OCCUPATIONAL STRESS IN TEACHING: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN THE LIBYAN AND THE IRAQI SCHOOLS LOCATED IN TURKEY
Author :
Abstract
This paper focuses on the school teachers' occupational stress in the Libyan and Iraqi schools located in Turkey. The stratified convenience sample consists of 146 teachers who are Libyans and Iraqis, and selected a targeted population. A questionnaire was used to discover the sources of the occupational stress among the teachers at Libyan and the Iraqi schools operating in Turkey. The results revealed that teachers suffer from high levels of occupational stress in both the Libyan and Iraqi schools. Moreover, the results showed that for teachers' salaries and incentives are the most important reason behind working in the Libyan and Iraqi schools. The Independent Samples Test showed that there is only one statistical difference between the two samples, which is the nature of work. This indeed indicates that the nature of work plays a significant role behind stress experienced by the teacher serving at both Iraqi and Libyan schools. However, we determined the relationships between the sources of the occupational stress and some demographic variables. In the data of Iraqi schools, there are only two demographic variables (gender and service), which have impact on the nature of work, wages and incentives, and the physical working environment. In the Libyan data, only three demographic variables (gender, age, social status) affected the occupational stress. The results also showed there are not significant differences with some demographic variables and sources of occupational stress among the teachers under study, with slight differences in some variables. The study also presented some recommendations for future research.
Keywords
Abstract
This paper focuses on the school teachers' occupational stress in the Libyan and Iraqi schools located in Turkey. The stratified convenience sample consists of 146 teachers who are Libyans and Iraqis, and selected a targeted population. A questionnaire was used to discover the sources of the occupational stress among the teachers at Libyan and the Iraqi schools operating in Turkey. The results revealed that teachers suffer from high levels of occupational stress in both the Libyan and Iraqi schools. Moreover, the results showed that for teachers' salaries and incentives are the most important reason behind working in the Libyan and Iraqi schools. The Independent Samples Test showed that there is only one statistical difference between the two samples, which is the nature of work. This indeed indicates that the nature of work plays a significant role behind stress experienced by the teacher serving at both Iraqi and Libyan schools. However, we determined the relationships between the sources of the occupational stress and some demographic variables. In the data of Iraqi schools, there are only two demographic variables (gender and service), which have impact on the nature of work, wages and incentives, and the physical working environment. In the Libyan data, only three demographic variables (gender, age, social status) affected the occupational stress. The results also showed there are not significant differences with some demographic variables and sources of occupational stress among the teachers under study, with slight differences in some variables. The study also presented some recommendations for future research.
Keywords
- Agai–Demjaha, T., Minov, J., Stoleski, S., & Zafirova, B. (2015). Stress causing factors among
- Agai–Demjaha, T., Minov, J., Stoleski, S., & Zafirova, B. (2015). Stress causing factors amongteachers in elementary schools and their relationship with demographic and job characteristics. Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences, 3(3), 493.
- Aggarwal, J. C. (2004). Teacher and Education in A Developing Society, 4E. Vikas publishing house Pvt ltd
- Alghaswyneh, S. A. (2012). Teacher stress among Tawjihi teachers in Jordan and their adopted coping strategies to reduce stress (Doctoral dissertation, University of Huddersfield).
- Aremu, A. O., & Adenegan, T. S. (2013). Stress Management In Nıgerıa Teachıng-LearnıngEnvıronment Usıng The Applıcatıon Of Informatıon Communıcatıon Technology (ICT). Journal of Science and Science Education, 4(1), 28 – 34.
- Bashir, M., Afzal, M. T., & Azeem, M. (2008). Reliability and validity of qualitative and operational research paradigm. Pakistan journal of statistics and operation research, 4(1).
- Bashir, S., Khan, S., Qureshi, M. I., Qureshi, M. E., & Khan, W. (2013). Impact of demographicvariables on perceived sources of occupational stress among Gomal University teaching staff. Journal of Education and Practice, 4(16), 18-31.
- Bauer, T., Erdogan, B., (2009). An Introduction to Organizational Behavior. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0.
- Bharathi, A. T. (2013). Association between Job Stress and Demographic Factors and CopingStrategies Adopted by Primary School Teachers. International Journal of Science and Research, 12(2), 1-9.
- Bhui, K., Dinos, S., Galant-Miecznikowska, M., de Jongh, B., & Stansfeld, S. (2016). Perceptions ofwork stress causes and effective interventions in employees working in public, private and non- governmental organisations: a qualitative study. BJPsych bulletin, 40(6), 318-325.
