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F-RDIEEKSEMPlAAR MAG ONDER
EN OMSTANDIGHEDE UIT· DIE
~lIOTEEK VERWYDER WORD NJE
JOB SATISFACTION, WORK VALUES AND
WORK-RELATED STRESS OF
SECONDARY SCHOOLTEACHERS
S.O. MANESE
JOB SATISFACTION, WORK VALUES AND
WORK-RELATED STRESS OF SECONDARY
SCHOOL TEACHERS
SIPHO DAVID MANESE
s.T.D., B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed. (Psychopedagogics)
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the demands for the degree of
moctor flbilosopbiae
In the
DEPARTMENT: PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION
FACULTY OF THE HUMANITIES
UNIVERSITY OF THE ORANGE FREE STATE
BLOEMFONTEIN
PROMOTER: PROF. W.J. PAULSEN
MARCH 2001
I
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Un1veri1telt von d1e
Oranje-Vrystaat
BlOF~ONTEIN
3 1 MAY 2001
UOVS SASOL BIBLIOTEEK
This study is dedicated to my daughter
:J{!ta8onina ~ane8e
.May t/lis serve as an ill8piration.fÓ'T' /lel' own education
ii
1J.Beclaratton
7( declare that the thesis, hereby submitted to the University of the Free
;..zJ State, for purpose of obtaining the Degree of Doctor of Philosophiae, is
my original and independent work, and has never been submitted to any other
university for degree purposes.
iii
~dtnowlebgement5
..3Jn humble gratitude I wish to express my thanks to the following people:
D To my wife, Nomzi Meiki Manese, without whose love, incessant support,
genuine encouragement and motivation I would never have endeavoured this
task.
D To my only child, Khabonina Felicia Manese, for her love and understanding
during times when she had to do without the attention of a father.
D Thanks to my family (my mother, Nomvula, and my aunt, Nongaliphi), for being
supportive throughout the duration of my studies and also to my dear younger
brothers and sisters for their appreciation of my studies (Luki, Zandisile, Vusumzi,
Thembinkosi, Noni and Government).
D To Professor W.J. Paulsen for his kind attitude expressed during my study period.
His excellent guidance, valuable support, friendly encouragement, genuine
patience and his diligent and valuable assistance made this study possible.
D To Mrs Annetjie Mostert for her patience and skilfulness in typing the manuscript
so expertly under considerable pressure.
D To Mrs Sonja Liebenberg for the language editing.
D To Mrs Kate Smith for her friendliness and efficiency in handling the statistical
data analysis of this study.
D To teachers and principals in all schools in the Harrismith Education District for
their cooperation and willingness to participate in this study.
D In humble gratitude I thank God, who made me realise that I can do all things
through Christ and who strengthened me.
''J!fc:Jod isfor 118, wAO' C(JJ'l 8e against us9"
SIPHO DAVID MANESE
MARCH 2001
iv
\!table of ({ontents
Page
QCbapter 1
GENERAL ORIENTATION 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 2
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 4
1.4 HYPOTHESES 5
1.5 METHOD OF RESEARCH 6
1.6 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS 7
1.7 FURTHER COURSE OF THIS STUDY 8
1.8 SUMMARY , 8
QCbapter 2
JOB SATISFACTION AND WORK VALUES (TEACHERS' NEEDS)
2.1 INTRODUCTION 9
2.2 KEY CONCEPTS IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION 11
2.2.1 Education 11
2.2.2 The teacher 12
2.2.3 Profession 13
2.2.4 Needs 13
2.2.5 Work values 14
2.3 CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE 16
2.3.1 Appraisal of teacher 16
2.3.1.1 What is appraisal? 17
2.3.1.2 Criticism of the old appraisal systems 18
2.3.1.3 New approaches 19
2.3.2 Basic purposes of teacher appraisal 23
2.3.3 Curriculum 2005 (C2005) 24
2.4 JOB SATISFACTION 25
2.4.1 Intrinsic factors 27
2.4.1.1 Achievement. 28
2.4.1.2 Recognition 29
2.4.1.3 The work itself 29
2.4.1.4 Responsibility 30
2.4.2 Extrinsic factors 30
2.4.2.1 Status 31
v
Page
2.4.2.2 eupervtston 32
2.4.2.3 Relationship with peers 33
2.4.2.4 Salary 34
2.4.2.5 Company policy 35
2.4.2.6 Security 36
2.4.3 Locus of control 37
2.4.4 Role tensions 37
2.4.5 Leadership 38
2.5 WORK VALUES 38
2.5.1 Intrinsic work-related values 40
2.5.2 Intrinsic work outcomes values 41
2.5.3 Extrinsic job-outcomes values 42
2.5.4 Extrinsic people-related values .42
2.5.5 Extrinsic job-related values ; 42
2.6 TEACHERS' NEEDS 44
2.7 SUMMARY 46
<!rbapter 3
JOB STRESS (TEACHERS' PROBLEMS)
3.1 INTRODUCTION 48
3.2 DEFINITIONS OF STRESS .49
3.3 MODELS OF STRESS 52
3.3.1 TSII and CSI 53
3.3.2 Stress performance versus demand 55
3.3.3 The teacher's sense of efficiency 56
3.3.4 The teacher's low sense of efficiency 57
3.4 DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF STRESS 60
3.4.1 Physical perspective 60
3.4.2 Physiological perspective 62
3.4.3 Psychological perspective 63
3.4.4 Emotional perspective 64
3.4.5 Social perspective 65
3.5 THE SOURCES OF STRESS 68
3.5.1 Children's behaviour and attitudes 71
3.5.2 Poor working conditions 73
3.5.3 Time pressure 74
3.5.4 Conflict with colleagues 77
3.5.4.1 Leadership style 78
3.5.4.2 Communication 80
3.5.5 Role conflict and role ambiguity 83
3.5.6 Management and leadership 85
3.5.7 Leadership and change 88
VI
Page
3.6 BURNOUT SYMPTOMS 90
3.6.1 Teacher burnout 93
3.6.2 Burnout factors 94
3.6.3 The stress-burnout relationship 98
3.7 TEACHERS' COPING RESOURCES 99
3.8 SUMMARY 101
<!Cbapter 4
RESEARCH DESIGN
4.1 INTRODUCTION 102
4.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 103
4.3 HYPOTHESES 104
4.4 SUBJECTS 104
4.5 SAMPLE 105
4.6 MEASURING INSTRUMENT 106
4.6.1 Questionnaire 106
4.6.2 Aim of the questionnaire 107
4.7 STRUCTURE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE 108
4.7.1 Construction 108
4.7.2 Structure of the questions 109
4.7.3 Biographical information 110
4.7.4 Scale A 111
4.7.5 Scale B 112
4.7.6 Scale C 114
4.8 APPLICATION 114
4.9 RELIABILITY AND VALlDITY 115
4.10 PROCEDURES OF ANALYSING RESULTS 116
4.10.1 Scoring 116
4.10.2 Interpretation of results 117
4.11 LIMITATIONS 118
4.12 SUMMARY 118
<!Cbapter 5
RESEARCH RESULTS
5.1 INTRODUCTION 120
5.2 BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION 121
