A CASE STUDY ON STRESS EXPERIENCED BY TEACHERS IN AN

URBAN SECONDARY SCHOOL IN SARAWAK

BY

Yong Choo Tiong

A thesis submitted

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science

Faculty of Cognitive Science And Human Development

UMNERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK 1998

Declaration

No portion of the work referred to in this drssertation has been submitted in support

of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or

institute of liigher leanzing.

ABSTRACT

This case study examined the stress experienced by teachers in a selected urban secondary school in Sibu Division, Saralvak. The five main objectives of the study was ( i ) to identify the main stress factors, (ii) to identify the main stressors, (iii) to determine the levels of teacher stress, (iv) to examine the relationship between teachers' stress levels and students' school examination performance, (v) to identify the different responses to stress due to demogaphicat differences of the teachers. A survey questionnaire was used for this study. The questionnaire was modtied from the Occupational Stress Inventory for Teachers in Malaysia. To triangulate the findings, participant observations, document study and interviews were also employed. The researcher spent 6 weeks doing the participant observation and interviews. He taught in some classes and took part in school activities. From a total of 105 teachers in the school, 86 responded to the questionnaire. Forty-five teachers were further interviewed. The findings showed that the best predictors for stress factors were the workload and student factors. The most prevailing stressors were 'poor atbtude of students toxvards learning', 'having to deal with students who continually misbehave', 'having to deal with weak or incompetent students', 'high expectation from school principal', 'having to teach large classes', 'classroom is too congested' and 'students do not respect teachers'. None of the teachers were free from stress. 30.69/0 of the respondents were mildly stressed, 44.790 were moderately stressed, 18.8% very stressful and 5.9% were extremely stressful. The students' performance according to subjects revealed that better performance were enhanced when teachers were at moderate stress or much stress levels. When teachers were experiencing mild stress or extreme stress, the students' performance was relatively low. The iinlngs in this study showed that there was no differewes in the teachers' stress level due to the different demographical differences. Hence, in this school, teachers' stress levels were not affected by their gender, places of ori.gin, races, qualifications, length in service, age, different number of teaching periods, subjects, level of students and classes taught.

ABSTRAK

Kajian kes ini meninjau tekanan yang dialami oleh guru-guru di sebuah sekolah menengah di kawasan bandar, Bahagian Sibu, Sarawak. Antara lima objektif utama kajian ini ialah (i) mengenalpasti faktor-faktor utama stress, (ii) mengenalpasti punca- punca tekanan, (iii) menentukan aras tekanan ke rja, (iv) meninjau hubungan antara pencapaian pelajar dan aras tekanan guru, (v) meninjau hubungan antara ciri-ciri demografi dan aras tekanan guru. Soal selidik telah digunakan dalam kajian ini untuk mengumpul data. Soal selidik ini diubahsuaikan dari Inventori Tekanan Kerja Guru- guru Malaysia. Pemerhatian, tinjauan dokumen dan ternuduga juga digunakan untuk mengukuhkan dapatan kajian. Antara 105 orang guru di sekolah ini, 56 antara mereka rnenjadi responden. Empat puluh litna orang guru daripada responden ditemuduga lagi. Penyelidik telah membuat pelnerhatian di sekolah tersebut selama enam minggu. Dalam tempoh itu, beliau melibatkan diri dalam penyajaran dan akiviti sekolah. Dapatan kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa faktor-hktor utama yang menyebabkan telianan kerja guru ialah faktor beban kerja dan pelajar. Punca-punca utatna tekan kerja guru ialah 'pelajar tidak berminat terhadap pelajaran', -terpaksa berums dengan pelajar yang sentiasa bermasalah disiplin', 'perlu mengurus pelajar-pelajar yang lemah dan tidak cekap', 'pengetua menaruh harapan yang tinggi terhadap guru', ' perlu mengajar kelas yang terlalu rainai pelajar' , 'bili k darjah terlalu sesak' dan 'pelajar-pelajar tidak menzhonnati guru'. Tiada guru di sekolah tersebut bebas dari tekanan kerja. 30.63,0 responden ialah mengalami sedikit tekanan. 44.796 menghadapi tekanan sederhana dan 18.8Ob ialah mengaiami tekanan kuat. 5. gO'o ~nenagalalni tekanan arnat kuat. Pencapaian kcputusan rnata pelaj aran pels-;ar menunj ukkan baha~va apabila guni-guru di aras tekanan sederhana atau kuat. pencapaian pelajar ialah lebih elok. Pencapaian pelajar inenurun apabila guru-guru mengaiami tekan amat kuat atau sedikit tekanan. Tiada perbezaan aras tekanan ke rja yans bererti w j u d berasaskan jantina. tempat asal, bangsa, kelayakan, pengalarnan mengajar, usia, bilangan waktu mengajar seminggu, mata pelajaran, tahap-tahap pelajar dan kelas- kelas yang diajar.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Yong Choo Tiong was born in Sibu town in 1959. He received his primary and secondary