- Black, D. S., & Fernando, R. (2014). Mindfulness training and classroom behavior among lower-income and ethnic minority elementary school children. Journal of child and family studies, 23(7), 1242-1246.
- Bogdan, R., & Biklen, S. K. (1992). Qualitative research for education.
- Boss, P., Bryant, C. M., & Mancini, J. A. (2016). Family stress management: A contextual approach. Sage Publications.
- Bothe, D. A., Grignon, J. B., &Olness, K. N. (2014). The effects of a stress management interventionin elementary school children. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 35(1), 62-67.
- Bryman, A. (2006). Integrating quantitative and qualitative research: how is it done? Qualitative research, 6(1), 97-113
- Buddharaksa, W. (2010). Positivism, anti-positivism and neo-Gramscianism. Ritsumeikan Center for Asia Pacific Studies. The University of York, 1-7.
- Burke, R. J. (1993). Organizational-level interventions to reduce occupational stressors. Work & Stress, 7(1), 77-87.
- Chan, A. H., Chen, K., & Chong, E. Y. (2010). Work stress of teachers from primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong.
- Chaudhry, A. Q. (2012). An analysis of relationship between occupational stress and demographics in universities: The case of Pakistan. Bulletin of Education and Research, 34(2).
- Colten, M. (2017). Adolescent stress: Causes and consequences. Routledge.
- Cooper, C. L. (Ed.). (2018). Managerial, occupational and organizational stress research. Routledge.
- Cooper, C. L., & Kelly, M. (1993). Occupational stress in head teachers: a national UK study. British journal of educational psychology, 63(1), 130-143
- Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. Sage.
- Dicke, T., Elling, J., Schmeck, A., &Leutner, D. (2015). Reducing reality shock: The effects ofclassroom management skills training on beginning teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 48,Dillman, D. A., & Carley-Baxter, L. R. (2000). Structural determinants of mail survey response rates.Emmanuel, A. O., & Collins, A. (2016). Relationship between Occupational Stress and DemographicVariables: A Study of Employees in a Commercial Bank in Ghana. British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, 12(2), 1.
- Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1-4
- Farrokhi, F., & Mahmoudi-Hamidabad, A. (2012). Rethinking convenience sampling: Defining quality criteria. Theory and practice in language studies, 2(4), 784.
- Finn-Stevenson, M. (2018). Schools of the 21st century: Linking child care and education. Routledge.Gebrekirstos, H A. (2015). Occupational Stress among Secondary School Teachers and their CopingStrategies: The Case of Central Zone of Tigray Region. Academic research journal, 3(6), 134-157. Greenberg, J. S. (2017). Comprehensive stress management. McGraw-Hill Education.
- Guba, E. G. (Ed.). (1990). The paradigm dialog. Sage publications
- Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis: Pearson College Division.
- Hasan, Ansarul. (2014). AStudy of Occupational Stress of Primary School Teachers. Educationia Confab, 3(4), 11-19.
- Hayes, N. (2000). Doing psychological research. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis Group.
- Health and Safety Executive. Work Related Stress, Anxiety and Depression Statistics in Great Britain 2015. HSE, 2015 (http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress/stress.pdf)
- Hopkins, M. L. (2014). The sources of work stress and coping resources for high school teachers in the Gauteng Province within different career stages (Doctoral dissertation).
- Hox, J. J., & Boeije, H. R. (2005). Data collection, primary versus secondary.
- Jeyaraj, S. S. (2013). Occupational stress among the teachers of the higher secondary schools in Madurai District, Tamil Nadu. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 7(5), 63-79.
- Johns, B. H., Crowley, E. P., &Guetzloe, E. (2017). The central role of teaching social skills. Focus on Exceptional Children, 37(8).
- Kitsantas, A., Steen, S., &Huie, F. (2017). The role of self-regulated strategies and goal orientationin predicting achievement of elementary school children. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 2(1), 65-81.
- Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and psychological measurement, 30(3), 607-610. (Vol. 7). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Kyriacou, C. (1987). Teacher stress and burnout: An international review. Educational research, 29(2), 146-152.
- Kyriacou, C. (2001). Teacher stress: Directions for future research. Educational review, 53(1), 27- 35.
- Matthiesen, S. B., &Einarsen, S. (2015). Perpetrators and targets of bullying at work: Role stress andindividual differences. Perspectives on Bullying: Research on Childhood, Workplace, and Cyberbullying, 22(6), 135.