VII
Page
5.2.1 Tabling biographical information 122
5.2.2 Interpretation 126
5.3 ANALYTICAL TOOLS 126
5.3.1 t-test 126
5.3.2 F-test 127
5.3.3 ANOVA 127
5.4 HYPOTHESIS INVESTIGATIONS 128
5.4.1 Hypothesis 1 129
5.4.2 Hypothesis 2 129
5.4.3 Hypothesis 3 130
5.4.4 Hypothesis 4 131
5.5 SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS 131
5.6 OTHER COMPARATIVE STUDIES 134
5.7 SUMMARY 136
qcbapter 6
SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION 137
6.2 SUMMARY 137
6.2.1 Literature review 137
6.2.2 Empirical review 144
6.2.2.1 Hypothesis 1 145
6.2.2.2 Hypothesis 2 145
6.2.2.3 Hypothesis 3 146
6.2.2.4 Hypothesis 4 147
6.2.2.5 Other findings 147
6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS 149
6.3.1 School management should ensure that democracy and authority are
the corner-stones of all schools' activities 149
6.3.2 New teacher appraisal as well as its implementation should be given the
attention it deserves 150
6.3.3 Factors outside the work situation should be modified and be given the
necessary attention and adjustments 153
6.3.4 Factors within the work situation should be modified and be given
the necessary attention and adjustment 154
6.3.5 What happens at work (work values) should be made to be worthwhile
and desirable 156
6.3.6 Teachers should be equipped with effective stress management skills 156
6.3.7 Teachers should be enabled to identify sources of stress 157
6.3.8 Teachers should be capacitated to be able to be aware of their coping
resources in their working environment 157
6.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 158
6.5 CONCLUSiONS 159
viii
Page
BIBLIOGRAPHY 164
APPENDIX A: Questionnaire 176
APPENDIX B: Letter of Approval 187
SUMMARY 189
OPSOMMING 195
ix
Page
Table 2.1: Factor structure 41
Table 3.1: Comparison between TSII and CSI. 53
Table 3.2: Life events vs. stress 69
Table 3.3: Relationship between stress and burnout 98
Table 5.1: Age 122
Table 5.2: Post level 122
Table 5.3: Length of service 123
Table 5.4: Qualifications 123
Table 5.5: Gender 124
Table 5.6: Dependents 124
Table 5.7: Marital status 125
Table 5.8: Home language 125
Table 5.9: t-test for the difference between the means in the cases of marital status 129
Table 5.10: Correlation coefficients between teachers' level of stress and teachers'
expectations and circumstances within the work situation (fields 1 - 6) 130
Table 5.11: Levels of stress according to norm table 131
Table 5.12: Biographical particulars and teachers' level of stress 132
Table 5.13: Factors outside and inside the work situation and level of stress 133
x
1List of .:figures
Page
Figure 3.1 : A model of teacher stress 52
Figure 3.2: A model of teacher stress 54
Figure 3.3: Performance vs. arousal 55
Figure 3.4: Model of the teacher's sense of efficiency 57
Figure 3.5 Comparison of universal and personal sense of inefficacy 59
Figure 3.6: The Manager's Guide to self-development 79
Figure 6.1: Report to the review process of the Developmental
Appraisal System (DAS) for its effective implementation, 31 March 2000 151
XI
GENERAL ORIENTATION
1.1 INTRODUCTION
f7'Y' ccording to Mwamwenda (1995:86) " ... the teaching profession is in
~serious jeopardy if the majority of its members are dissatisfied with the
job of teaching and/or do not regard matters related to work as being of
central concern". It therefore seems as if there is more to a job than simply a
salary and that the employee wants to enjoy his or her work and wants to feel
that he/she is making an important and valued contribution in the work place.
It is essential to be sure and to ascertain which factors are associated with job
satisfaction and work values. Characteristics that are consistently connected
to job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are the following:
• Intrinsic factors: Achievement, recognition, work itself and responsibility
(Knoop 1991 :684).
• Extrinsic factors: Company policy, supervision, salary, relationships with
peers (Knoop 1991 :684).
It appears that satisfaction is connected to motivators that promote growth,
while dissatisfaction accompanies lower-order needs.
Therefore, it seems that characteristics such as conditions of work, roles,
responsibilities, and classroom practices are associated with job satisfaction
and work values (meaning that it is important to understand the motives of
teachers who show helpful and cooperative behaviours that are not part of
Chapter 1 General Orientation
their formal job requirements). Furthermore it is important to note that such
behaviours appear to be essential for the effective functioning (of the
organisations) of teachers (Korsgaard, Meglino & Lester 1997:160). One
must not overlook the fact that there is also a need for employees to have the
necessary skills, knowledge and professionalism to help them carry out their
duties accordingly (Mwamwenda 1995:84).
When there are factors that prevent teachers from functioning optimally in
their work situation, this may lead to frustration and indications of stress.
Research evidence (Cooper & Kelly 1993:343) indicates that many years of
systematic study has generated a substantial body of evidence regarding
factors which contribute to stress. This means that it is important to develop
strategies for effective management of stress which seems to be likely to lead
to better performances.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Researchers (Sunday Times, 29 August 1999; Van Zyl & Pietersen 1999: 74)
clearly expose the fact that South Africa is a very stressed society and that
support is becoming harder to find, as familial networks are not strong
enough. This means that without support, stress has the potential of spilling
over into different relationships and environments.
Furthermore, it needs to be noted that it was found by other researchers that
approximately 30-40% of South Africans suffer from high levels of stress (Van
Zyl & Pietersen 1999:74). The impact of stress is experienced at all levels of
society from individuals to national level.
