- Email: [email protected]
The effects of teaching experience and grade level taught on teacher stress: A LISREL analysis
Teaching & Teacher Educanon. Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 57--62. 1991 Pnnted in Great Britain
0742-q)51X, OI $3.(W1+0.00 (~) 1'..)91 Pergamon Press pie
THE EFFECTS OF T E A C H I N G E X P E R I E N C E AND G R A D E LEVEL T A U G H T ON T E A C H E R STRESS: A LISREL ANALYSIS J E N N I F E R L. M A L I K , R A L P H O. M U E L L E R ,
and D E A N L. M E I N K E
The University of Toledo. U.S.A. -In this study a LISRE L model of teacher stress was tested which used grade level taught and years of teaching experience as independent variables; perceived stress and life events stress were used as observed indicators of the latent dependent variable teacher stress. Subjects were 166 elementary, and secondary public school teachers from schools in northwestern Ohio. Goodnessof-fit indices indicated a good fit of the proposed model. Grade level taught had a negative effect on teacher stress, whereas teaching experience did not account for a significant portion of the variance in the dependent variable. These results suggest that it might be beneficial to school administrators and others to focus more on possibly strong effects of grade level taught on teacher stress, rather than concerning themselves with alleviating the stress experienced by novice teachers. Abstract
b u r n o u t is o n e o f the most significant challenges for the future of e d u c a t i o n . L a t e r research has c o n f i r m e d M a s l a c h ' s c o n t e n t i o n of a three factor structure of the b u r n o u t p h e n o m e n o n . T h e factors a r e e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n , d e p e r s o n a l i zation, and lack of p e r s o n a l a c c o m p l i s h m e n t ( G o l d , 1984; G r e e n & W a l k e y , 1988). R e s e a r c h on t e a c h e r b u r n o u t has been only o n e focus of studies on t e a c h e r stress. O t h e r a p p r o a c h e s have p r o d u c e d a variety of articles which have e x p l o r e d p o t e n t i a l sources of t e a c h e r stress ( N e e d l e , Griffin, S v e n d s e n , & B e r n e y , 1980; K y r i a c o u & Sutcliffe, 1978; Pratt, 1978; Cichon & Koff, 1980). Still o t h e r r e s e a r c h has identified the effects of stress on t e a c h i n g ( C o a t e s & T h o r e s o n , 1976), s u g g e s t e d ways to h a n d l e stress (Styles & C.avanagh, 1977; Y o u n g s , 1978; Leffingwell, 1979), linked t e a c h e r stress to j o b satisfaction ( K y r i a c o u & Sutcliffe, 1979), and c o r r e l a t e d t e a c h e r stress with p s y c h o n e u r o t i c s y m p t o m s ( K y r i a c o u & Pratt, 1985). F r o m a t h o r o u g h review of the lite r a t u r e on t e a c h e r stress, K r y i a c o u and Sutcliffe (1977) c o n c l u d e d that stress is a multif a c t o r e d construct, requiring f u r t h e r research to
Stress is a c o n d i t i o n which has b e e n linked to low quality o f life, early v o c a t i o n a l b u r n o u t , a n d , in m a n y cases, to physiological illness. T e a c h e r s have b e e n identified as an o c c u p a tional g r o u p who function u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s of high stress ( K y r i a c o u , 1987, 1989; K y r i a c o u & Sutcliffe, 1978; M e i n k e , C o u t u r i e r , Miller, & Miller, 1982; Pratt, 1978). O f c o n c e r n is that stress m a y significantly i m p a i r the t e a c h e r / p u p i l r e l a t i o n s h i p , reducing b o t h quality o f teaching and the t e a c h e r ' s c o m m i t m e n t to his or h e r pupils ( K y r i a c o u , 1987). O n e focus of studies on t e a c h e r stress has b e e n t e a c h e r b u r n o u t , lwanicki a n d S c h w a b ( 1981 ) v a l i d a t e d the Maslach Burnout Inventory ( M a s l a c h & J a c k s o n , 1979) for use with teachers. F u r t h e r research by these a u t h o r s ( S c h w a b & Iwanicki, 1982) s h o w e d that role conflict and role a m b i g u i t y are r e l a t e d to t e a c h e r b u r n o u t . In a d d i t i o n , t h e y found that the c o m b i n e d effect of g e n d e r , g r a d e level taught, and t e a c h e r age c o n t r i b u t e d to much of the variance a m o n g t e a c h e r s on a d e p e r s o n a l i zation subscale. S c h w a b (1983) s u g g e s t e d that p r e v e n t i n g the stress which leads to t e a c h e r
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the !989 AERA annual meeting. San Francisco. CA. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of James B. Cozad and Michael Radice for their contributions to the earlier version. 57
58
JENNIFER L. MALIK et al.