- Millar, M. M., & Dillman, D. A. (2011). Improving response to web and mixed-mode surveys. Public opinion quarterly, 75(2), 249-269.
- Mohamed, T. (2018). Sources of Occupational Stress Among Teachers: A Field of Study for Teachers Working in Libyan Schools in Turkey. Management, 7(1), 1-15.
- Moiseichyk, A. E., de Campos, G. A., & Bento, H. R. (2000, July). Organizational Environment as aSource of Stress–An Ergonomics View. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and ErgonomicsSociety Annual Meeting (Vol. 44, No. 10, pp. 312-314). Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
- Moksnes, U. K., Bradley Eilertsen, M. E., &Lazarewicz, M. (2016). The association between stress,self‐esteem and depressive symptoms in adolescents. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 57(1), 22-Moksnes, U. K., Løhre, A., Lillefjell, M., Byrne, D. G., &Haugan, G. (2016). The association betweenschool stress, life satisfaction and depressive symptoms in adolescents: Life satisfaction as a potential mediator. Social Indicators Research, 125(1), 339-357.
- Musi, P. C. (2015). Stress and demographic factors affecting job satisfaction among academics in one South African University (Doctoral dissertation).
- Nagra, V & Punjab, H. (2013). Occupational Stress Among Teacher Educators. Global Online Electronic International Interdisciplinary Research Journal, 2(2), 12- 23.
- Nelson, J. R., Maculan, A., Roberts, M. L., & Ohlund, B. J. (2001). Sources of occupational stressfor teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 9(2), 123-130.
- Nulty, D. D. (2008). The adequacy of response rates to online and paper surveys: what can be done? Assessment & evaluation in higher education, 33(3), 301-314.
- Okeke, C. I. O., & Dlamini, C. C. (2013). An empirical study of stressors that impinge on teachers in secondary schools in Swaziland. South African Journal of Education, 33(1).
- Okeke, C. I. O., Adu, E. O., Drakeand, M. L., & Duku, N. S. (2014). Correlating demographicvariables with occupational stress and coping strategies of pre-school educators: A literature review. Journal of Psychology, 5(2), 143-154.
- Olaitan, L., Oyerinde, O. O., Obiyemi, O., & Kayode, O. O. (2010). Prevalence of job stress amongprimary school teachers in South-west, Nigeria. African Journal of Microbiology Research, 4(5), 339-Paulse, J. (2005). Sources of occupational stress for teachers, with specific reference to the inclusive education module in the Western Cape (Doctoral dissertation, University of the Western Cape).
- Punia, N. (2016). Stress, professional burn out and emotional intelligence of school teachers in Haryana (Doctoral dissertation, CCSHAU).
- Rani, R., & Singh, A. (2012). A Study of Occupational Stress in Relation to Demographic Variables. International Journal of Innovative Research and Development, 1(9), 253-270.
- Ravichandran, R., & Rajendran, R. (2007). Perceived sources of stress among the teachers. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 33(1), 133-136.
- Robbins, S. p., & Coulter, M., (2012). Management. New York San Francisco. USA.
- Robbins, S., Judge, T., ELHAM, S. H., Judge, T. A., & Hasham, E. S. (2012). Organizational Behavior (Arab World Edition). Pearson Education UK.
- Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2012). Research Methods for Business Students, Pearson Education Limited.
- Sharma, M. (2014). Yoga as an alternative and complementary approach for stress management: asystematic review. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 19(1), 59- Stranks, J. W. (2005). Stress at work: Management and prevention. Elsevier.
- Syed Ismail, S. I., Abdullah, M. M., Khan, N., & Hong, Y. H. (2014). An investigation on level,sources of occupational stress and coping strategies among civil engineers in Malaysia’s construction industry. Australian Journal of Basic Applied and Sciences, 8(17), 257-264.
- To, S. H. (2014). Cronbach’s Alpha: Simple definition, use and interpretation. Retrieved, 4(21), 2017.Tuettemann, E., & Punch, K. F. (1992). Teachers’ psychological distress: The ameliorating effects of control over the work environment. Educational review, 44(2), 181-194.
- Van de Weijer-Bergsma, E., Langenberg, G., Brandsma, R., Oort, F. J., &Bögels, S. M. (2014). Theeffectiveness of a school-based mindfulness training as a program to prevent stress in elementary school children. Mindfulness, 5(3), 238-248.
- Van Tongeren, D. R., Hill, P. C., Krause, N., Ironson, G. H., &Pargament, K. I. (2017). The MediatingRole of Meaning in the Association between Stress and Health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 51(5), 775-781.