What is also of equal concern is job satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Researchers have noted factors that can lead to dissatisfaction, e.g. a need
to be appreciated. According to the Department of Labour in the US in 1995,
46% of people who quitted their jobs, did so because they felt
2
Chapter 1 General Orientation
unappreciated (Lynn 1998:46).
It can be accepted that teachers' jobs also have a potential of being stressful
and constitute a threat to their esteem or well-being if the coping mechanisms
are reduced (Johnstone 1989:5). Therefore it would appear that teachers can
be safely included in the group of South Africans that suffers from high levels
of stress. Furthermore, researchers like Van Zyl and Pietersen (1999:74)
recommend that, in order to deal with teachers' level of stress, information
must be obtained on the factors that give rise to the high levels of stress. It
appears that the same needs to be done regarding factors associated with job
satisfaction and effective work values.
There have been fundamental changes in the South African Department of
Education, i.e. policy matters and operational matters, implemented by the
new South African Government. Furthermore, redress is viewed as a
fundamental principle underpinning education policy in a new education
system. This further leads to the belief that educators would probably be
experiencing even more stress because of the changes in the basic
occupational structure of teaching (Van Zyl & Pietersen 1999). This means
that change has become the watchword and the mandate for the future.
Teachers' perceptions of the social and political context in which they operate
have an important effect on the nature of their occupation (Bodensteyn 1994).
According to the researcher's observations, secondary school teachers' stress
levels appear to be even higher as the situations in secondary schools are
more complicated than in primary schools because of the following factors:
• Secondary teachers teach older students (as compared to primary
teachers).
• There is more resistance from students and activities like riots (which are
stressful) are common and occur frequently in secondary schools.
3
Chapter 1 General Orientation
• Secondary school students are in a critical developmental (physiological,
psychological, emotional, social) stage, therefore a more comprehensive
approach needs to be taken when dealing with them.
It is evident that there is a need for teachers to experience some measure of
fulfilment, enjoyment and satisfaction in their job (Mwamwenda 1995:84).
There is also a need for them to have information about factors that give rise
to their high levels of stress. Furthermore it is important to take note of factors
associated with work values.
Hardly any specified studies have been carried out in the Free State Province,
hence the rationale for investigating the complexity of job satisfaction, work
values and work-related stress of teachers in some secondary schools in the
Free State. Therefore, in the interest of clarity, the problem can be postulated
in the form of a question that will be researched in the study:
What is the extent of the complexity and the magnitude to which
teachers experience job satisfaction, work values and work-
related stress, with particular reference to secondary schools in
the Free State?
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
Following from the statement of the problem, the purpose of this study is
formulated as follows:
• To gain understanding of the complexity and the extent to which teachers
experience job satisfaction, work values and work-related stress with
particular reference to secondary schools in the Eastern Free State
(Harrismith Education District).
• To determine the significance of stress among a group of secondary
school teachers, as well as to determine the relationship of biographical
and organisational factors on teachers' stress. Furthermore, the purpose
4
Chapter 1 General Orientation
is to look at relations in terms of how job satisfaction and the work values
(teachers' needs) of teachers are affected by work-related stress.
In an effort to supply answers to the problem question (mentioned in 1.2) of
this study, the specific aim of this study is to investigate the extent of job
satisfaction, job stress and work values of secondary school teachers in the
Harrismith Education District. Resulting from this aim, the following specific
objectives will be pursued:
• To provide a theoretical background of job satisfaction, work values and
work-related stress of teachers.
• To establish the significance of stress as well as the satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with their work conditions, through an empirical study.
• To provide findings and general recommendations related to teachers'
existence of stress, job satisfaction and work values.
1.4 HYPOTHESES
In order to direct the empirical part of the research, the following hypotheses
are formulated:
Hypothesis I: There is a significant difference between the biographical
factors (age, sex, length of service, home language, qualification, number of
dependents and marital status) with reference to the teachers' level of stress.
Hypothesis 2: There is a statistically significant relationship between
teachers' level of stress and the factors outside the work situation (job
satisfaction and work values) which contribute to their stress.
Hypothesis 3: There is a statistically significant relationship between
teachers' level of stress and their expectations and circumstances within the
5
Chapter 1 General Orientation
work situation, which contribute to their stress.
Hypothesis 4: Teachers experience a high degree of stress.
1.5 METHOD OF RESEARCH
A literature study will be undertaken in order to acquire a broad overview of
the essentials of job satisfaction, work values and the mechanisms of
alleviating job stress. It is important to find how these essentials relate to
maximising the work performance, the productivity and the commitment of
teachers to do their job. Emphasis will be placed on intrinsic and extrinsic
factors or essentials that lead to job satisfaction. An empirical study will be
conducted in which standardised questionnaires will be completed by
secondary school teachers in the Harrismith Education District in the Free
State.
In the Free State there are 12 education district offices, namely:
• Reitz ED01.
• Phuthaditjhaba EDO.
• Odendaalsrus EDO.
• Welkom EDO.
• Bloemfontein South EDO.
• Bloemfontein West EDO.
• Bloemfontein East EDO.
• Harrismith EDO.
• Bethlehem EDO.
• Ladybrand EDO.
• Kroonstad EDO.
• Sasolburg EDO.
1 Education District Office.
6
Chapter 1 General Orientation
For the purpose of this study, only the Harrismith Education District was the
focus. This is due to the fact that the researcher worked in this district during
his study. As a result, it was easier to conduct an empirical research in
Harrismith district than in any other district. In this district the total number of
schools is 210. That includes both primary and secondary schools, as well as
public schools on farms.
Secondary schools in this district have an average of approximately 13
teachers and there is a total of 28 secondary schools. Therefore
approximately 364 questionnaires were prepared.
Secondary schools were used by the researcher because his observations
reflect that teacher motivation and teacher morale are very low in secondary
schools.
The aim of using questionnaires was to make sure that at least most, if not
all, secondary school teachers were reached to obtain their responses. Other
means of making an empirical study (e.g. interviews) would be expensive and
will demand a great deal of assistance from other people.
1.6 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
In this study the terms indicated below will mean the following:
Job satisfaction: "That is the pleasurable emotional state resulting from
perception of one's job as fulfilling or allowing the fulfilment of one's important
job values, providing these values are compatible with one's needs"
(Mwamwenda 1995:84). Furthermore, this concept is defined as an
individual's general attitude towards his/her job, work group, general working
conditions, company, salary and supervision (Nkonka 1999:7).