school education in Sacred Heart School, Sibu. He furthered his studies in the University

of Malaya in 1980. In 1984, he graduated from the University of Malaya with Bachelor

of Science With Education (Hons).

He joined Sacred Heart Secondary School in April 1984, teaching fonn six mathematics

and physics. In his service as a teacher, he was appointed as mathematics resource

personnel for the Integrated Curriculum for Secondary School (KBSM). He also

conducted courses for education officers in 'evaluation and testing'. He was the head of

the Mathematic Resource Pool for Sibu Division.

In 1995, he was promoted as the senior assistant in Sacred Heart Secondary School. He

was then transferred to SMK Belaga, Kapit as the principal in December 1995. He served

in the school until July 1997 and was given the opportunity to follow the Master's

program offered by the Ministry of Education in IAB and UNIMAS.

DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to all teachers

and

my parents, my sisters and brother

my wife and children, AIbin, Alene and Fiona.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Dr Razali Arof for his patience and

advice. My sincere thank to Dr Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid, the Director of Institut

Aminuddin Baki, Professor Dr Razali Arof, the Dean of Faculty Science Cognitive and

Human Development, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and the Ministry of Education for

giving me the opportunity to follow this Master's program. I would like to extend my

gratitude to Dr Haji Abang Ridzuan, the course coordinator, all my lecturers and all the

cohort three members for being very encouraging and helpful. My appreciation to the

Director of the Educational Planning and Research Department, the Director of Sarawak

State Education Department, the Divisional Educational Officer, the principals and

teachers in the selected schools for permitting me to carry out this case study. I would

like to thank Professor Dr Hazadiah Mohd. Dahan and Miss Mai Sumiyati Bin Ishak for

their valuable suggestions in improving this thesis.

Abstract

Abstrak

Biographical Sketch

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

List of Tables

List of Figures

List of Graphs

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pages

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction 1.1 Problem Statement 1.2 Objectives of Study 1.3 Definitions 1.4 Significance of the Study 1.5 Limitations of the Study 1.6 Summary

CHAPTER 11: REMEW OF LITERATURE

2.0 Introduction 2.1 Definitions of Stress 2.2 Stress IblodeIs 2.3 international Studies 2.4 National Studies 2.5 Framework of the Study

. . 11

... 111

iv

v

... Vlll

X

xi

CHAPTER N:

CHAPTER V.

METHODOLOGY 3.0 Overview 3.1 Research Design 3.2 Subjects of the Study 3.3 Pilot Study 3.4 Instrument

3.4.1 Questionnaire 3.4.2 Interview 3.4.3 Document Study 3.4.4 Observation

3.5 Analysis of Data 3.6 Summary

4.0 introduction 4.1 Description of the School and Respondents 4.2 Findings on the Research Questions of the

Study 4.2.1 Main Stress Factors 4.2.2 Main Stressors 4.2.3 Levels of Stress 4.2.4 Relationship between levels of

teacher stress and students' results 4.2.5 Relationships between Stress Levels

and Different Demographxcal Characteristics

4.3 Discussion

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.0 Overview 5.1 Summary of Findings 5.2 Implications 5.3 Recommendations for Future Studies 5.4 Summary

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

APPENDIX C

APPENDIX D

APPENDIX E

APPENDLY F

APPENDLY G

APPENDLY J

APPENDIX K

Approval Letter from EPRD

Approval Letter fiom State Educational Department

Approval Letter from Divisional Educational Department

Letter to School

Reliability Analysis of questionnaire- First School

Reliability Analysis of questionnaire- Second School

Reliability Analysis of questionnaire- First and Second School

Reliability of Questionnaire in Chosen SchooI

Occupation Stress Inventory for Teachers in Malaysia

Questionnaire for Teacher Stress

Rank Order of Stessors

LIST OF TABLES

Title Table 2. I Summary Comparison of Three Stress Models

Table 2.2 Percentage of Very or Extremely Stressful Levels in Reported Teacher Stress