discern patterns or relationships among possible indicators of teacher stress. More recently, Kyriacou (1987) advocated research efforts that focus on ways of reducing stress levels in schools. Drawing on the research reviewed by Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1977) and their later work on sources and symptoms of teacher stress (Kyriacou & Sutcliffe, 1978), the present study was designed to extend the literature base on teacher stress by linking previously used variables with alternative measures of teacher stress. Schwab and Iwanicki (1982) included grade level taught and years of teaching experience as background variables in a regression analysis to investigate role conflict and role ambiguity and their relationship to teacher burnout. In two studies, Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1978, 1979) found no significant differences among means on self-reported teacher stress when comparing teachers with differing years of experience. Unlike previous studies, the present investigation used the indicators, perceived stress and life events stress, as measures of the underlying construct teacher stress. The effects of grade level taught and years of teaching experience on teacher stress were assessed via a structural equation approach. Specifically, the study testcd a L I S R E L model which used grade level taught and years of teaching experience as independent variables and perceived stress and life events stress as observed indicators of the latent variable teacher stress. The study addressed the following two questions: I. How well do the data fit the proposed structural equation model? 2. Do teaching experience and grade level taught significantly affect teacher stress?
The proposed model is shown in Figure 1. It may be considered as the simplest form of MIMIC (Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes) model since it contains a single unobserved variable that is measured by two observed indicator variables and "caused" by two observed independent variables. This type of model is extensively discussed in L I S R E L 7: A Guide to the Program and Applications (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1988). The independent variables, grade level taught and teaching experience, were hypothesized to influence the latent, unobserved variable teacher stress. The latter construct was measured by the observed variables, perceived stress and life events stress. In the figure, the directly observed variables are shown in rectangular boxes, while the latent variable is enclosed by an ellipse. The arrows indicate the direction of assumed causal flow. Based on the literature (for example, Iwanicki & Schwab, 1981; Kyriacou & Sutcliffe, 1977), the MIMIC model depicted in Figure 1 is one possible way to describe the relationships among grade level taught, years of teaching experience, and teacher stress. This model differs from the model proposed by Schwab, Jackson, and Schuler (1986) who linked sources of burnout to psychological reactions and possible consequences. In support of their model, they found organizational and personal factors (such as role conflict and ambiguity, social support of colleagues, participation in decisions, contingent punishment, autonomy, and the person's expectations for the job) to correlate significantly with the burnout phenomenon.
tJ
I Grade level J Teaching experience
The Model
/
!
Life events J stress
I
Perceived
]
J
stress
Figure 1. Proposed LISREL model of teacher stress.
"--'-
Teacher Stress
59
Association rating of severity of psychological stressors with ratings ranging from "one", indicating no stress, to "seven", indicating catastrophic stress. Teachers were asked to indicate the stress level they felt when experiencing the events listed. The sum of the item scores was then computed as a single score indicating perceived teacher stress. The Holmes and Rahe Life Events Scale is comprised of a listing of 43 life events considered to be stressful. Each life event has been assigned a stress rating ranging from 11 to 100. Subjects checked events which have occurred in their lives within the last 12 months. The sum of the item scores was then computed as a single score indicating life events stress. Both instruments were administered to all teachers involved in the study. After the sums of the item scores were computed, means, standard deviations, and correlations for all variables in the model were calculated with the computer program SPSSX.
Method
Subjects The subjects for this study were 166 elementary and secondary public school teachers from schools in northwestern Ohio's Wood and H e n r y Counties. The subjects responded to requests for volunteers from the principals of the various school districts represented. Subjects' ages ranged from 23 to 61; 82 were elementary teachers; 40 were junior high, and 39 were senior high teachers; five teachers did not list the grade level taught. Thirty-two teachers had between 1 and 5 years of teaching experience; 36 teachers had between 6 and 10 years of experience. Furthermore, 50 teachers had between 11 and 15 years of experience and 22 teachers had between 16 and 20 years of experience. Finally, 20 teachers had more than 20 years of teaching experience. Five teachers did not report the number of years of teaching experience. It should be noted that this relatively small sample from only one geographical area might not be representative of a larger national population.