Work values: What people regard to be favourable to their welfare and as an
important element in their frame of reference, can be regarded as a value.
7
Chapter 1 General Orientation
Therefore a value can be regarded as normative standards to judge and to
choose among alternative modes of behaviours (Elizur 1984:379). Thus work
values refers to exactly what is happening at work in relation to its extent of
worth, importance and desirability (Knoop 1991 :683).
Stress: How individuals perceive or interpret or even react to what is going on
in their environment and to what goes on within themselves, can be regarded
as stress (Gold & Roth 1993:14). This means that stress can be both
pleasant and unpleasant, as it can be a state caused by specific syndromes
which consist of all the non-specifically induced changes within a biologic
system. This leads to the realisation of the fact that certain aspects at work
are bound to be common sources of stress (Borg & Riding 1993:4).
1.7 FURTHER COURSE OF THIS STUDY
Chapters 2 and 3 will cover the literature study, i.e. job satisfaction, work
values (teachers' needs) and job stress (teachers' problems). Chapters 4, 5
and 6 will form part of the empirical study, i.e. the research design, tabulation,
the discussion of results and recommendations.
1.8 SUMMARY
In Chapter 1 the following has been covered: Introduction, statement of the
problem, purpose of the study, the method of research, operational
definitions, and the further course of the study.
In Chapter 2 attention will be given to the needs and work values which are
linked to the job satisfaction and work performance of secondary school
teachers.
8
JOB SATISFACTION AND WORK VALUES
(TEACHERS' NEEDS)
2.1 INTRODUCTION
(Z1 common sense view suggests that a prominent feature of the daily
~tumult of the present South African society is the process of transition.
In order to cope with the new ways of doing things as well as dealing with
policy changes, efforts must be made to address obstacles originating from
the old systems, focusing on those problem areas that did not have the
confidence of stakeholders (Jantjes 1996:50).
In the light of the background of the well-known history of the South African
education system which reigned through a political philosophy of apartheid,
almost all stakeholders have very much wanted to change the whole
education system.
Teachers felt that democracy and authority must be the corner-stones of all
deliberations for a new education system (Moller & Maimane 1992:411).
Hence resistance to the undesirable apartheid education system led to the
following:
• Chaotic and revolutionary outbursts by learners.
9
.,
\
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• Learners' behaviour started to become despicable and outrageous.
• Teachers and inspectors were blamed for all negative undesirable things
in the education department, especially in the former Department of
Education and Training.
• Teachers and learners were disillusioned by many factors within the
education system.
• Teachers started to lack motivation to do their work.
• The conditions in schools started to be appalling (Moller & Maimane
1992:411 ).
From the above-mentioned it is clear that many teachers, especially black
teachers would have no way of experiencing job satisfaction, hence their
performance was affected. One may therefore assume that chaos,
helplessness, demotivation, disrespect, and resentment of authority were in
the order of the day in most of the black schools.
On 20 June 1997, during the launching of the Culture of Learning, Teaching
and Service (COLTS) in the Free State, the premier, Dr Ivy Matsepe
Cassaburi, emphasised the following in her speech (Cassaburi 1997:4):
• Learners made a valuable contribution in the fight against apartheid and
an abhorrent system in the world was destroyed.
• The most important question at that stage was how South Africans
collectively could rechannel or refocus their energies to. build a new South
Africa.
• Educationists' role in this new challenge should be informed by a clear
10
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
understanding of the roles of both educators and learners, i.e. to educate
and to learn.
Therefore this shift in focus i.e. from the old dispensation to more recent
views, is still not fully understood or taken into account in the provision and
organisation of education and needs to be addressed if schooling is to remain
relevant to society in general. Furthermore, teachers' behaviour and conduct
should be realigned to its primary importance (Moller & Maimane 1992:413).
Focusing on trying to ensure that teachers experience job satisfaction needs
to be addressed in such a way that positive educational dividends can be
reaped. It seems that it is the joint responsibility of all South Africans who
have a stake in the education and training system (not only teachers) to help
build a just, equitable and high quality system for all the citizens with a
common culture of disciplined commitment to learning and teaching. This
necessitates the importance of trying to have a common understanding of the
key concepts in the teaching profession.
2.2 KEY CONCEPTS IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION
The importance of the democratisation of the learning process with specific
reference to the attribution of meaning and the acquisition of new knowledge,
is an important issue (Fraser 1994). Common sense clearly suggests that this
coincides with the paradigm shift in the aims and objectives of education in
general. Hence the importance of giving attention in this study to concepts
like "education", "teacher", "profession", "teachers' needs" and "work values".
2.2.1 Education
In Nguru (1995:60) the following researchers define education as follows:
• Aristotle defines education as "the creation of a sound mind in a sound
11
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
body".
• Pestalozzi defines it as "the harmonious and progressive development of
man's innate powers".
• John Dewey defines it as the "development of all those capacities in the
individual which will enable him to control his environment and fulfil his
responsi biIities".
It appears from these definitions that education is the development of the
inborn physical, moral, social, emotional and intellectual capacities of the
child. Furthermore it does appear that the success of any reform - whether it
be curriculum, teaching methods, school organisation or administration -
depends upon teachers being "in play", willing to participate in the search for a
more powerful and enabling form of schooling as well as giving changes their
best shot. Therefore it is important to look at the role of teachers in the next
subsection.
2.2.2 The teacher
In society one finds people who take a keen interest in education and who
have decided to make education their career. That means that there are
people who are available to assist parents in educating their children.
Therefore one can assume that a teacher is both a transmitter of knowledge
and a moral mentor.
Claxton (1989:22) highlights the view that teachers who obtain job satisfaction
feel supported by colleagues, seniors and community and can speak frankly
about their ideas and difficulties. Therefore it is evident that in teaching, as in
most helping service professions, the importance of recognising and using a
social support system can be regarded as a positive step in alleviating work-
related stress (Sarros & Sarros 1992:57). Teachers receive training to be
equipped for a professional lifetime, and this necessitates a brief overview of
12
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
the word "profession".
2.2.3 Profession
"Profession" refers to certain responsibilities entailing teamwork, working
together and accepting different viewpoints (Ritz 1999:90). Therefore
"profession" can be regarded as a career that involves some kind of advanced
learning (Tulloch 1993: 1215). What is clearly expected of professionals is
that they need to keep up their skills in very specific ways in order to maintain
their competence and improve the quality of their performance (Kwakman
1998:58). Therefore the relevant question on the matter will be: Does
teachers' work provide sufficient opportunities for such kinds of performance?
