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