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Stressed Out in the Classroom


"I don't know how much more I can take," a math teacher told me recently. "The pressure goes up every day, and so does my stress level."

That same day, a fifth-grade teacher took me aside and confessed, "I'm so stressed. Today a student who speaks limited English was added to my class, and tonight I have to mark report cards. On top of that I have an early breakfast meeting with parents."

Stress seems to be a way of life for teachers. Many teachers I work with describe themselves as overwhelmed. They admit to feeling anxious and apprehensive -- especially about meeting the mounting needs of troubled students, doing justice to an all-consuming curriculum, and getting kids ready for a relentless series of tests.

And they complain about tension throughout their schools. As the math teacher put it, "Some days my school feels like a powder keg that's about to explode."

Or, as a high school English teacher told me after a particularly hectic week, "With so much stress, something has to give. I'm afraid it will be me."

Wear and tear

She could be right. Stress, researchers say, is biological in nature. And work-related stress can be physically harmful, according to the American Federation of Teachers' online Healthfile -- especially when it triggers certain chemical reactions.

When the brain senses stress, the hypothalamus alerts the pituitary, which, in turn, signals the adrenal glands to secrete the hormone cortisol and other substances. In the right amount, cortisol helps regulate blood pressure, insulin, metabolism, and cardiovascular functions. But chronic stress or extreme stress can trigger the release of too much cortisol, and that can spell trouble. Excessive cortisol destroys brain cells in the hippocampus, resulting in short-term memory impairment, rapid weight gain, irritability and other mood problems, high blood pressure, and fatigue.

Work-related pressures can create considerable wear and tear. Physical effects can include headaches, fatigue, ulcers, upset stomach, and insomnia, as well as more serious nerve disorders, increased heart rates, and cardiovascular disease.

Psychological effects often include outbursts of anger, bouts of depression, unremitting tension and anxiety, confusion, indecisiveness, and constant worry. In some cases, say researchers who've studied stress in teachers, serious stress can lead to panic attacks and lingering feelings of inadequacy.

Stress also takes its toll on teachers outside the classroom, according to a study of Midwestern teachers by Minnesota-based Optum Research. Approximately 40 percent of respondents reported high levels of job stress and said it mostly affected their personal and family life. Job stress also affected the teachers' physical health, job performance, and mental health and their students' academic achievement, researcher Mark Attridge found. Only 12 percent of the teachers in the study reported low or very low levels of stress.

Sources of stress

What causes teachers to feel stress? The source can be a personal problem (see sidebar), an inability to live up to lofty ideals, or difficult working conditions.

A study by Isaac Friedman, published in a 2000 issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology, found that beginning teachers who impose impossibly high standards on themselves often fail to live up to their ideals and end up emotionally and physically exhausted. In many cases, he found, these teachers packed up their shattered dreams and left the profession.

A veteran teacher who participated in one of Friedman's clinical workshops described being "haunted by a feeling of dissatisfaction" and "a sense of failure." She blamed herself for never having enough time to devote to her students. Many teachers who succumb to stress hold similar self-defeating beliefs, Friedman says. Teachers who feel inadequate and view their jobs as "excessively burdensome" often grumble about being on overload. Trying to cope, they may become cynical, apathetic, and overly rigid.

Other sources of teacher stress can be traced to administrators. For example, a 1999 study conducted by C.A. Harris describes the relationship between principals' leadership styles and teacher stress in three U.S. elementary schools. In the school with the lowest teacher stress, the principal communicated a clear vision for the school and had a close, personal relationship with the staff.

The International Stress Management Association, based in Waltham Cross, England, reports similar conclusions in its publication Stress News. Studies in the United States, England, Germany, and Canada indicate that principals are a key factor in heightening or lowering teacher stress. Principals who offer their staff strong social support provide a buffer that helps reduce teachers' job-related tension.

A 1997 study of teacher stress in Midwestern public high schools conducted by Medica, a health plan provider, found teacher stress was highest among those who reported having little social support from colleagues, friends, and family. The high-stress teachers suffered from depression and fatigue and said they had little control over administrative issues and little time to perform their jobs and routine tasks such as paperwork.

What schools can do

Taking steps to reduce occupational stress can be good for students and teachers alike. Stressed-out teachers often succumb to emotional and physical exhaustion, develop negative attitudes toward students and colleagues, and perform below par in the classroom. In turn, students' learning suffers, and achievement goes down.

Alleviating teacher stress can be a cost-saving measure as well. Job stress can lead to increased absenteeism, sending substitute teacher costs skyrocketing. (Some researchers report a ripple effect, noting that students whose teachers fail to show up tend to have higher-than-average absenteeism.) Schools also face costs associated with recruiting and replacing burned-out teachers who opt to leave the profession altogether.

The key to dealing with teacher stress, researchers say, is to tackle it on two fronts: cause and effect.

Writing in the Journal of Instructional Psychology, Carolyn Wiley of Dublin's University College says it's important to zero in on root causes of stress, which means accurately assessing a school's culture and climate. She also proposes some tried-and-true methods for reducing teacher stress, such as designing clear administrative guidelines and responsibilities, providing teachers with mentors and other forms of social support, and involving teachers in such decisions as hiring and goal setting.

Wiley suggests using a well-known business strategy that avoids mismatches between newly hired employees and their job assignments. In education, that might mean thinking twice before placing a teacher who's accustomed to working by the book on a team with other teachers who favor projects and activities.

She also recommends that principals provide realistic job previews during recruitment and interviews to inform prospective teachers of working conditions, students, and school expectations. For teachers who have already been hired, Wiley encourages principals to provide the freedom to experiment with new workplace designs, such as teaming or nongraded classrooms.

No one can alleviate all the causes of teacher stress, of course, but schools can provide training for teachers in stress-reduction strategies. Optum researchers developed a stress-management program for teachers that involved group activities and the use of exercise rooms. Follow-up assessments showed that 34 percent of the teachers who participated in the program reduced their stress levels. In the control group, only 6 percent of teachers managed to lower their stress.

Such strategies might give stressed-out teachers a respite from their daily grind, but they won't remedy underlying problems that keep teachers off balance, and they won't change the self-perceptions that contribute to stress.

The National Mental Health Association says reducing and controlling stress takes determination, persistence, and time. No doubt your board and staff will face some stressful moments as you tackle teacher stress in your district. For the sake of your teachers and your students, it's worth the effort.




— Susan Black
Stressed Out in the Classroom
American School Board Journal
2003-10-
http://www.asbj.com/current/research.html

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