In answering this question one has to refer to the needs of the teachers in the
classroom, in specific workplace conditions, in their cooperation with
colleagues, etc.
2.2.4 Needs
It appears that people do their job well if the process of carrying out their job
leads to needs satisfaction. This implies that the greater the chances to meet
specific workplace needs, the higher the level of satisfaction of the concerned
needs.
Tulloch (1993:016) defines the word need as "a want or requirement,
circumstances requiring some course of action".
Therefore in this study teachers' needs will be examined by different
researchers according to the following characteristics which are related to job
satisfaction (Knoop 1991 :684; Medcof & Hausdorf 1995: 198):
• The work itself/conditions of work.
• Pay.
13
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• Opportunities for promotion.
• Supervision.
• Co-workers.
• Roles.
• Responsibilities.
• Classroom practices.
• Teacher development and appraisal.
The above-mentioned characteristics seem to play a critical role in
determining satisfaction in the workplace. Therefore satisfaction is seen to
depend on motivators that promote growth needs, while dissatisfaction is
seen to depend on hygiene factors that serve lower-order needs (Knoop
1991 :684). Mwamwenda (1995:84) defines "satisfaction" as "a function of the
gap between the rewards actually granted and rewards an individual thinks
he/she deserves".
It therefore seems that people gravitate to jobs which provide opportunities to
fulfil their needs. This will also appear to be true for the teaching profession,
that is, it seems as if the satisfaction of particular needs influences the level of
satisfaction. What happens at work (i.e. work values) also seems to be the
key in the determination of job satisfaction.
2.2.5 Work values
It was clarified in 1.6 of this study that work values refer to the degree of
worth, importance and desirability of what is taking place at work (Knoop
1991:683). It seems that valuation is a qualitative act that appears to have a
link with work performance. Tulloch (1993: 1738) defines "value" as "the
worth, desirability or utility of a thing or the qualities on which these depend".
Therefore, in this study, the teachers' productivity/performance will be
examined by concentrating on the following work values:
14
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• "Exercising responsibility.
• Achievement through work.
• Influence over one's work.
• Doing meaningful work.
• Being able to use one's abilities and knowledge.
• Independence in doing one's work.
• Job satisfaction with the work itself.
• Contributing to society.
• Esteem.
• Job status.
• Recognition.
• Influence in the organisation.
• Pride in working in the organisation"
(Knoop 1991 :685).
Contributing to society has been noted above as a work value. It is evident
that the only way teachers can contribute to society is through their own
nature of professional development (McNiff 1993: 107). Hence, it is important
to examine teacher development and appraisal in schools before dealing with
job satisfaction and work values in detail.
At this stage, what appears to be more important, is what goes on in
classrooms and workplaces, as it seems to be seen as the exclusion of the
educational values of the reflective practitioners (i.e. teachers) who constitute
those communities as they engage in their own educational development in
an attempt to improve the quality of the process of education for the people
they care about (McNiff 1993:106).
It is not wishful thinking to emphasise that teacher development and appraisal
are worth considering for the improved quality of teaching in South Africa.
15
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
What happens in the classroom appears to be essential in relation to work
values, hence the importance of looking at classroom performance in the next
section.
2.3 CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE
Claxton (1989:32) indicates in his work that he always asks a specific
question at different workshops, namely: "What is it like being a teacher?"
Teachers usually answer that, in general, they feel unappreciated:
unappreciated within the schools by seniors, colleagues and pupils and
unappreciated by the world at large - parents, politicians, pundits, and the
medium.
2.3.1 Appraisal of teachers
At this stage of the history of South Africa it appears that the days of the
traditional, hierarchical performance evaluation of teachers are over. Since
the 1980s teachers country-wide had campaigned against bureaucratic,
closed and authoritarian appraisal systems that were characteristic of the
apartheid era (The Teacher, May 1997:6).
Due to the rejection of the old systems of appraisal, the activities of school
inspectors and subject advisers continued to be suspended in large parts of
the country for a want of legitimate and more acceptable systems. This
means that the required teacher evaluation should expose or be able to
identify the need in teachers to advance their professional qualifications,
providing incentive systems for improving teacher performance, improving the
skills of less effective teachers, as well as advancing teacher competence and
effectiveness (Mpisi 1999: 16).
By the end of 1998 the Department of Education released the appraisal
instrument, which contained inputs of all key stakeholders in education (see
16
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
2.3.1.3).
2.3.1.1 What is appraisal?
Appraisal aims at the means of promoting, through the utilisation of certain
techniques and procedures, the organisation's ability to achieve its goals of
maintaining or developing what it provides while at the same time seeking to
maintain or enhance staff satisfaction and development (Poster 1991: 1).
• It appears from the aim of appraisal that, for employees in any concern to
perform effectively, they must be well motivated, have a sound
understanding of what is expected of them, have a sense of ownership
and possess the abilities and skills to fulfil the responsibilities they are
charged with. Furthermore, it is evident that an effective appraisal system
requires a study of the goals of schools, classroom environments,
administrative matters, the content of subjects, student achievement and
the contribution of school programmes to the community.
Two distinct trends in appraisal are clarified by Poster (1991: 1) as follows:
• Performance review (or appraisal) focuses on the setting of achievable,
short-term goals. This review should give feedback on the following:
=> Task clarification through a consideration of the employees; an
understanding of their objectives set against those of the organisation.
=> Training needs as indicated either by shortcomings in performance or
through potential for higher levels of performance.
• Staff development review (or appraisal) concerns itself with developing
the ability of employees to perform their present or prospective roles by
means of the following:
17
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
=:> The identification of personal developmental needs.
=> The provision of subsequent training or self-development
opportunities.
Therefore, performance review is about the task itself, that is teaching, while
staff development review is about an individual, that is the teacher him-I or
herself. Correct and proper staff development appraisal can therefore lead
employees towards achieving and experiencing job satisfaction.
Thus it seems that appraisal can be seen as one of the procedures for
integrating a teacher into the teaching profession and that the desired
outcome is achieved in part by meeting the teacher's social and psychological
needs. Failure to meet the above-mentioned needs can therefore result in the
organisational or teaching profession's ill health and low job satisfaction.
2.3.1.2 Criticism of the old appraisal systems
The old appraisal systems were criticised for the following reasons:
• These systems were linked to the question of one person making
judgements which are very much subjective (The Teacher, May 1997:6).