Results Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and correlations) are given in Table 1. These results were subsequently used as input for the L I S R E L program. Note, however, that L I S R E L computed a corresponding covariance matrix that was analysed to estimate the relevant population parameters. To answer the first research question, three goodness-of-fit indices were considered. The overall chi-square statistic was .03 with df = 1 (p = .868). According to Joreskog and Sorbom (1988), small chi-square values, relative to the degrees of freedom, correspond to a good fit
Instruments and Procedures
Subjects completed the Rating Scale for School Related Stresses (Meinke et al., 1982) and the Holmes and Rahe Life Events Scale (Holmes & Rahe, 1967). On the Rating Scale for School Related Stresses teachers were asked to respond to 50 items related to events in a classroom situation or school setting. The teachers responded to each item on a 7-point Likert-type scale. Each interval on the scale was defined using the American Psychological Table 1
Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlationsfor the Observed Variables Yearsof Teaching Experience, Grade Level Taught, Life Events Stress, and PerceivedStress 1
2
I. Years teaching 2. Grade level 3. Lifeevents 4. Perceivedstress
1.0000 -.0871) -.0694 -.¢)829
1.0000 -. 1141 -. 1803
Mean Standard deviation
2.7520 1.2750
1.7330 .8270
3
4
1.0000 .0980
1.13000
127.1480 125.4710
172.9470 32.4200
60
J E N N I F E R L. MALIK et al.
and large chi-square values correspond to a bad fit. The small chi-square statistic in this study corresponds to a very good overall fit of the model. Next, the Q-plot of normalized residuals was examined (see Figure 2). Joreskog and Sorborn (1988) suggest fitting a straight line to the plotted points of the normalized residuals• If the slope of this line is larger than one, it is indicative of a good fit, The plotted points of the normalized residuals in this study are linear with a slope larger than one, again indicating an excellent fit of the proposed model of teacher stress. Finally, the overall coefficient of determination, R 2 = .289, indicated that almost 30% of the variability in teacher stress could be explained by the independent variables years of teaching experience and grade level taught. This proportion of explained variability seemed sufficiently high to consider the representation as an acceptable way to model teacher stress.
3,5 .
7...
°"
°° °
g
x
°°
.°
t'-
likelihood estimation is the most common method of estimating structural coefficients since ML has desirable properties which make it possible to statistically test the estimates for significance. Factor loadings can be viewed as regression coefficients in the regression of the indicator variables (life events stress and perceived stress) on the latent variable (teacher stress); structural coefficients can be conceptualized as regression coefficients of teacher stress on the independent variables, grade level taught and years of teaching experience. ML estimates for the factor Ioadings of life events stress and teacher stress were 2.608 (t = 1.540) and 1.000, respectively (the factor loading corresponding to perceived stress was "apriori set to unity in order to define a unit of measurement for the latent variable). Standardized and unstandardized structural coefficients for years of teaching experience on teacher stress were - 0 . 2 7 4 and - 2 . 6 7 2 (t = -1.521), respectively. The corresponding estimates for grade level taught were - 0 . 4 8 6 and - 7 . 3 0 2 (t = -2.482). That is, grade level taught had a significant negative effect on stress, while the influence of years of teaching experience was not significantly different from zero. Standard deviation estimates of error terms were 43.3436 (t = 7.823) for life events stress and 13.0383 (t = 5.278) for perceived stress.
°°
o
X"
Discussion
.°°•X 0
.o
z
.° °
X
x
.° .°
°
•° .° °0
-3. ~3.5
3.5
Figure 2. LISREL model for perceived teacher stress Q-plot of normalized residuals vs. normal quantiles.
With regard to the second research question, maximum likelihood (ML) estimates of the factor loadings and structural coefficients were obtained. Presently, the method of maximum
The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of grade level taught and years of teaching experience on teacher stress. The latter variable was measured by two observed variables (perceived stress and life events stress) which differed from previous work by Schwab and Iwanicki (1982) and Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1978, 1979). Unlike Schwab and Iwanicki (1982), who investigated the combined effects of grade level taught and years of teaching experience on teacher stress, the present study specifically considered the separate effects of teaching experience and grade level taught on levels of stress. Partly in agreement with Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1978, 1979), the former independent variable did not account for a significant portion of the variance in the dependent wlriable, whereas the latter had a signifi-
61
Teacher Stress
cant negative effect on teacher stress. These results could have implications for teachers, school administrators, and colleges of education. Most importantly, teachers must be aware of the sources of stress within their profession in order to protect the quality of their own lives and to positively affect the working relationship they have with their students. Additionally, it may be more important for school administrators to be aware that teachers in lower grades perceive certain classroom events to be particularly stressful, than to concentrate on alleviating the stress experience bv novice teachers. This may be due to the personality type which is attracted to teaching the lower grades or to the fact that teachers in the lower grades assume a greater proportion of responsibility for all facets of their pupils' lives. Another reason could be that senior high school teachers may feel they have more employment opportunities and thus may experience less stress if at some future time teaching proves personally unacceptable as a life-long profession. For example, Jackson, Schwab, and Schuler (1986) found burnout scores to be good predictors of preferred job status, thoughts about leaving teaching positions, participation in job training for new carcers, and actual termination of jobs. An additional implication of the results might be that colleges of education should take steps to ensure that student teachers are given adequate coping skills for the potentially stressful situations they will encounter working with students in the lower grades. Despite the good fit of the model, the relatively large error variances may be a consequence of the fact that the Holmes and Rahe Life Events Scale measured actual events, while the Rating Scale for School Related Stresses measured teachers' perception of events. Because of the disparity in the types of indicator variables used, it may be appropriate in future models to include either measures of behavior (including events) or measures of perception, rather than to attempt to combine both types of measures within a single model. A more complex model of teacher stress may be required which would incorporate grade level taught, additional independent variables (such as locus of control and/or teacher's self-esteem), and alternative measures of either teacher behavior or teacher perception of classroom events.
