Stressors in the lives of teachers in the Mahikeng area, South Africa
Abstract
This paper reports on the stress educators are experiencing in Middle and Secondary Schools in the
Mafikeng Region, a district in South Africa. Data was collected by visiting all the schools from five clusters. A
standardised questionnaire (ASSET) was used to determine the causes of stress in the lives of educators. A theoretical
and quantitative investigation was done. A total number of 955 educators are employed in the secondary and middle
schools in the five clusters. A questionnaire was distributed to each of these teachers. Nine factors contributing to
teachers’ stress were identified, with a cumulative variance of sixty- eight percent. These factors are: managerial
practices, relationship with work, causes of stress, career opportunities, job dissatisfaction, work success, leadership
and management, remuneration and communication. Results in this study suggest that there is a direct link between
these factors and the stress levels experience. More specifically two factors causing stress that were not previously
identified by other researchers namely, communication and career opportunities were recognised whilst it was
found that ill-discipline is not regarded as a crucial factor in causing teacher stress. The recommendations made on
suggested ways of preventing and managing teacher’s stress concerned two main points namely, recognising
teachers’ professional status and attending to their personal and academic development.
Collections
- Faculty of Education [741]