Table 3.1 Research Methods Employed for the Different Research Questions

Table 3.2 Distribution of Items under Each Stress Factor

Table 4.1 Distribution of Teacher Population According to Gender and Sessions

Table 4.2

Table 4.3

Table 4.4

Table 4.5

Table 4.6

Table 4.7

Table 4.8

Distribution of Teacher Population According to Gender and Race

Gender Composition of Respondents

Places of Origins of the Respondents

EthrucaI Composition of Respondents

Qualifications of Rssponaents

Teaching Experience of Respondents

Age Group Distribution of Respondents

TabIe 4.9 Distribution of Teaching Periods Per Week

Table 4.10 Distribution of Respondents in Terms of Subjects Taught

Table 4.1 I Levels of Students Taught by the Respondents

Table 4-12 Types of Classes Taught by the Respondents

Table 4.13 R Values for the Different Models of Stress Factors

Table 4.14 Best Model with Predictors

Pages 29

Table 4.15 The Different Models of Predictors

Table 4.16

Table 4.17

Table 4.18

Tabte 4.19

Rank Order of Stress Factors

Ten Most Prevailing Stressors

Stress Levels Experienced by the Respondents

fighe& Lower Secondary Students' Results by Teachers Stress Levels and Subjects

Table 4.20 Lowest Students' Lower Secondary Results by Teachers Stress Levels and Subjects

Highest Students' Upper Secondary Results by Teachers Stress Levels and Subjects

Table 4.21

Table 4.22 Lowest Students' Upper Secondary Results by Teachers Stress Levels and Subjects

Table 4.23 T-test for Difference in Stress Levels for Male and Female Respondents

Table 4.24

Table 4.25

T-test for Difference in Stress Levels Experienced by Teachers from Different Places of Origin

ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels Experienced by Different Races of Teachers

Tabte 4.26 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels Due to Teacher Qualifications

Table 4.27 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels Experienced by Teachers with Different Number of Years in S e ~ c e

Table 4.28 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels from Different Age Groups

Table 4.29 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels by Teachers with Different Number of Teaching Periods Per Week

Table 4.30 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels by Teachers Teaching Different Subjects

Table 4.31 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels by Teachers Teaching Different Levels of Students

Table 4.32 ANOVA for difference in Stress Levels Experienced by Teachers Teachng Different Classes

LIST OF FIGURES

Titles

Figure 2. I A Response-Based Model of Stress

Figure 2.2 A Stimulus-Based Model of Stress

Figure 2.3 An Interactive Model of Stress

Figure 2.4 An interactive Model of Teacher Stress

Figure 3.1 Research Procedure flow Chart

Pages

24

25

28

48

53

LIST OF GRAPHS

Graph 4.1

Graph 4.2

Graph 4.3

Graph 4.4

Graph 4.5

Graph 4.6

Graph 4.7

Graph 4.8

Graph 4.9

Graph 4.10

Graph 4. I I

Graph 4.12

Graph 4.13

Titles

Mean Students7 Performance in Bahasa Melayu (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels

Mean Students' Performance in English (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels

Mean Students' Performance in History (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels

Mean Students7 Performance in Geography (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels

Mean Students' Performance in Mathematics (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels

&lean Students' Performance in Living SkiIls~ (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels .

Mean Students' Performance in Science (Lower Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels

Mean Students' Performance in Bahasa Melaju (Upper Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels

Mean Students' Performance in English (Upper Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels

Mean Students7 Performance in Moral Education (Upper Secondary) against Teacher Stress Levels

Mean Students' Performance in History (Upper Secondav) against Teacher Stress Levels

h4ean Students7 Performance in Mathematics (Upper Secondary) agaiilst Teacher Stress Levels

Mean Students' Perfonnance in Pure Sciences (Upper Secondaryj against Teacher Stress Levels

Pages

115

116

118

119

120

122

124

125

CHAPTER 1

1.0 Introduction

Stress is an -inescapable facets of modern living and working life' (Sutherland alld

Cooper, 1994. p. 13 1 ?. Science and technologies have improved our standard of living

but are not able to remow stress from life or xvork place. Some of the comlnon

stressors in urban l ivinz include crowding, noise, air pollution; commuting and crimes

(Graig, 1994). The common stressors in njork p!ace include job demand, job design,

role conflict; role ambizuity, work overload, inadequate career development

opportunities, leader relationsh~ps and organisational culture (Matteson and

Ivancevich, 19891. Stress affects everyone in a society or work place. Nobody can

really claim to be tie:: from stress. Selye ( 1956) co!nmenrs that a person without

stress is a dead person.

