Occupational Stress: Perceptions of Teachers in Catholic Schools

Abstract

A large sample (n = 437) of teachers in Catholic schools in New South Wales, Australia, completed a questionnaire on perceptions of job‐related stress. Six stress factors were isolated (namely poor school tone, pupil recalcitrance, curriculum demands, community antagonism, time demands and poor working environment). The pattern of responses was similar to that previously obtained from samples of teachers in state schools, but the levels of reported stress were generally lower. This was particularly obvious in the case of pupil recalcitrance, and the Catholic school teachers also reported lower absenteeism than their state school colleagues. As in the state schools, one in three teachers reported high levels of minor neurotic disturbance, and poor school tone contributed significantly both to this measure of well‐being and to the reported number of days absent. It was concluded that occupational stress is prevalent in both Catholic and state schools.