• Teachers concentrated on impressing superiors.
• Traditional appraisal schemes had been retrospective, taking place in the
end when everything was over, in other words, when it was too late (The
Teacher, May 1997:6).
• The old systems did not have the confidence of stakeholders.
18
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• The old instrument used to evaluate teachers according to prescribed top-
down evaluation approaches (Jantjes 1996:5).
• The rating scales of the old appraisal systems contained records of what a
teacher did or did not do to convince the rater to record scores that
reflected their performance (Jantjes 1987: 131).
2.3.1.3 New approaches
As indicated earlier in this chapter (2.3.1), a new teacher appraisal system
was negotiated by the Education Labour Relations Council. A 360-degree
appraisal instrument was recommended as a relatively better system, which is
widely used in industry (The Teacher, May 1997:6).
The 360-degree technique differs from traditional, supervisor-driven appraisal
systems. Rather than having a single person play judge, people who have
direct observation of work incidents can possibly form part of the jury, i.e.
pupils, co-workers, parents and all other relevant stakeholders.
The new appraisal instrument released by the end of 1998 is seen to have
been compiled on the basis of new recommendations by different researchers
for an appraisal system.
According to information gathered from the literature study (Mpisi 1999;
Poster 1991) a new appraisal system should at least strive to achieve certain
objectives and the new appraisal instrument compares favourably with what
are stated:
• It should be such that it enables teachers to now focus on working well
with all individuals with whom they interact, rather than just concentrating
on impressing superiors. The 1998 appraisal instrument, reflects this
characteristic very well, because it has what is referred to as SDT's, i.e.
19
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
staff development teams, which are responsible for appraising the teacher.
These SOT's are made of heads of institutions or sections, peer groups
(teachers' colleagues). Meaning that not only superiors are used for
appraisal by this instrument, also teachers' peers are taken very seriously,
as they also contribute to the teachers' appraisal.
• It should at least produce a much more complete picture of a teacher's
performance.
• It should have the ability to control a range of feedback.
• Raters should be representative of key stakeholders, rather than a single
person playing judge. According to the new instrument, the head of
section, peer group and even learners do participate in appraisal of the
teacher.
• It should be development-orientated, that is appraisal should be about
professional development, not monitoring and surveillance as occurred in
the past. The 1998 appraisal instrument, is not only judgemental, but it is
also developmental. It is focusing more on assisting teachers to teach
their subject contents more effectively.
• It should focus on relatively few strategic objectives that add value to the
education situation, for example the new instrument enables a teacher to
develop or progress in his/her career or profession through its
developmental intervention strategy.
• Various raters ideally should evaluate the teacher only on the behaviour or
work incidents that they have directly observed.
• Raters should receive prior training, usually a one- or two-day workshop,
to participate in the appraisal process. In terms of the new instrument
20
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
district officials received training on implementation of the appraisal
instrument. This means that 1998 instrument honours the fact that raters
should receive prior training.
• Data collected from appraisal should be used for the improvement of
professional skills, recognition of achievements, identifying future needs
and agreeing to appropriate targets.
• Instruments for teachers' appraisal should be negotiated and be
appropriate to the teachers' environment. The 1998 instrument was
negotiated through the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC).
• Performance evaluation should be prospective and ongoing, that is
teacher appraisal should be a means to an end, not an end in itself.
• Its purpose should be to review just performance in order to build for the
future.
• A well-run appraisal system should benefit individual members of staff by:
=> giving them a greater sense of purpose through clear objectives;
=> encouraging self-development and personal initiative;
=> providing opportunity for the dissemination of career advice;
=> providing the opportunity to initiate problem-solving and counselling
interviews.
• It should also benefit both individual members of staff and the organisation
by:
=> helping to build morale;
=> enhancing better communication, both vertical and lateral, and the
creation of a more open style of management;
21
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
~ providing a mechanism whereby individual effort may be recognised
even when no financial reward can be given.
• The teacher appraisal system should be shaped by the political,
organisational, and instructional context or environment in which it takes
place.
• Teachers desire that an appraisal system should at least develop a sense
of self-worth, stimulate critical self-awareness, and provide channels to
express feelings (Mpisi 1999: 15). This means that teachers also need an
option to appeal when they disagree with the authorities.
It appears that no one system will ever achieve all the above-mentioned
potential benefits of an appraisal system. Therefore it seems that the climate
and the circumstances of the organisation will determine which of the potential
benefits might realistically be achieved and which could not be
accommodated.
Therefore the following criticisms are noted which relate to the implementation
of the new 1998 appraisal instrument:
• It is difficult to implement this instrument in schools on private property
(i.e. farm schools) as the school may be a one-man school (therefore
almost impossible to form SOTs or panels).
• It is difficult to organize panel meetings as many of the office base
educators are field workers.
• In many instances, the District Managers or Principals, who should
head SOTs are either having tight schedules or they are not really
committed to appraisal (refer to Figure 6.1).
22
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
2.3.2 Basic purposes of teacher appraisal
One can obviously state that the success of an appraisal scheme has to be
judged in terms of how far it achieves the purposes or for which it was
established. Clearly, how teachers perceive the purpose(s) of appraisal, will
probably affect how they respond to it and for this reason the purpose(s) need
to be fully understood and agreed to by all those involved.
It appears that the instruments for teachers' appraisal should be negotiated
and be appropriate to the teachers' circumstances. This means that a
teacher-friendly appraisal system is favoured more than any other approach
(e.g. the prescribed top-down approach), as it is believed that it is transparent
and offers teachers the right to question assessment:
"...teachers would like a teacher friendly appraisal system in
contrast to the prescribed top-down approaches of the past, and
it should be a transparent system; the teacher should have the
right to question assessment, to get a better understanding of
how to develop and to improve actively, and how to be involved
in organising the system at school level" (Jantjes 1996:52).
Therefore, it is clear from the above-mentioned statement that teachers
believe that appraisal should be seen as something positive to help them
develop to the best of individual teachers' capacities rather than seeing it as
something that is imposed on them from outside as a measure to see that
they are keeping up to date. Thus teachers would like to see it as something
that should push them forward rather than something from outside that is
trying to pull them up. Subsequently the next important concept, i.e. job
satisfaction, is discussed.
