Conflicts and ambiguity in teacher role: Conflicts among approaches and philosophies of the teachers and those of the school, demands by the Education Department for changes and innovations, new functions required to be carried out without suitable training, exaggerated administrative demands and tasks.
Time stress: Insufficient time for preparation, exaggerated demands. Pupil-teacher interaction: Pupils who lack motivation and respect for teachers, behavioral problems in the class, defective communication or lack of understanding between the teacher and the pupils against the background of different cultural, ethnic, or social status.Īmong the main causes of stress were bad behavior of pupils, heavy demands, few promotion opportunities, low salary, lack of teaching accessories, crowded classrooms, and fear of violence (Abel and Sewell, 1999 Adams, Heath-Camp and Camp, 1999 Byrne, 1998).Ģ. In a survey carried out by Howard and Johnson (2004) on the sources of stress, they found a number of factor categories: 1. In the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) carried out by Travers and Cooper (1996) in the research they conducted among teachers in Britain, they defined ten factors: pupil-teacher interaction, culture and school organizational structure, class size, changes in the educational system and in educational policy, teacher appreciation, attitude of supervisors, low status and no chance of promotion, lack of security or instability in work, ambiguity in the role of the teacher. Comish and Swindle (1994), has defined stress as a mental and bodily state that influences a person’s productivity, efficiency, health and the quality of work that he performs. Good adjustment between people and their environment lessens stress, while a lack of rapport between them leads to stress (Wilson and Hall, 2002 Brown and Ralph, 2002).Later on the concept was define as a situation that creates negative feelings such as frustration, tension, worry and anxiety (Abel and Sewell, 1999 Byrne, 1998). Stress is defined as a state in which the individual faces higher demands than the resources at his disposal (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). In studies conducted in Eastern countries it was found that the stress level among teachers was very high and widely prevalent (Kyriacou and Chien,Ģ004 Meng and Liu, 2008), while those conducted in Arab countries also reported a high level of stress among teachers (Al-Khalefa, 1999 Khaleel, 1999 Mohammed, 2000 in: Al-Mohannadi and Capel, 2007). Studies conducted in Western countries have shown that one out of every three teachers reported being under stress or even extreme stress (Pithers and Soden, 1998).
INTRODUCTION Stress among teachers is a widespread phenomenon (Geving, 2007). Keyword: Stress, coping strategies, elementary schools teachers and Israel With regard to the coping strategies thatinshould beconditions, adopted byreduction the authorities, it was found that in thea most ones were improvement working of the number of pupils class,effective and raising teachers’ salaries.
The most effective strategies of coping with stress was through conducting a healthy family life, understanding and control in teaching, personal acquaintance with the pupils, and devoting time to self leisure activities. It was found that 36.2% of the Israeli teachers reported a high to very high level of stress due mainly to the stress of overloaded classes, pupil behavioral problems, lack of educational resources, and poor working conditions. There were 425 teacher participants in the research, and a structured questionnaire was use to examine the level of stress, stressors and coping strategies in the teaching work (Kyriacou and Chien, 2004). This research study examines the phenomenon of stress, and strategies used by Israeli teachers or by the authorities to cope with it. Stress and coping strategies among science elementary school teachers in Israel Raed Zedan and Jarmas Bitar Academic College for Education in Israel, Email: Accepted 31 August, 2012 084-097, March, 2013 Available online Copyright © 2013 Transnational Research Journals Universal Journal of Education and General Studies (ISSN:2277-0984) Vol.