Teacher Stress and Burnout

 

Strengthening the Fabric of Our Society

I have good memories of my High School teachers. After earning my PhD in School Psychology, I worked in public and private schools and gained an appreciation for how stressful their careers could be. We usually interacted in meetings with parents when I would share the results of assessment or receive a referral for psychotherapy. Sometimes I sat in classes to collect information in an effort to collaborate with a teacher on classroom management issues.

At one point, I had studied the literature with my friend and colleague, Thomas J. Huberty, who is Emeritus Professor at University of Indiana. At the time, Christopher Wilson had developed a measure of teacher stress. He did not find any differences among groups in his teacher sample and neither did we. We compared teachers in regular education with those who taught teens with severe disabilities in a residential school. According to Wilson’s measure, our teachers scored in the moderate range of stress. What’s interesting to me are the categories Wilson considered. Take a look at the many potential sources of distress facing teachers.

  Student behavior

  Employee / Administrator relations

  Teacher/ teacher relations

  Parent/teacher relations

  Time management

  Intrapersonal conflicts

[Wilson’s measure also asked about the following]

Physical symptoms of distress

Stress management techniques

Our work was so long ago so, I looked at more recent studies to learn about sources of stress for contemporary educators.

2018 Study

Todd Haydon and others (2018) studied special educators. The two most frequent sources of stress were:

Administrative interaction

Individual student challenges

2022 Findings

A report by Gershenson and Holt compared teachers’ stress with that of nonteachers. It appears the mental health of both groups was worse compared to an assessment in 1979 but teachers were not worse off than those in other positions.

Burnout

Persistent stress can lead to burnout. In the US, since 2016, more than 270,000 teachers leave their profession each year (AU 2021).

Recognizing burnout- The following signs may indicate burnout

Constant fatigue associated with poor sleep, eating habits and irritable mood

Self-doubt regarding their career choice as a teacher

Withdrawal from social interactions

Loss of enthusiasm for their work

 

But then came the pandemic

Numerous factors made life difficult for teachers during the pandemic. And many decided to leave the profession.

 

What can we do?

What we can do depends on our role in society.

Educators can find plenty of ideas online. For example, Brown university offers evidence-based ideas.

School mental health staff have the skills to be supportive. When I did work in schools, I found sensitive administrators were willing for me to provide supportive consultation with teachers. Referring teachers to mental health services in the community is just one idea.

Parents and caregivers can be sensitive to both the needs of their children and their children’s teachers. Successful education is a partnership.

As citizens, we can support efforts to adequately fund our local schools.

 

 

References

Haydon, T., Stevens, D., & Leko. M. M. (2018). Journal of Special Education Leadership, 31, (2), 99-107

Sutton, G.W., & Huberty, T.J. (1984). An evaluation of teacher stress and job satisfaction. Education, 105, 189‑192. on Researchgate

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

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Dr. Sutton’s posts are for educational purposes only. See a licensed mental health provider for diagnoses, treatment, and consultation. 

 

An Easter to remember

 

Not long after we came to America, dad wanted to see Florida. So, we went during Easter break—I think it was before college students raised hell. The memories I stored have been reprocessed a few times, but the colourful gist remains.

Dad loaded our things into the boot of his well used two-tone blue Chevy Bel Air and headed south. By the time we reached the Carolina’s, my memories stored images of people and events strengthened by my parent's commentary. A hard-working black man was with a mule in a field. Signs at a roadside stop read “Whites Only”.

Somewhere in the South, people marvelled at how well we spoke English since we hadn’t been in the US very long.

I must have slept a lot. Dad drove all night. We didn’t do hotels, which was a good thing I found out later when dad chose some hovels on future trips.

When we crossed the border—Florida—dad stopped for samples of Florida orange juice. I’m guessing we arrived Saturday because I was red with a helluva sunburn at church the next day. Dad couldn’t skip church even on a holiday. So, what I remember were people in colourful clothes. They were members of a Native American tribe. I’m learning a lot more than I would in school.

Now my parents planned to surprise me. And they did. The Easter egg they packed from New Jersey had not survived the wrath of Florida’s sun god.

Sometime during that sun-drenched visit, I became acquainted with a product called calamine, which was later featured in a song. You see, one memory activates another.

Anyway, I came back to New Jersey with memories of a colourful parrot’s claws on my bright red sore arms and you could see the agony in my face—if you had an old-fashioned slide projector. 