23
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
2.3.3 Curriculum 2005 (C200S)
The South African Minister of Education, Prof. Kader Asmal, appointed a
committee to review C2005 during the period from April to June 2000. The
Curriculum Review Committee highlighted two main dual challenges
confronting curriculum designs:
• The first is the "post-apartheid" challenge which relates to efforts in order
to ensure the existence of conditions with a view to greater social justice,
equity and development.
• The second is the need to align the curriculum to the "global
competitiveness challenge" which relates to efforts of ensuring the
existence of the platform for developing knowledge, skills and
competencies for innovation, social development and economic growth for
the 21 st century.
The Review Committee maintains that more and better education can create
the conditions for enhanced social and personal development and act as a
lever for social change. What appears to be a distressing reason is that the
curriculum transformation policy process was put in place to address inequity
in the South African education system. Instead it appears that inequality
among schools is being increased.
This increasing (by curriculum transformation) inequality among schools is
viewed or understood as follows: On the one hand
• there are schools which are well resourced;
• there are schools where teachers and principals are well qualified and
trained;
24
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• there are schools where teachers are active in professional development;
• there are schools where time for preparation and professional activity is
built into teachers' work conditions.
On the other hand, the vast majority of schools are associated with the
following impediments:
• A lack of basic necessities such as onsite water or electricity.
• Schools which in some cases have classes of up to 70 learners.
• Schools where there are several unqualified and underqualified teachers.
• Schools where the supply of textbooks is delayed, if it exists at all (Vally
2000:2-13).
The common sense generalisation based on the expressed sentiments (on
curriculum transformation) can be identified as the lack of alignment (as
indicated in the report) between curriculum policy and practice, as well as
insufficient follow-up support to teachers.
Therefore it is clear that if teacher development and training is inadequate as
stipulated in the report, it can possibly lead to teachers experiencing more
work stress or less job satisfaction.
2.4 JOB SATISFACTION
According to Organ and Lingl (1995:339), after having conducted at least 15
independent studies, it was found that such studies support the validity of the
long-held conventional wisdom, namely that satisfaction is connected to
discretionary contributions of individuals rather than on task-based
25
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
performance, which may be limited by non-attitudinal factors.
At this stage it appears that, if more effort is taken to ensure that teachers
experience job satisfaction, it can possibly lead to better performance, more
commitment and more motivation to do better. It is further confirmed by other
researchers (Medcof & Hausdorf 1995: 198) that people perform their work
well if the carrying out of those jobs leads to the satisfaction of their needs.
Furthermore people perform poorly if work does not lead to need satisfaction.
It appears that, whether a teacher experiences satisfaction in his/her job,
depends on the degree to which he/she receives positive feedback and
rewards. Those rewards are compared to what others of comparable training
and experience received (Mwamwenda 1995:85). Kremer-Hayon and
Goldstein (1990:287) refer to satisfaction as: "a function of the gap between
the rewards actually granted and the rewards individuals think he/she
deserves".
It appears that job satisfaction is associated with the following factors:
• Teaching a group of pupils or a standard what they feel comfortable with.
• Parents' authority and pupils' expression of appreciation.
• Passing on knowledge and values to others.
• Teaching pupils' favourite subjects.
• Exercising autonomy in the classroom.
• Participation in decision-making.
• Teachers' freedom to do their work as they see fit.
• An adequate supply of learning material and equipment.
• A good salary.
• A reasonable class size.
• Support and cooperation with colleagues.
• Enjoying teaching as an occupation.
• Teachers require due respect from the community.
26
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• Principals should facilitate the staff's cooperative efforts.
• The teaching profession should keep up with expectations.
• Encouragement received from those in authority.
• Participation in policy-making.
• Cooperation from pupils, parents and teachers.
• Participation in school management.
• Job security.
• Commitment on the part of workers.
• Having friends in the same employment.
• Teacher-pupil ratios and relations.
(Mwamwenda 1995:84-86).
Although it appears that there are many factors associated with job
satisfaction, the key ones appear to be related to teachers' relationship with
other teachers, as well as their relationship with people they interact with
more frequently, namely pupils, parents and principals (Mwamwenda
1995:86).
Factors within the classroom are also very important for job satisfaction.
These are aspects like having some degree of freedom in the classroom to
use one's own ideas, imagination, creativity, to have some say in the class
and subjects one teaches. Teachers also feel very strongly about being part
of decision-making and policy-making.
Adding to what has already been discussed, the following factors also appear
to have a direct bearing on job satisfaction.
2.4.1 Intrinsic factors
Knoop (1991 :684) identifies the following intrinsic factors, which appear to be
consistently related to job satisfaction and dissatisfaction:
27
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• Achievement.
• Recognition.
• The work itself.
• Responsibility.
It appears that the above-mentioned intrinsic factors seem to be the sources
of satisfaction in the job situation. Hence it is necessary to discuss the intrinsic
factors briefly at this stage.
2.4.1.1 Achievement
Achievement refers to a process or act of reaching, gaining acquiring or
attaining by effort (Tulloch 1993:14).
Therefore it appears to be important that teachers in whatever way they are
involved in the teaching profession, should be enabled to achieve their goals,
that is:
• Being enabled to teach pupils successfully.
• Helping pupils to gain knowledge and wisdom from their lessons.
• Achieving the standards set by the school management.
• To experience a sense of achievement through their performance by using
the available resources.
This means that teachers should at least understand how learners learn and
they should try to meet those needs. By doing so, they will have a sense of
their own achievement (Rich 1998:38).
28
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
2.4.1.2 Recognition
Recognition is defined as an act of showing appreciation of performance or
efforts (Tulloch 1993:1279). It appears that teachers will experience a sense
of satisfaction if their efforts and performance at work are recognised.
This can even be by a way of giving rewards where it is necessary. This
further supports the fact that the recognition of achievement appears to be
very important for teachers' maximised efforts for performance.
Through observations it is clear that the major role of supervisors is to show
recognition for what teachers are doing. This further indicates that, for
teachers to become better at their job, certain common procedures and
approaches aimed at inspiring mutual trust between teachers and supervisors
are very important.
2.4.1.3 The work itself
At this stage it is important to note that professional development refers to
changes in knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours. Therefore these
changes appear to be essential for the implementation of new developments
and the improvement of the quality of the service provided to clients
(Kwakman 1998:58).