A person experiences stress when he or she is unable to maintain balance due to

internal or external stimulus. These stinluli are also referred to as stressors. Tn a work

place, stress is a product of the person. the source of stress and the \\orking

environment. Some of the stress responses are ph_vs~olo~cal, psychological and

behabroural ontcornes Sellit: (1934) uses the term 'general adaptation syndrome'

(GAS) to de.jcnbe the three stages of yhys~ological responses to ttusats and demands.

I t is referred to as the general adsptation syndrome because humar~ bodies respond to

threats and stress in similar ways. In the alarm reaction stage, the brain receives a

signal from the stimulus. Adrenaline is then produced to prepare the body for 'fight or

flight'. This hormone provides the body with burst of energy but for a short duration

onlv. The body system will enter the second stage, that is the resistance stage. of the

GAS when the first stage failed to remove or neutralise the effect of the stressor. In

this stage, the initial alarin system is OK However, the endocrine system supplies

hormones and minerals in order to enable the body to resist or adapt the stress. If the

body can adapt to the stressor successfully. the body system will return to normal.

However, if this fails, then the body system will enter into the exhaustion stage.

During this stage the body is most vulnerable to stress-related physical and mental

illness (Bernard, 1990, p.23). The immunity system and the physiological system are

weakened. Some of the somatic symptoms of stress are: abdominal pain, difficulty ;11

breathing, eczema, high blood pressure, kidney or bladder trouble, cardiovascular

disorders (e. g., Bernard, 1990; Rice 1957).

Stress may lead to reduced productivity and effectiveness of an individual worker

(Sutherland and Cooper, 1993, p.132). For example, workers may exhibit 'active

behaviours' because of work stress. They will 'decrease the work effort', 'going on

strike' or unwilling to undertake a designed job (Matteson and Ivancevich, 1989,

p.60). On the other hand, some workers under stress will exhibit 'passive behaviours'.

They will not pay attention to the supervisor's instruction, ignore quality control and

ignore safety procedures. High absenteeism and tun1 over rate as well as the above

mentiotled behaviours are causing big losses to companies. The National Science

Foundation reports that stress costs over $100 billion annually and is increasing

(Matteson and Ivancevich, 1989, p.6j.

Each occupation or organisation has its own environmental sources of stress. For

example. factoc workers may be affected by long hours of working or shift work.

Sutherland and Cooper (1994) claim that shift workers are more fatigued and have

more gastrointestinal troubles than day workers. They also ha;.e problems in circadian

rhythms. social and family life c hiairnunah Aminuddin. 1997. p. 113 1. Reslow and

Buell (clted In Sutherland and Cooper. 1994. p 146 ) found that llght ~ndustp workers

in the United States who worked more than 48 hours per week had h\lce the risk of

death from coronaq heart disease compared to those ~vho lvorked 40 hours or less a

week. Rosch and Pelletier (cited in \Vexley and Latham. 1991, p.297) estimate that

stress has caused an average of 1 million American workers to be absent from work

on any given workday. Office workers encounter other forms of stressors. Research

shows that the use of Visual Display Terminal (VDT) or computer monitors causes

high level of stress, eye strain, physical disco~nfort in the neck and shoulder areas

(Maimunah Aminuddin, 1997, p. 157j. Sutherland and Cooper ( 1994) indicate that the

most stressful aspects of dentists are to handle difficult patients and to be on schedule.

Marshall (cited in Sutherland and Cooper, 1994) reports that the main stressors for a

nurse are workload, death and dying. uncertainty. responsibilities and role conflicts.

In the educational institutions, studies suggest that teaching is a stressful profession

(e.3.. Capel. 1957: Kyr~acou and Sutcliffe. 1978. 1379: Smilansky, 1981 ).