References Cichon, D. J., & Koff. R. H. (1980). Stress and teaching. NASSP Bulletin. 64, 91-104. Coates. T. J., & Thoreson, C. E. (1976). Teacher anxiety: A review with recommendations. Review o f Educational Research, 46.15%184. Gold. Y. (1984). The factorial validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in a sample of California elementary and high school classroom teachers. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 44, 1009-1016. Green. D. E., & Walkey, F. H. (1988). A confirmation of the three-factor structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Educational and Psychological Measurement. 48.57%585. Holmes, T., & Rahe, R. (1967). The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. I I, 213-218. lwanicki, E. F., & Schwab. R. L. (1981). A cross validation study of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Educational and Psychological Measurement. 41, 1167-1174. Jackson, S. E., Schwab, R. L., & Schuler, R. S. (1986). Toward an understanding of the burnout phenomenon. Journal o f Applied Psychology, 7 I, 630~34.(I. Joreskog. K., & Sorbom, D. (1988). LISREL 7: A Guideto the Program and Applications. Chicago, 1L: S PSS, I no. Kyriacou, C. (1987). Teacher stress and burnout: An international review. Educational Research, 29(2), 146152. Kyriacou, C. (1989). The nature and prevalence of teacher stress. In M. Cole and S. Walker (Eds.), Teaching and Stress. Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press. Kyriacou, C., & Pratt, J. (1985). Teacher stress and psychoneurotic symptoms. British Journal o f Edacational I'sychology, 55, 6 I-(',4. Kyriacou, C., & Sutcliffe, J. (1977). Teacher stress: A review, Educational Review, 29,299-3116. Kyriacou, C., & Sutcliffe, J. (1978). Teacher stress: Prevalence. sources, and symptoms. British Journal of Educational Psydtology, 48, 159-167. Kyriacou, C., & Sutcliffe. J. (1979). Teacher strcss and satisfaction. Educational Research. 2 I, 8%96. Leffingwcll, R. J. (1979). The role of the middle school counselor in the reduction of stress in teachers. Elementary School Gtddance anti Counseling, 13, 286290. Maslach, C., & Jackson. S. E. (1979). 77w measurement of experienced burnout. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychology, University of California - Berkeley. Meinke. D., Couturier, S., Miller. S. E., & Miller, K. S. ( 1982. August). Perceived stress events by teachers. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C. Needle. R. H.. Griffin, T.. Svendsen, R.. & Berney. C. (1981)). Teacher stress: Sources and consequences. The Journal o f School tlealth, 50, 96-99. Pratt. J. (1978). Perceived stress effects among teachers: The effects of age and background of children taught. Educational Review, 30, ~ 14. Schwab, R. L. (1983). Teacher burnout: Moving beyond psychobabble. Theory Into Practice, 22, 21-26. Schwab, R. L., & Iwanicki. E. F. (1982). Perceived role
62
JENNIFER L. MALIK et al. conflict,
role
ambiguity,
and
teacher
burnout.
