERSONALITY, AND HEALTH PRACTICES DURING IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATIONAL CHANGE AT ONE SECONDARY SCHOOL by Virginia Mae Lonser Chair: Larry D. Burton ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH DissertationOF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University School of Education Title: FACULTY AND STAFF PERCEPTIONS OF STRESS, EFFICACY, PERSONALITY, AND HEALTH PRACTICES DURING IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATIONAL CHANGE AT ONE SECONDARY SCHOOL Name of researcher: Virginia Mae Lonser Name and degree of faculty chair: Larry D. Burton, Ph.D. Date completed: April 2016 Problem Private faith-based schools have experienced a severe drop in enrollment over the past few years contributing to perceptions of job insecurity. Especially in the realm of residential secondary education has this observation been true. This descriptive case study investigated perceptions of stress of secondary-school faculty and staff involved with a school-based systemic change implementation in an attempt to turn around the attenuation in enrollment. Method This research study followed a bounded mixed-methods case design using data collected as participant observations of the 24 residential secondary-school faculty and staff and tests were performed to show relationships between variables. Tools were selected in an attempt to specify stress symptoms, Efficacy Beliefs, Personality Type, and Health Practices, which might identify and/or contribute to stresses devolving on faculty and staff: Derogatis’s Brief Symptom Inventory, Gibson and Dembo’s Teacher Efficacy Scale, Myers-Briggs’ Personality Type Indicator-Form M, and Pender’s Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II. The Brief Symptom Inventory was administered at three intervals during one academic year. Results Although the population studied was small and predominantly White, Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics were represented. The other demographics were surprisingly evenly spread on the basis of age, gender, education, and experience. Fifty-one statistically significant correlations were discovered between stress symptoms and the other parameters of the study. Similar to other studies related to teacher stress, selfreported stress levels were elevated in spite of efforts to compensate by changes in lifestyle. After the initial testing at Time 1, two personality types indicated statistically significant correlation with elevated stress at Time 2. These changes evaporated at Time 3. The data suggested an attempt to conceal or deny stress symptoms by some participants. Major findings are the shared planning of the innovation and its implementation resulted in buy-in and teacher engagement, teacher collaboration, and teacher initiation of learning opportunities with administration, which appeared to result in a reduction of teacher stress.