ABSTRACT
This study dealt on determining the occupational stress profile of the public elementary teachers in Marilao North District. Precisely, it determined the level of occupational stress and their self-care coping techniques. With the total population of 368 teachers and using the descriptive- correlative methodology, the study tested the hypotheses on the differences between the occupational stress based on the profile of the respondents and that self-care techniques do not affect in overcoming the different factors of occupational stress.
The study found out that the occupational stress experienced by the teachers the demand related stress got the highest weighted mean of 3.03. The change related stress obtained an over-all weighted mean of 2.93. An over-all weighted mean of 2.43 was obtained by relationship related stress. For role related stress, it obtained an over-all weighted mean of 2.59. Relationship related stress obtained the lowest weighted mean of 2.43.
As for the application of different self-care techniques, the respondents “occasionally” apply the physical factors in overcoming occupational stress as indicated by the over-all weighted mean of 3.39. The respondents “occasionally” apply the psychological factors in overcoming occupational stress with an over-all weighted mean of 3.28. The emotional factors are frequently” applied by the teachers as indicated by the over-all weighted mean of 3.69. Lastly, the spiritual factors with an over-all weighted mean of 3.77 is “frequently” applied.
There is significant difference in the level of stress as grouped according the profile variables in each sources of stress. There is no significant differences in the sources and level of stress grouped according the ages with the p-value of 0.20. It also proven that male and female teachers have similar occupational stress with the over-all p-value of 0.017. Married and single respondents have similar occupational stress at p-value of 0.042. Meanwhile, there is no significant difference on the occupational stress of the respondents when grouped according to the number of subjects being taught with over-all p-value of 0.56. Teacher respondents with different number of years of teaching have similar stress related to their occupation with p-value of 0.47. Teachers with different ranks have different occupational stress with over-all p-value of 0.016. Lastly, there is no significant difference on the occupational stress of the respondents when grouped according to the number of years of highest educational attainment teaching with over all p-value of 0.12 at 0.05 level of significance.
Among the self-care techniques using the regression analysis it is found out that the psychological factor affects all the factors of occupational stress with p-value of .002 in demands, .005 in control, .000 in terms of relationships, role, change and support. Spiritual self-care techniques affects or overcomes the control, relationships, role and support occupational stress with p-values of .007, .025, .005, and 0.36 respectively. Emotional self-care only affects the demands related stress at .005 p-value. However, the physical self-care techniques do not affect any of the occupational stress factors as it obtained p-values all higher than the level of significance.
INTRODUCTION
The teaching profession is considered as one of the most stressful occupations in this day and age. Teacher’s stress is occurring and is highly evident during the traditional era and up to the modern age of teaching.
Teachers are anticipated to fill various duties. These roles may comprise being an assessor, planner, curriculum enhancer, information provider, role model, guidance counselor, facilitator, and resource developer. As a consequence of balancing these roles and being an efficient and effective classroom teacher, stress will always be inherent as part of the teaching profession specifically in public school.
All walks of life and professions are affected with stress. Stress is found everywhere specially in the workplace. Stress is an international occurrence which is well researched transversely across the globe. Causes of stress may vary from one country to another but resulting to the same phenomena which is the teacher’s stress.
The overly demanding job condition, the ambiguity and conflicting roles as educator, poor relationship with the colleagues and the superiors, the sudden and unprecedented educational and curriculum reforms, lack of administrative support and teaching resources and funds, dealing with disruptive pupil’s behavior and exaggeratedly arduous parents are primarily the causes of teacher’s stress in international setting.
In the Philippines, teacher’s stress is also evident and is widely experience just like in the rest of the world.
There has been local news about teacher being hospitalized and the worse was committing suicide because of too much stress at work. Teacher’s stress shouldn’t have gotten into that point that it will took life of a teacher. Public school teachers in the Philippines are continuously battling stress in teaching from day to day at work. From excessively challenging work expectations, eight hours of actual teaching with usually large number of pupils, constantly changing educational reforms, some unfavorable laws to teachers, handling pupils with challenging behaviors, insufficient funds, resources and technical support, to out-of-pocket spending, keeping abreast of modern technology and teaching pedagogy. These are also being encountered by most of the teachers at the present time.
Subsequently, working environment is typically stress-inciting, teachers commonly experience deleterious emotions with the like of anxiety and distress, which are caused by various factors. Oftentimes, the quantity of work rather than its quality had become a source of stress for teachers. Work pressure job conditions, the ambiguities and conflicts of the educational role resulting from its complexity and from the administration’s conflicting demands, pressure exercised by educational leadership, professional growth, lack of resources, poor professional relations with colleagues, low pay, unacceptable student behavior, relationships with the students’ parents, teachers’ expectations and lack of communication are the common causes of stress among teachers.
The status quo of the school, the poverty, the principal’s level of support, the student to teacher ratio in the classroom, the inadequacy and unavailability of teaching materials, the unstable relationship among the colleagues are beyond the teachers’ hand. What the teachers can control is the willpower to improve and exercise effective coping strategies proven helpful by teachers who have shared their successful approaches.
Understanding the occurrence of teacher stress may lead school heads and administrators to better understand the phenomenon of teacher stress. There is a necessity for effective programs that will assist teachers to handle stress more effectively through positive self-care coping mechanisms.
Knowing that stress will always be existent, it is an essential to measure stress and identify how are these self-care techniques affect the teachers’ occupational stress.
The persistence of teacher stress has been a complex problem that has been well renowned in the literature thus, a work that also recommends ways of how teachers are handling or coping with stressors innate in their profession is equally needed.
It will be an eye-opener to have such work that will identify the causes of teachers’ stress. Stress management starts with detecting the level of stress. It also involves determining the self-care techniques employed by the affected individuals, if any. In these study, these are considered to be the main concerns, which will be used as insights for the effects of self-care techniques on the stress profile of the public elementary school teachers.
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