Teacher stress and supports, classroom practices and student outcomes in high poverty urban elementary schools

Abstract

AbstractThe current study examined teacher competence and contextual factors associated with teacher‐reported stress in low‐income urban elementary schools. Using a sample of 106K‐5th grade teachers from 14 low‐income urban elementary schools, associations between observed use of instructional and behavior management practices, teacher‐reported stress, perceived instrumental and emotional supports, class‐wide student academic performance, and behavioral functioning were examined. Teacher‐reported stress was significantly related to perceived emotional support, instrumental support, class‐wide student academic performance, and class‐wide student behavioral functioning. Instrumental and emotional supports, observed instructional and behavioral management practices, and class‐wide student academic and behavioral functioning jointly predicted teacher stress. Results from a dominance analysis identified class‐wide behavioral functioning, and emotional and instrumental support as the strongest predictors of teacher stress. Study limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.