In conclusion, the teaching profession, while immensely rewarding, is fraught with challenges that significantly contribute to stress among educators. Factors such as overwhelming workloads, classroom management issues, and pressures of accountability not only affect teachers' mental and physical well-being but also hinder their ability to provide quality education. The specific stressors faced by teachers, such as the transition to online learning during the pandemic and the demands of maintaining student performance with limited resources, further exacerbate these challenges. However, through effective stress management techniques—such as establishing personal boundaries, creating emotional support systems, and fostering a nurturing school environment—teachers can mitigate the impact of stress on their professional duties and personal lives. Additionally, systemic support from educational authorities, including professional development focused on stress management and a review of administrative tasks, can create a healthier work environment for teachers. By prioritizing the mental and emotional welfare of educators, schools can cultivate a culture of support that benefits both teachers and their students. Ultimately, addressing teachers' stress not only enhances their well-being but also ensures that they can continue to inspire and educate the next generation effectively.
Causes and Signs of Stress that Teachers Experience in the Classroom
Teaching is the practice implemented by a teacher aimed at transmitting skills, knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024). Additionally, it is one of the most rewarding professions, yet it comes with its own set of challenges that can lead to significant stress for teachers. Firstly, the overwhelming work. Teachers often combine planning lessons with assessing homework, attending meetings, and taking care of the individual needs of the students. The large classes that have 40 to 50 students, keeping extra classes and overseeing extracurricular activities, then the amount of work is far too much. The efforts to meet these deadlines and uphold the standards of the learning environment are very costly in stress and encroach upon the private lives of teachers who attempt to balance their lives. Another cause is classroom management and its challenges. Many teachers believe that diverse student behavior is one of their prime stressors. Within one class, a student's personality can include problems such as children with EBD, which according to What Are Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in Children? | Healthy Place, 2022, are specific mental health disorders that cause extreme difficulties with both emotions and behaviors. They affect a child’s functioning in most or all areas of their life. Emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) make it difficult for a child to regulate emotions and make appropriate behavior choices in a wide variety of situations. Also, learning disabilities and motivation levels and engagement differ quite from other kids. With these variables, teachers must ensure that order is maintained in the classroom and that a positive learning environment is created, which is quite tiring. Continuous behavioral problems and refusal to cooperate with students are issues that make them feel helpless and frustrated. Lastly, the pressure of accountability. Teachers are also under the restraints of performance evaluations, standardized testing, and accountability measures that create a culture of pressure. The push to make sure the students do well on tests and meet educational pass marks puts the teacher in a position where they feel their effectiveness is under constant observation. These external stressors could also increase anxiety or the consequences for student outcomes in terms of professional standing. Additionally, when a teacher is stressed, some signs show it. Teachers express irritability and frustration, and according to (MSEd, 2023) Irritability deals with feelings of anger or frustration that may be triggered by anything, even minor ones. Though considered normal, irritable moods affect everybody from time to time. It may, however, be part of an underlying mental health issue, especially when it persists for a longer period or affects one's daily life or relationships to a great extent. Stress may be manifested through heightened emotional arousal, in which the teacher becomes more easily irritated or upset. In other words, they may get short-tempered with their students, become impatient during a lesson, or frustrated over some minor issue that normally would not have concerned them. Teachers with stress also go through physical manifestations like fatigue, headaches, and general deterioration in health. They might appear tired than usual, or they complain of being exhausted; such is an indication of an inability to cope with workload or emotional stress.
Sources of Stress in The Jamaican Classroom
According to the article (“Stressed Teachers and the Hurdles They Face,” 2022), two significant sources of stress can be identified. First, the transition to online learning, and second, the greater demands with limited resources. The transition was a sudden shift from face-to-face to online teaching due to the pandemic (COVID-19) which placed huge pressure on teachers. Few were prepared, and some resources for technologies and teaching methods were given. Principal Dave Myrie describes how too many students had no access to online education because of lacking devices, but more often there was a lack of connectivity or data. That set up several concerns about "learning loss" for students and weighed heavily upon the Teachers who felt responsible for the academic progress of their students. (Robbie, 2013), also defines learning loss as any specific or general loss of knowledge and skills or reversals in academic progress, most commonly due to extended gaps or discontinuities in a student’s education. The pressure to ensure that students met educational needs despite this, created an unwanted mood of anxiety and stress. Teachers are concerned about the demands associated with student performance, which are linked to school accountability based on results from standardized examinations such as CSEC and CAPE. She said that teachers work hard to keep up with such demands and usually do so with limited resources, hence adding additional stressors to their work to reach high levels of performance. Hence, it needs a lot of effort to manage the competitive environment created by the students. Moreover, many students had their time to study delayed for some time resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic; this has increased their workload and stress as educators.