Educational Administration Quarterly, 18, 60-74. Schwab, R. L., Jackson, S. E., & SchuleL R. S. (1986). Educator burnout: Sources and consequences. Educational Research Quarterly, 10, 14-29. Styles, K.. & Cavanagh, G. (1977). Stress in teaching and
how to handle it. English Journal, 66, 76-79. Youngs, B. B. (1978). Anxiety and s t r e s s - - how they affect teachers, teaching. NASSP Bulletin. 62, 7S-83. Received 5 September 1990 [ ]
0742-q)51X, OI $3.(W1+0.00 (~) 1'..)91 Pergamon Press pie
THE EFFECTS OF T E A C H I N G E X P E R I E N C E AND G R A D E LEVEL T A U G H T ON T E A C H E R STRESS: A LISREL ANALYSIS J E N N I F E R L. M A L I K , R A L P H O. M U E L L E R ,
and D E A N L. M E I N K E
The University of Toledo. U.S.A. -In this study a LISRE L model of teacher stress was tested which used grade level taught and years of teaching experience as independent variables; perceived stress and life events stress were used as observed indicators of the latent dependent variable teacher stress. Subjects were 166 elementary, and secondary public school teachers from schools in northwestern Ohio. Goodnessof-fit indices indicated a good fit of the proposed model. Grade level taught had a negative effect on teacher stress, whereas teaching experience did not account for a significant portion of the variance in the dependent variable. These results suggest that it might be beneficial to school administrators and others to focus more on possibly strong effects of grade level taught on teacher stress, rather than concerning themselves with alleviating the stress experienced by novice teachers. Abstract
b u r n o u t is o n e o f the most significant challenges for the future of e d u c a t i o n . L a t e r research has c o n f i r m e d M a s l a c h ' s c o n t e n t i o n of a three factor structure of the b u r n o u t p h e n o m e n o n . T h e factors a r e e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n , d e p e r s o n a l i zation, and lack of p e r s o n a l a c c o m p l i s h m e n t ( G o l d , 1984; G r e e n & W a l k e y , 1988). R e s e a r c h on t e a c h e r b u r n o u t has been only o n e focus of studies on t e a c h e r stress. O t h e r a p p r o a c h e s have p r o d u c e d a variety of articles which have e x p l o r e d p o t e n t i a l sources of t e a c h e r stress ( N e e d l e , Griffin, S v e n d s e n , & B e r n e y , 1980; K y r i a c o u & Sutcliffe, 1978; Pratt, 1978; Cichon & Koff, 1980). Still o t h e r r e s e a r c h has identified the effects of stress on t e a c h i n g ( C o a t e s & T h o r e s o n , 1976), s u g g e s t e d ways to h a n d l e stress (Styles & C.avanagh, 1977; Y o u n g s , 1978; Leffingwell, 1979), linked t e a c h e r stress to j o b satisfaction ( K y r i a c o u & Sutcliffe, 1979), and c o r r e l a t e d t e a c h e r stress with p s y c h o n e u r o t i c s y m p t o m s ( K y r i a c o u & Pratt, 1985). F r o m a t h o r o u g h review of the lite r a t u r e on t e a c h e r stress, K r y i a c o u and Sutcliffe (1977) c o n c l u d e d that stress is a multif a c t o r e d construct, requiring f u r t h e r research to
Stress is a c o n d i t i o n which has b e e n linked to low quality o f life, early v o c a t i o n a l b u r n o u t , a n d , in m a n y cases, to physiological illness. T e a c h e r s have b e e n identified as an o c c u p a tional g r o u p who function u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s of high stress ( K y r i a c o u , 1987, 1989; K y r i a c o u & Sutcliffe, 1978; M e i n k e , C o u t u r i e r , Miller, & Miller, 1982; Pratt, 1978). O f c o n c e r n is that stress m a y significantly i m p a i r the t e a c h e r / p u p i l r e l a t i o n s h i p , reducing b o t h quality o f teaching and the t e a c h e r ' s c o m m i t m e n t to his or h e r pupils ( K y r i a c o u , 1987). O n e focus of studies on t e a c h e r stress has b e e n t e a c h e r b u r n o u t , lwanicki a n d S c h w a b ( 1981 ) v a l i d a t e d the Maslach Burnout Inventory ( M a s l a c h & J a c k s o n , 1979) for use with teachers. F u r t h e r research by these a u t h o r s ( S c h w a b & Iwanicki, 1982) s h o w e d that role conflict and role a m b i g u i t y are r e l a t e d to t e a c h e r b u r n o u t . In a d d i t i o n , t h e y found that the c o m b i n e d effect of g e n d e r , g r a d e level taught, and t e a c h e r age c o n t r i b u t e d to much of the variance a m o n g t e a c h e r s on a d e p e r s o n a l i zation subscale. S c h w a b (1983) s u g g e s t e d that p r e v e n t i n g the stress which leads to t e a c h e r
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the !989 AERA annual meeting. San Francisco. CA. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of James B. Cozad and Michael Radice for their contributions to the earlier version. 57
58
JENNIFER L. MALIK et al.
