Sources of stress among teachers in primary schools

Katarina Grgec 

Ministry of science, education, and youth

katarina.grgec@gmail.com

Education for innovation and research

Abstract

The aim of this research was to determine the sources of stress among primary school teachers in the Republic of Croatia, i.e. to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference in the sources of stress between classroom teachers and subject teachers with regard to the years of work experience in school, gender of the teacher, the number of students in the class and the school environment (urban or rural). For this research the Scale for measuring sources of stress in teachers was used. It was adapted to the Croatian conditions and it consisted of 25 statements. The questionnaire was filled out by 677 teachers (100 male and 577 female teachers) in 21 counties. Given that the difference in the sources of stress between classroom and subject teachers was researched, 268 classroom teachers and 409 subject teachers participated in the research. The research confirmed that subject teachers, female teachers, teachers who teach in classes with a larger number of students and in urban areas are more exposed to stress than classroom teachers, male teachers, teachers who teach in classes with a smaller number of students and in rural areas. It is interesting that the research found that there are no statistically significant differences between teachers with shorter and longer work experience. Additionally, the research confirmed that teachers are exposed to various sources of stress and emphasized the need for interventions to reduce these stressors and enhance teacher job satisfaction. 

Key words

classroom teaching, school experience, subject teaching