Abstract
Teachers experience high levels of stress as a result of their professional duties, and research has shown a growing interest in this phenomenon during the recent years. Aim of this study was to explore the associations of stress sources and manifestations with individual and job-related characteristics in educators of all levels. In a cross-sectional design, following an informative e-campaign on the study aims through the official and the main teachers' portals in Greece, respondents completed online the teachers stress inventory (TSI) and the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale. Nine hundred seventy-four male and 2473 female pre-primary, primary, and secondary educators with a mean age of 41.2 years responded. Women and younger teachers reported significantly higher levels of stress, mainly due to lack of time and other work-related stressors, and also more emotional and gastronomic manifestations. Increased age and working experience were associated with lower levels of several stress sources. Teachers of administrative positions had increased time management stressors, but less professional distress, professional investment, and discipline and motivation stressors. Additionally, working and residing far from family increased teachers' stress levels associated with control, motivation, and investment. Teachers of pre-primary education had reduced professional investment and motivation stress factors, while vocational lyceum teachers of secondary education reported less work-related stressors and manifestations and more discipline and motivation-related ones. Having students supported or in need of support from special educators and students with difficulties in speaking or comprehension was associated with most of the teachers' stress sources and manifestations (i.e., TSI subscales). Finally, colleagues' and mainly supervisors' support seemed to provide a strong and consistent protection against both stress sources and manifestations. Stress factors and manifestations vary among educators by gender, seniority, and teaching level. Training in coping and communication skills starting in teachers' undergraduate studies might have a major impact on their stress alleviation.
Highlights
High levels of occupational stress and/or burnout among primary and secondary school teachers have been reported worldwide [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
In a cross-sectional design, following an informative e-campaign on the study aims through the official and the main teachers’ portals in Greece, respondents completed online the teachers stress inventory (TSI) and the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale
Most studies conducted in Greece report low levels of stress and/or burnout [9,10,11], while in Cyprus, higher emotional exhaustion has been reported among regular education teachers compared to their Greek colleagues but not as severe as that of the North Europeans or North Americans [12]
Summary
High levels of occupational stress and/or burnout among primary and secondary school teachers have been reported worldwide [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. Most studies conducted in Greece report low levels of stress and/or burnout [9,10,11], while in Cyprus, higher emotional exhaustion has been reported among regular education teachers compared to their Greek colleagues but not as severe as that of the North Europeans or North Americans [12]. Major factors predicting stress in teaching include time pressure and workload, diversity of job-related tasks, low income, poor prospects of promotion, lack of professional development, and support from school leadership [3, 5, 6, 8, 17,18,19]. Aim of this study was to explore the associations of stress sources and manifestations with individual and job-related characteristics in educators of all levels
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