discern patterns or relationships among possible indicators of teacher stress. More recently, Kyriacou (1987) advocated research efforts that focus on ways of reducing stress levels in schools. Drawing on the research reviewed by Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1977) and their later work on sources and symptoms of teacher stress (Kyriacou & Sutcliffe, 1978), the present study was designed to extend the literature base on teacher stress by linking previously used variables with alternative measures of teacher stress. Schwab and Iwanicki (1982) included grade level taught and years of teaching experience as background variables in a regression analysis to investigate role conflict and role ambiguity and their relationship to teacher burnout. In two studies, Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1978, 1979) found no significant differences among means on self-reported teacher stress when comparing teachers with differing years of experience. Unlike previous studies, the present investigation used the indicators, perceived stress and life events stress, as measures of the underlying construct teacher stress. The effects of grade level taught and years of teaching experience on teacher stress were assessed via a structural equation approach. Specifically, the study testcd a L I S R E L model which used grade level taught and years of teaching experience as independent variables and perceived stress and life events stress as observed indicators of the latent variable teacher stress. The study addressed the following two questions: I. How well do the data fit the proposed structural equation model? 2. Do teaching experience and grade level taught significantly affect teacher stress?
The proposed model is shown in Figure 1. It may be considered as the simplest form of MIMIC (Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes) model since it contains a single unobserved variable that is measured by two observed indicator variables and "caused" by two observed independent variables. This type of model is extensively discussed in L I S R E L 7: A Guide to the Program and Applications (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1988). The independent variables, grade level taught and teaching experience, were hypothesized to influence the latent, unobserved variable teacher stress. The latter construct was measured by the observed variables, perceived stress and life events stress. In the figure, the directly observed variables are shown in rectangular boxes, while the latent variable is enclosed by an ellipse. The arrows indicate the direction of assumed causal flow. Based on the literature (for example, Iwanicki & Schwab, 1981; Kyriacou & Sutcliffe, 1977), the MIMIC model depicted in Figure 1 is one possible way to describe the relationships among grade level taught, years of teaching experience, and teacher stress. This model differs from the model proposed by Schwab, Jackson, and Schuler (1986) who linked sources of burnout to psychological reactions and possible consequences. In support of their model, they found organizational and personal factors (such as role conflict and ambiguity, social support of colleagues, participation in decisions, contingent punishment, autonomy, and the person's expectations for the job) to correlate significantly with the burnout phenomenon.
tJ
I Grade level J Teaching experience
The Model
/
!
Life events J stress
I
Perceived
]
J
stress
Figure 1. Proposed LISREL model of teacher stress.
"--'-
Teacher Stress
59
Association rating of severity of psychological stressors with ratings ranging from "one", indicating no stress, to "seven", indicating catastrophic stress. Teachers were asked to indicate the stress level they felt when experiencing the events listed. The sum of the item scores was then computed as a single score indicating perceived teacher stress. The Holmes and Rahe Life Events Scale is comprised of a listing of 43 life events considered to be stressful. Each life event has been assigned a stress rating ranging from 11 to 100. Subjects checked events which have occurred in their lives within the last 12 months. The sum of the item scores was then computed as a single score indicating life events stress. Both instruments were administered to all teachers involved in the study. After the sums of the item scores were computed, means, standard deviations, and correlations for all variables in the model were calculated with the computer program SPSSX.
Method
Subjects The subjects for this study were 166 elementary and secondary public school teachers from schools in northwestern Ohio's Wood and H e n r y Counties. The subjects responded to requests for volunteers from the principals of the various school districts represented. Subjects' ages ranged from 23 to 61; 82 were elementary teachers; 40 were junior high, and 39 were senior high teachers; five teachers did not list the grade level taught. Thirty-two teachers had between 1 and 5 years of teaching experience; 36 teachers had between 6 and 10 years of experience. Furthermore, 50 teachers had between 11 and 15 years of experience and 22 teachers had between 16 and 20 years of experience. Finally, 20 teachers had more than 20 years of teaching experience. Five teachers did not report the number of years of teaching experience. It should be noted that this relatively small sample from only one geographical area might not be representative of a larger national population.
