Managing occupational stress among teachers in primary schools in the Southern South Sub-Region ; Botswana

Abstract

Occupational stress has been proven to be a phenomenon that is visible in different organisations and in this case schools are not exempted from this phenomenon. The aim of this study was to investigate management of occupational stress among teachers in primary schools in the Southern South sub- region of Botswana. The research's focus was to investigate the nature, causes and effects and how primary school teachers managed stress. The study was done in some of the primary schools in the Southern South Sub-Region as it was the area that was easily accessible for the researcher. Most of the schools in the area are remote and most of the learners are taken care of by either guardians or their grandparents. The researcher utilised qualitative research design in this investigation as it allowed participants to freely express their views to produce a greater depth and detail of how they managed occupational stress. This gave the researcher an opportunity to have deeper understanding about the phenomenon under study. The researcher collected data through individual interviews and literature review, documents and raw data were used for analysis. Fourteen teachers from seven primary schools in the Sub- Region were purposively selected as they were deemed to have rich information about occupational stress. The results suggested that occupational stress was predominant in primary schools within the sub-region and teachers perceived there was need to manage it so that the quality of education is not compromised. Environmental, organisational, professional demands and personal factors emerged as causes of occupational stress. Even though the research indicated that occupational stress could be good, teachers believed it mostly brought bad effects. Teachers also posited that occupational stress could pose individual and organisational effects if not managed properly. They also noted that it was critical to manage stress in the workplace and they perceived that individual and organisational approaches could be devised to manage it. Participants realised that the stressful situations within the school could be lessened if there were strategies which were put in place. They suggested that school managements need to improve their management strategies, and the education office could consult teachers in teaching and learning decision making as they are the cornerstone in providing quality education.