Occupational stress is critical in the teaching profession because it affects the health

and reduces work performance and work effectiveness. Some of the stress related

health probleins include coronary artery disease, alcoholism. fatigue, headaches,

insomnia and nervous tension (e.g.. Rice, 1987, Kyriacou and Pratt. 1985). The State

Education Department of Penang reported that there was an average of a problem

teacher In every school in the state (The New Straits Times. October 9, 1997).

hlost of the studies in teacher stress were carried out in the United States, Great

Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. These studies focused on

the prevalence and sources of teacher stress (e.g., Kynacou and Sutciiffe, 1979;

Tuettemann and Punch. 1990; O'Connor and Clarke, 1990). Stress was found to be

prevailing in teaching profession. The common sources of szess were -pupii

misbehaviour', 'poor working conditions'. 'poor staff communications*, 'time

demand', 'poor remuneration', 'workload' (e.g., Kyiacou and Sutcliffe, 1979;

Dunham, 1980; Manthei and Solman, 1988; Trendall, 1989: Bo!.le, Borg, Falzon and

Baglioni, 1995 ). Some of the studies reveaied that the teachers' demogaphical

differences like gender, age and teaching experience affected teacher stress !e.g.,

Lauglzlin, 1984; Manthei and Solman, 1988; Fontana and Abouserie, 1993;

McCorn~ick, 1996).

1.1 Problem Statement

In recent years, there were also studies belng done in Malaqs~a regarding teacher

stress ( e g . Sit1 Roham Sharif, 199 1 ; Suseela Malakolunthu, 1994, Junaidah Abdul

Jamll, 1995, Seah Kwee Siang. 1995. Tan Huat Ch>e. 1996: V~ckneasvar~

Krishnasamy. 1997, Abang Mat Ali, 1993; Pvlokl~tar Blil L h i ~ ~ a d , 1998) Some of

these studies sholved that teachers in hlalaqsia \\ere also under h~gh stress Sussela

Malakolunthu ( 1991) reported that 36 89.0 of the respondents In her study were v e q

or eutremelq stressful fvfokhtar Bin Ahmad ( 1998) and Abang Mat Air Bin .4bans

Masagus (1998 3 found that 17 5O 0 and 2 1 3?6 of the~r respondents resyectlvely \\ere

very stressful. The maln sources of stress were ident~fied as 'students' attitude',

-workload'. -teaching poorly motlbated students' ( e g., S I ~ I Rohanl Shanf, 199 1. Seah

Kwee Sianz, 1995, Juna~dah Abdul Jamil. Mokhtar Bin Ahmad. 1998) The only

study on teacher stress in Sarawah tias conducted b! Abang Mat '411 Bln Abai~g

Masagus (199Sj He focused on the stress coping strategies used by secondary

teachers In Zone A of Kuchingtsarnarahan Dlviston. The find~ngs showed that

'ensuring that one understood what one was about to teach was the effective strategy'

in stress coping.

Prolonged stress will lead to mental and physical ill-health (Kyriaucou, 1987). Some

of the stress-relared illnesses rncludes heart attack. palpitation, hypertension,

migraine. hae:norrho~ds. angina. ~ndigestion. premenstrual tension. asthma. dizz~ness.

breathing difficulties. back-ache, alopecia, insomnia. ~astrou~testinal disorders,

physical fatigue and eczema (Cranwell-Ward, 1987, p 80, Rice, 1957, p.2 10,

Markham, 1992, p 154). Teacher stress leads to burnout and lower perfor~nance of

teachers' work In Malaysia, it was reported that almost 400 teachers apply for

ret~re~nent every month (The New Stra~ts Times, September 27, 1994). This

phenomenon could possibly be due to the etlfect of teacher stress Gold and Roth

( 1Y93) polnt out that the stressful and emotional d ~ l e ~ n n ~ a s that teachers encounter

daily debilitate teachers' health and lead to burnout and dropout. In hlalaysia, Noor

Azzuddtn Abdul -4212 i 1990) supported thls wew and potnted out that teachers under

the new curr~culum (KSSi\ll; tend to leake the senice if they w r e under hizh stress.

Considering teachers are the architects for future nation builders. the stress problems

of teachers capnot be taken lightl?.. With the cballenzes stipulated in Vision 2030, we

are depending on the teachers to help the nation in materialising this mammoth

visicn. In the process of realising vision 2020, schools administrators are taking

initiatives to improve the academic performances of the students. Hence there is a

need to study relationship between teacher stress and students' performance.

To date, there is only one research being done on teacher stress in Saralvak. In the

research, Abang Mat Ali (1998) found that 49.0941 of the respondents from secondary

schools in Zone A of Kuching:' Samarahan Division were at least moderately stress in

their profession. 21.3 O,,b of the respondents were highl). stressed or estretnely

stressed. The study by Abang Mat Ali exemplifies that teachers sen-ing in Sarawak

also face the same stress problems like their counterpans in L1;est blalaysia and other

parts of the world. Hence, it is hoped that, a case study of teacher stress in a chosen

secondary school in the Sibu Division, which has good acadenlic performance, \vill

give further insight into the teacher stress situations. The precious studies on stress

were usually associated with negative effects or loner performances. Hence the

objective of this study is to investigate whether stress can enhance performance.