Results Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and correlations) are given in Table 1. These results were subsequently used as input for the L I S R E L program. Note, however, that L I S R E L computed a corresponding covariance matrix that was analysed to estimate the relevant population parameters. To answer the first research question, three goodness-of-fit indices were considered. The overall chi-square statistic was .03 with df = 1 (p = .868). According to Joreskog and Sorbom (1988), small chi-square values, relative to the degrees of freedom, correspond to a good fit
Instruments and Procedures
Subjects completed the Rating Scale for School Related Stresses (Meinke et al., 1982) and the Holmes and Rahe Life Events Scale (Holmes & Rahe, 1967). On the Rating Scale for School Related Stresses teachers were asked to respond to 50 items related to events in a classroom situation or school setting. The teachers responded to each item on a 7-point Likert-type scale. Each interval on the scale was defined using the American Psychological Table 1
Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlationsfor the Observed Variables Yearsof Teaching Experience, Grade Level Taught, Life Events Stress, and PerceivedStress 1
2
I. Years teaching 2. Grade level 3. Lifeevents 4. Perceivedstress
1.0000 -.0871) -.0694 -.¢)829
1.0000 -. 1141 -. 1803
Mean Standard deviation
2.7520 1.2750
1.7330 .8270
3
4
1.0000 .0980
1.13000
127.1480 125.4710
172.9470 32.4200
60
J E N N I F E R L. MALIK et al.
and large chi-square values correspond to a bad fit. The small chi-square statistic in this study corresponds to a very good overall fit of the model. Next, the Q-plot of normalized residuals was examined (see Figure 2). Joreskog and Sorborn (1988) suggest fitting a straight line to the plotted points of the normalized residuals• If the slope of this line is larger than one, it is indicative of a good fit, The plotted points of the normalized residuals in this study are linear with a slope larger than one, again indicating an excellent fit of the proposed model of teacher stress. Finally, the overall coefficient of determination, R 2 = .289, indicated that almost 30% of the variability in teacher stress could be explained by the independent variables years of teaching experience and grade level taught. This proportion of explained variability seemed sufficiently high to consider the representation as an acceptable way to model teacher stress.
3,5 .
7...
°"
°° °
g
x
°°
.°
t'-
likelihood estimation is the most common method of estimating structural coefficients since ML has desirable properties which make it possible to statistically test the estimates for significance. Factor loadings can be viewed as regression coefficients in the regression of the indicator variables (life events stress and perceived stress) on the latent variable (teacher stress); structural coefficients can be conceptualized as regression coefficients of teacher stress on the independent variables, grade level taught and years of teaching experience. ML estimates for the factor Ioadings of life events stress and teacher stress were 2.608 (t = 1.540) and 1.000, respectively (the factor loading corresponding to perceived stress was "apriori set to unity in order to define a unit of measurement for the latent variable). Standardized and unstandardized structural coefficients for years of teaching experience on teacher stress were - 0 . 2 7 4 and - 2 . 6 7 2 (t = -1.521), respectively. The corresponding estimates for grade level taught were - 0 . 4 8 6 and - 7 . 3 0 2 (t = -2.482). That is, grade level taught had a significant negative effect on stress, while the influence of years of teaching experience was not significantly different from zero. Standard deviation estimates of error terms were 43.3436 (t = 7.823) for life events stress and 13.0383 (t = 5.278) for perceived stress.
°°
o
X"
Discussion
.°°•X 0
.o
z
.° °
X
x
.° .°
°
•° .° °0
-3. ~3.5
3.5
Figure 2. LISREL model for perceived teacher stress Q-plot of normalized residuals vs. normal quantiles.
With regard to the second research question, maximum likelihood (ML) estimates of the factor loadings and structural coefficients were obtained. Presently, the method of maximum
The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of grade level taught and years of teaching experience on teacher stress. The latter variable was measured by two observed variables (perceived stress and life events stress) which differed from previous work by Schwab and Iwanicki (1982) and Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1978, 1979). Unlike Schwab and Iwanicki (1982), who investigated the combined effects of grade level taught and years of teaching experience on teacher stress, the present study specifically considered the separate effects of teaching experience and grade level taught on levels of stress. Partly in agreement with Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1978, 1979), the former independent variable did not account for a significant portion of the variance in the dependent wlriable, whereas the latter had a signifi-
61
Teacher Stress
cant negative effect on teacher stress. These results could have implications for teachers, school administrators, and colleges of education. Most importantly, teachers must be aware of the sources of stress within their profession in order to protect the quality of their own lives and to positively affect the working relationship they have with their students. Additionally, it may be more important for school administrators to be aware that teachers in lower grades perceive certain classroom events to be particularly stressful, than to concentrate on alleviating the stress experience bv novice teachers. This may be due to the personality type which is attracted to teaching the lower grades or to the fact that teachers in the lower grades assume a greater proportion of responsibility for all facets of their pupils' lives. Another reason could be that senior high school teachers may feel they have more employment opportunities and thus may experience less stress if at some future time teaching proves personally unacceptable as a life-long profession. For example, Jackson, Schwab, and Schuler (1986) found burnout scores to be good predictors of preferred job status, thoughts about leaving teaching positions, participation in job training for new carcers, and actual termination of jobs. An additional implication of the results might be that colleges of education should take steps to ensure that student teachers are given adequate coping skills for the potentially stressful situations they will encounter working with students in the lower grades. Despite the good fit of the model, the relatively large error variances may be a consequence of the fact that the Holmes and Rahe Life Events Scale measured actual events, while the Rating Scale for School Related Stresses measured teachers' perception of events. Because of the disparity in the types of indicator variables used, it may be appropriate in future models to include either measures of behavior (including events) or measures of perception, rather than to attempt to combine both types of measures within a single model. A more complex model of teacher stress may be required which would incorporate grade level taught, additional independent variables (such as locus of control and/or teacher's self-esteem), and alternative measures of either teacher behavior or teacher perception of classroom events.
