Abstract
This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study investigating which factors inside and outside the classroom result in feelings of stress for TESOL teachers working at private language schools in South Africa. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews, the findings reveal three main areas that cause stress for TESOL teachers: the job of teaching, relationships at work and organisational and TESOL-related issues. These three areas of stress can be further divided into various sub-themes. Stress resulting from the job of teaching includes the sub-themes of work overload, inadequate training and gaps in subject knowledge, time pressure and student behaviour. Stress resulting from relationships at work includes the sub-themes of negative relationships with colleagues, administrators and management. Stress resulting from organisational and TESOL-related issues includes the sub-themes of working conditions, lack of teaching resources, shared spaces and lack of professional development and career advancement. There has not yet been an investigation into the causes of stress among South African TESOL teachers. This paper is thus an attempt at laying the foundation for further research. The results provide valuable information for TESOL teacher trainers, TESOL co-ordinators and the management of private language schools.
Highlights
There is growing interest in researching the teaching experience especially studies of what teachers find stressful and how they cope with stress (Golombek and Doran, 2014 [1], Horwitz, 2012 [2])
The study consisted of semi-structured interviews conducted with forty TESOL teachers working at seven private language schools in Johannesburg
In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used in order to gather rich, thick descriptive data that explored which factors, both inside and outside the classroom, caused feelings of stress for TESOL teachers working at private language schools
Summary
There is growing interest in researching the teaching experience especially studies of what teachers find stressful and how they cope with stress (Golombek and Doran, 2014 [1], Horwitz, 2012 [2]). Teacher stress is ubiquitous in a wide variety of teaching contexts ranging from primary and secondary to tertiary educational institutions. According to Friesen, Prokop and Sarros (1998, p.9) [6], the reason teaching is so stressful is because it involves “daily interactions with students and co-workers...with the incessant and fragmented demands of teaching often resulting in overwhelming pressures and challenges which lead to stress.”. When this stress becomes unrelenting, it can lead to negative physiological, psychological and behavioural consequences for teachers Larrivee (2012:12) [3] defines stress as a state of anxiety produced when events and responsibilities exceed one’s coping abilities or “stress is what happens when life hands you more than you can handle.” Kyriacou (2001) [4] maintains that teaching is one of the top five most stressful careers while Manuel (2003, p.142) [5] describes teaching as the only profession “that eats its young.” According to Friesen, Prokop and Sarros (1998, p.9) [6], the reason teaching is so stressful is because it involves “daily interactions with students and co-workers...with the incessant and fragmented demands of teaching often resulting in overwhelming pressures and challenges which lead to stress.” When this stress becomes unrelenting, it can lead to negative physiological, psychological and behavioural consequences for teachers
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