Two Stress Management Techniques to Alleviate Stress in The Classroom
Stress management is defined as the tools, strategies, or techniques that reduce stress and reduce the negative impacts stress has on your mental or physical well-being. A variety of techniques can be used to manage stress. These include mental, emotional, and behavioral strategies. (Stress Management: Definition, Techniques, and Strategies, n.d.) This will provide the teacher with the opportunity to establish boundaries and personal times. Teachers can set rules on calling upon them outside of school hours. For example, as said by Panceta Walker of St Aloysius Primary School, has mentioned it is best for teachers not to over-communicate with other colleagues past a certain hour or over the weekends and should have their own "me" time. This practice allows teachers to rejuvenate, keep themselves mentally healthy, and invest time in self-care activities. A person can, for example, identify hobbies, family time, or leisure time. With a bit of personal time, the teachers can create a line between work-related stress and personal life that would help them reduce the general level of stress. Additionally, emotional and psychosocial support systems are available that teachers can use too. They may also receive and gain multiple advantages according to Harry Hanson by “sharing with and participating in support sessions with co-workers”. Regular meetings regarding personal life can develop a sense of companionship and empathy among colleagues. The programs allow them to share their problems, carry out plans for coping with stress, and instill in them the idea that everyone is experiencing the same situation. They are consequently bound to replace feelings of loneliness with a sense of togetherness in struggles when they can create strong support networks at school. This, in turn, means that mental uneasiness due to stress is reduced, and as a result, psychological well-being is fostered. Techniques established in this way can provide a healthier environment where teachers can work, ideally alleviating excessive stressors and focusing on their number one priority: giving quality education to the students.
The Impact of Stress-Related Problems on Teachers’ Duties According to Section 44 of The Code of Regulations
Stress-related problems can affect a teacher's ability to make effective lesson plans. In the event of a teacher being under stress, clear cognitive abilities, including the ability to concentrate, be creative, and organize ideas, can be disrupted in such a way that this could easily weaken the teacher’s lesson planning experience. This decreases the capability to create lesson plans that meet not only the curriculum needs but also students' diverse learning styles. It can also result in burnout, and as defined by (Clinic, 2024), burnout is “physical, emotional or mental exhaustion, accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance and negative attitudes towards oneself and others.” A lack of motivation and enthusiasm makes it even more difficult for the teacher to plan insightful and interactive lessons. In effect, the students suffer from poorly prepared lessons because of decreased clarity and engagement on the teacher's part. Apart from lesson planning, stress can also hinder the ability of a teacher to properly develop the personal and social qualities of the students. For instance, a stressed teacher becomes less emotionally or psychologically available, and it may be more difficult for him or her to connect with the students. This will impact the way the teacher displays positive interpersonal skills, meets the individual social-emotional needs of students, and provides a secure classroom culture where students should show and express themselves without fear. In this case, the students will not be guided as this is meant to aid personal growth and enable them to relate well with others. Eventually, this may affect these students, along with taking a toll on the overall classroom interaction and unity.
Actions The Ministry of Education/ School Administrators Can Take to Alleviate Teacher Stress.
The Ministry of Education should invest in professional development programs that focus on stress management and well-being to reduce teachers' stress. Such programs would assist the teachers with techniques whereby they will manage their workload, prioritize activities, and be more concerned about mindfulness. Different strategies may be brought to the attention of the teachers through workshops carried out by 'pros' in mental health, for example, cognitive behavior techniques, relaxation techniques, and peer support systems. These skills will equip the teachers with a more wholesome attitude toward life and, therefore, reduce the impact of stress while increasing job satisfaction.
Other measures also include the reduction and review of the administrative activities that burn teachers out. School administrations must reassess the administrative workload on teachers which might be offloaded to other personnel: reporting, number of meetings, or automation of routine tasks using technology. Relieved from some of their non-teaching concerns, teachers could now attend to what is important for them, that is, teaching and guiding the students. With this, the burden would not be heavy anymore, and would be a better life for the teachers outside the school.
Finally, a nurturing school environment is to be established, specifically the mental and emotional welfare issue of its teaching system. Such programs may include peer mentoring, wherein more experienced teachers would be assigned as mentors and advisers to their colleagues who are relatively new in the profession. Other than this, they should have regular check-ins for communication where teachers may express their concerns and ask for help if needed. That would further create a sense of community among the staff, such as wellness days, and team-building activities. Schools can thus reduce stressors in that kind of environment and build a culture of care and support helpful to both teachers and students.
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