References Cichon, D. J., & Koff. R. H. (1980). Stress and teaching. NASSP Bulletin. 64, 91-104. Coates. T. J., & Thoreson, C. E. (1976). Teacher anxiety: A review with recommendations. Review o f Educational Research, 46.15%184. Gold. Y. (1984). The factorial validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in a sample of California elementary and high school classroom teachers. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 44, 1009-1016. Green. D. E., & Walkey, F. H. (1988). A confirmation of the three-factor structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Educational and Psychological Measurement. 48.57%585. Holmes, T., & Rahe, R. (1967). The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. I I, 213-218. lwanicki, E. F., & Schwab. R. L. (1981). A cross validation study of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Educational and Psychological Measurement. 41, 1167-1174. Jackson, S. E., Schwab, R. L., & Schuler, R. S. (1986). Toward an understanding of the burnout phenomenon. Journal o f Applied Psychology, 7 I, 630~34.(I. Joreskog. K., & Sorbom, D. (1988). LISREL 7: A Guideto the Program and Applications. Chicago, 1L: S PSS, I no. Kyriacou, C. (1987). Teacher stress and burnout: An international review. Educational Research, 29(2), 146152. Kyriacou, C. (1989). The nature and prevalence of teacher stress. In M. Cole and S. Walker (Eds.), Teaching and Stress. Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press. Kyriacou, C., & Pratt, J. (1985). Teacher stress and psychoneurotic symptoms. British Journal o f Edacational I'sychology, 55, 6 I-(',4. Kyriacou, C., & Sutcliffe, J. (1977). Teacher stress: A review, Educational Review, 29,299-3116. Kyriacou, C., & Sutcliffe, J. (1978). Teacher stress: Prevalence. sources, and symptoms. British Journal of Educational Psydtology, 48, 159-167. Kyriacou, C., & Sutcliffe. J. (1979). Teacher strcss and satisfaction. Educational Research. 2 I, 8%96. Leffingwcll, R. J. (1979). The role of the middle school counselor in the reduction of stress in teachers. Elementary School Gtddance anti Counseling, 13, 286290. Maslach, C., & Jackson. S. E. (1979). 77w measurement of experienced burnout. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychology, University of California - Berkeley. Meinke. D., Couturier, S., Miller. S. E., & Miller, K. S. ( 1982. August). Perceived stress events by teachers. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C. Needle. R. H.. Griffin, T.. Svendsen, R.. & Berney. C. (1981)). Teacher stress: Sources and consequences. The Journal o f School tlealth, 50, 96-99. Pratt. J. (1978). Perceived stress effects among teachers: The effects of age and background of children taught. Educational Review, 30, ~ 14. Schwab, R. L. (1983). Teacher burnout: Moving beyond psychobabble. Theory Into Practice, 22, 21-26. Schwab, R. L., & Iwanicki. E. F. (1982). Perceived role
62
JENNIFER L. MALIK et al. conflict,
role
ambiguity,
and
teacher
burnout.
Educational Administration Quarterly, 18, 60-74. Schwab, R. L., Jackson, S. E., & SchuleL R. S. (1986). Educator burnout: Sources and consequences. Educational Research Quarterly, 10, 14-29. Styles, K.. & Cavanagh, G. (1977). Stress in teaching and
how to handle it. English Journal, 66, 76-79. Youngs, B. B. (1978). Anxiety and s t r e s s - - how they affect teachers, teaching. NASSP Bulletin. 62, 7S-83. Received 5 September 1990 [ ]