And I had this jumble of other memories too, but some are out of focus.

For some, Easter is about a life hereafter. Perhaps for some, Easter had always been a promise of a better life beyond Jordan. Lord knows you ain’t gettin much of a life behind a mule.

On reflection, I see that I had a better life as a foreign white boy than did some people who had lived here all their lives. Like old black and white photos that only hold colour in my memories, Easter was bereft of meaning for those trapped in a white man’s paradise.

I’ve learned a lot since that Easter. Those memories reframed with adult eyes keep me focused on liberation—not from life, but for helping people get a life in this life. I’m sure there are many ways to do the work of liberation.

There ain’t much use carrying a cross or raving about an empty tomb unless I help someone roll away the stones that entomb their lives. 

Funny how lessons from childhood can be woven into a life-narrative. Innit?

 

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Follow on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   X  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

FREE STUFF

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

 

Dr. Sutton’s posts are for educational purposes only. See a licensed mental health provider for diagnoses, treatment, and consultation. 

Relating Science and Theology - Analogies

 

Connecting Faith and Science 2024
Geoffrey W. Sutton & Designer AI

In this post, I consider analogies as an aide to understanding potential relationships between psychology and theology.

I am writing a series of volumes on  the relationship between Christian Theology and Psychology. What's different about my approach is a focus on how the two disciplines are different and ways some Christians have attempted to find a no conflict relationship. The title of the series is: Irreconcilable Differences?

Puzzles

When a theological perspective and a psychological perspective seem close, the puzzle analogy seems apropos. For example, the Genesis creation story seems world's apart from Evolutionary Psychology, but both influence how Christians view human nature. Francis Collins founded the BioLogos website. As a Christian and a scientist (he led the US genome project), he and his colleagues propose a view of Evolutionary Creation. For them, evolution provides the detail explaining God's way of creation. This contribution to the puzzle allows other pieces to fall into place. Evolutionary Psychology builds on the findings of those focused on other aspects of evolution. Theologians and religious scholars offer nonconflicting ways to view the Genesis 1-3 texts. For example, Marcus Borg talks about the poetic form and structure of the 6 days and identified the purpose of communicating just how sacred is the Sabbath Day when even God Himself rested from his work.

Bridges

Bridging the Gap 2024
Geoffrey W. Sutton & Designer AI

When a theological perspective and a psychological perspective on the same phenomenon exists, but they seem far apart, a bridge analogy might make sense. On the one hand, people on one side or both sides of the gap may erect barriers that keep people from building a bridge to crossover. They may even take verbal shots at each other. On the other hand, bridge builders may begin from one side or both sides to construct a working bridge. The bridge may be temporary and only for the few workers. Later, when the gap seems genuinely bridgeable, a more permanent and attractive bridge may be built, which allows for considerable traffic to pass back and forth.

I see faith-based mental health services as being like a strong bridge with many lanes. There are a few people who won't cross that bridge. Before the bridge there was a serious gap, perhaps even a chasm, between biblical approaches to such common difficulties as anxiety and depression and the methods developed by psychological scientists and employed by psychotherapists. Some lanes are traveled by those who trust that there is no conflict between the Bible and mental health so they accept treatment from a licensed professional who, hopefully, relies on evidence-based treatments. But some lanes offer Christian counseling or Christian accommodative psychotherapy, which adds a measure of comfort as patients see how their faith fits nicely (puzzle analogy) with treatment. Forgiveness therapy is a prime example.

Other Analogies

Everett L. Worthington Jr. (2010) illustrates the relationship between psychology and theology as like a marriage. He also illustrated the relationship using the analogy of a dance. Theology and psychology are dance partners. His selection of analogies reflect his experience. He has written about marriage and couple relationships. And he is a skilled dancer. See  Coming to Peace with Psychology.

For ideas relating Christian and psychological views on sexuality, see A House Divided: Sexuality, Morality, and Christian Cultures.  Also on Kindle

Reference

Cite this post:

Sutton, G. W. (2024, March 20).Relating science and theology-analogies. Geoff W Sutton Blog. Retrieved from https://geoffwsutton.blogspot.com/2024/03/relating-science-and-theology-analogies.html 

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Follow on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   X  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

 

Dr. Sutton’s posts are for educational purposes only. See a licensed mental health provider for diagnoses, treatment, and consultation.