Graduate Program

School Psychology

Degree Name

Specialist in School Psychology

Semester of Degree Completion

2006

Thesis Director

Assege HaileMariam

Thesis Committee Member

Michael Havey

Thesis Committee Member

Christine McCormick

Abstract

During the late 70s and into the 80s, there was a considerable amount of research devoted to the study of stress and teaching. During that time, it was well established that teaching can be a stressful profession. Since then, studies that examine stress and burnout in the profession of teaching have become more infrequent, although teaching has undergone rapid change. For example, new educational legislation, No Child Left Behind that has recently been passed directly impacts teachers and their approaches toward teaching. This study seeks to understand the current educational environment and the possible contribution to teacher stress. Results of the study showed that only 31% of teachers reported considerable stress related to their occupation. Further, they did not report stressful parent-teacher relationships, teacher "burnout," and/or the presence of depression which is inconsistent with previous studies. However, other factors were found to be significant contributors to teacher stress, such as heightening expectations for teachers, constant change in the form of "top-down" school reform, as well as low negative perceptions of administrators. An in-depth review of the literature and a detailed discussion of the results and their implication follow.

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