This chosen school has been consistently achieving good results in the form three

(PMR), form five \'SPMj and form six public examinations (STPhl:). For example,

149;b of the sntdents who sat for the PMR in 1997 obtained 7As and SAs. 34.1% of

the total number of candidates obtained 54s or better results. Out of nine sut?jects, the

passing rates for eight subjects were higher than 87.49.6. In 1996, there were 26.196 of

the candidates who obtained at least 5As.

In the SPM results the school maintained a passing rate of above 75?~0. In both the

1996 and 1997 SPM, there were 10 candidates who scored either 6AI or 7A I. In the

1997 SPM, 33.00/0 of the candidates secured grade one and another 24.50;0 of them

obtained grade two. Out of the 17 subjects taken by the students, four of the subjects

achieved 100% pass and another three subjects with passing rates Illore than 90%.

Only three subjects had passing rates less than 80%.

The school has outstand~ng performance In the 1997 STPhl results as \yell Out of the

ten candidates XI ho obtained 5Xs in the Sarawak State. thrce of them were from this

school There itere another i 1 candtdates who obtai~sd 3.4s or -!As The percentage

of students who obtained five principle passes were 65.1°/;6. This result was

outstanding because there were only 19.989'; of the total number of candidates who

obtained fdl principle passes in the Sarawak State. In this.school, nine out of eleven

subjects in STPM had passing rates higher than 8096. In both the 1995 and 1996

STPM results. the school maintained 65.5q6 of candidates with five principles passes.

Through Informal conversation and observat~on by the researcher prlor to the study,

the teachers in this school remarked that they were under stress They also showed

signs of stress There were complaints about their work and students. Soine of the

teachers colnrnented that they were under stress because of workload. They lamented

that they had to put In extra hours after school m order to check through the students'

work and preparc far the school lessons Other teachers Indicated that students were

puttlng them on the~r nenes Some of the students were misbehaving In classes and

had no interest In their stud~es The teachers were hatlng dlft'icult tlnles trying to help

these groups of students Some teachers had problems in class control. They had to

refer students' dlsclpline cases to the admlnlstra:ors or the dlsc~pllnary teachers. A

number of teachers ivere d~sappointed with the prornotional opportunities. There were

few prolnotional exercises The expectations from school and the cormnunlty also

exerted a lot of pressure on the teachers.

Findrnzs on stress hace sholin that stress leads to reduced productivity and

effectneness. Ho~ve~er, this choscn school was one of the outstanding schools III

Sibu Di1 ision ~chlch produced 200d x a d e ~ n ~ c results desplte the fact that the teachers

9

were under stress. Hence it would be useful to find out the nature of stress that the

teachers in thls school are experiencing and how this is related to students' academlc

performance. The find~ngs would add to the existing knowledge that stress can

enhance performance. The relat~onshlp between teachers' stress and students'

academic performance would help administrators to detennine the optimum stress

levels for teachers The admlmstrators can enhance better students' academic

performance by modulating teachers' stress in their schools.

Hence this study focused on.

What are the natures of stress experienced by teachers In this school?

How are teacher stress related to the students' pertkrmance?

1.2 Objectives of Study

The purpose of this study is to

(a) examine the nature of stress experienced by teachers serving in a selected

urban secondary school in Sibu Division

(b) ~nvestigate to what extent the teachers in this school are under stress

(c) investigate the relationship between teacher stress and students'

performance

(d ) in\ estlgate the demosraphical dlfferznces of the teachers related to stress.

Consistent with the above objectives, the research questions (RQ) of this study are the

following:

RQ1: What are the main stress factors experienced by the teachers in this school?

RQ2: What are the main stressors identified by the teachers in this school?

RQ3: What levels of stress are these teachers experiencing?

RQ4: How is the relationship between levels of teachers' stress and students'

school examination results?

RQ5: Are there an? differences in the stress levels for the drfferent demographical

subgroups?

1.3 Definitions

For the purpose of this study, the follow-in definitions are used.

1.3.1 Stress

Stress is defined as a pattern of emotional states and physio10,uical reactions occurring

in response to demallds from outside or inside an organisation (Greenberg, 1996,

p323 1. For the purpose of this study, stress is defined as a process of behavioural,

emotional, mental and physical reactions caused by prolonged. increasing or new

pressures lvhich are siggii>cantiy geater than coping resources