According to this researchers' views work itself as an intrinsic factor leads to
job satisfaction by creating conducive atmosphere at work, that makes the
following possible:
• One is enabled to exercise responsibility and that in itself is fulfilling;
• One is enabled to achieve through doing the work itself;
29
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• One is enabled to have influence over one's work;
• A feeling that one is doing meaningful work;
• Opportunities are created for one to use one's abilities and
knowledge;
• There are chances for one to exercise independence in doing one's
work; and
• Work itself contributes to society's betterment and development.
Therefore it is clear that the above-mentioned variables stem from the content
and worth of the work itself.
2.4.1.4 Responsibility
Responsibility refers to the extent to which teachers have achieved minimum
acceptable levels of competence or prescribed standards of performance
(Tulloch 1993: 1131).
It is very important that teachers should feel responsible for executing their
duties as set and required. In the context of the discussed intrinsic factors,
job satisfaction basically entails the extent to which an employee enjoys
his/her work. As a result, the employee experiences pleasure and fulfilment.
2.4.2 Extrinsic factors
The following factors are regarded as extrinsic factors (originating or operating
from the outside or external influence, that is, the employee's working
situation and circumstances):
30
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• Status.
• Supervision.
• Relationship with peers.
• Salary.
• Company policy.
• Security.
(Knoop 1991 :684).
2.4.2.1 Status
Status refers to a rank or social position in relation to others (Tulloch
1993: 1521). At work, status refers to one's legal standing which determines
his or her rights and duties.
Claxton (1989:38) addressed a question to one of the teachers in a group
session: "What is it that gives you the confidence to try things out?" The
teacher's response is quoted below:
"It's partly the status I have within the department. I know there
are people around who think I'm an OK teacher, so if I screw up
occasionally that's not going to sink my reputation .... I think it's
more difficult now to get that basis of status and confidence for
new teachers coming into the profession, if only because there
aren't the promotions or the movement of new jobs. And the
status is important. You need to have someone to say 'you are
good ... you're worth this'. But if you're stuck on scale 1 for years
you don't feel in a position to try anything new".
According to Carlapia and Gardner (1995:321) a positive relationship exists
between job satisfaction and organisational level (that is status), with ratings
of job satisfaction increasing as people climb the organisational level. It
31
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
seems that characteristics of jobs that are related to job satisfaction vary
across organisational levels.
It then appears that teachers who sense a possible development in their work
level will experience job satisfaction and will be more willing to try new things
and strategies within their work.
2.4.2.2 Supervision
Carlopio and Gardner (1995:321) indicate that" ... potential advantages of
supervision (e.g. more varied and interesting work, more autonomy) may
account for the increases in job satisfaction".
Supervision actually refers to overseeing the actions or work of persons,
managing, controlling and directing the execution of tasks (Tulloch
1996: 1567). Therefore it seems that the way management teams (i.e.
principals, deputy principals and heads of department) work with teachers on
a daily basis has a bearing or effect towards enhancing the teachers'
satisfaction.
Two contrasting supervisory styles have been identified through research
(Carlapia & Gardner 1995:321). At the one end there is a deficit-dependency
model and on the other end of the spectrum there is a partnership model.
Brief definitions of these models of supervision are as follows:
• The deficit-dependency model refers to a situation where the trainee is
assumed to be deficient in a number of pedagogical skills and must
therefore depend upon and follow the advice of a more experienced
person.
• The partnership model refers to a situation where the trainee and
experienced teachers are both regarded as having different kinds of skills
32
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
and knowledge to be pooled collaboratively during an exercise.
Therefore if one sees supervision as a collective responsibility, then it is
important that schools should develop a plan for supervision (which all
stakeholders in education agree to) which may need to be revised every year
to make it more relevant to prevailing circumstances in one's place of work. It
seems that teachers expect supervision and control of their work, because
they are looking for acknowledgement of what they have done. It seems as if,
through the appreciation of their work by the authority, they derive
satisfaction.
2.4.2.3 Relationship with peers
According to Mwamwenda (1995:85) Canadian teachers expressed
satisfaction with "colleagues who were said to be helpful and cooperative".
Thus it could be assumed that also South African teachers' job satisfaction is
enhanced by the support and cooperation of colleagues.
It is important for an individual to have a positive relationship with co-workers.
This type of relationship seems to be able to boost one's ability to achieve in
the work situation. Subsequently interpersonal interaction appears to make
the following possible:
• Sharing of ideas with eo-workers.
• Getting feedback from others about one's contribution.
• Learning to work and socialise with colleagues for betterment.
• Learning to respect other people's opinions.
• Discussions with eo-workers appear to enable one to be better prepared
33
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
for delivering good work in one's classroom and also to even develop new
techniques and styles of handling challenging situations in one's class.
Furthermore the importance of teachers' relationship with colleagues can be
summarised as follows:
• A pleasant, relaxed relationship with staff members is to the benefit of all
those associated with a school. This type of relationship is a prerequisite
for the pupils' own actualisation.
• As they are able to compare themselves with others, teachers work harder
and are more successful in their teaching. Hence they are able to
actualise their full potential as teachers.
• When teachers are not subjected to unnecessary stress ansmq from
negative relationships with their colleagues, less time is spent on
unproductive disputes, unpleasant polarisation and even gossip
(Mwamwenda 1995:85).
It appears that teachers find themselves in many relationships in their daily
tasks and these relationships contribute towards their actualisation (hence
they feel satisfied with their jobs). Teachers, for example, have relationships
with seniors, juniors, peers, pupils, parents, God, subject content, etc.
2.4.2.4 Salary
Salary refers to a fixed regular payment, usually weekly, monthly or quarterly
made by an employer to an employee, especially a professional or a white-
collar worker (Tulloch 1993: 1358).
It seems that salary is also one of the major sources that cause employees to
experience job satisfaction. Those who receive a good salary or living wage
34
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
are usually much more willing and prepared to perform and be productive.
Those with lower salaries appear to be less productive.
According to Schoderbek and Deshpande (1993:391)
" ... an effective pay system can increase individuals' motivations
to perform by as much as 40%, subsequently increasing
productivity, decreasing costs, and increasing competitiveness."
On 6 and 7 August 1997 teachers country-wide in South Africa were on a
strike, demanding a salary increment of 9,5%, while the government was only
prepared to go up to 8%. It was not the first time that there has been a strike
in South Africa by teachers demanding a salary increment. Hence it appears
that salary is a very important source of ensuring that employees are happy in
their jobs.
Furthermore, teachers feel unappreciated, overloaded, confused and pushed
around, while they have a very clear need, namely to feel appreciated for
what they deliver (Claxton 1989: 1). The next characteristic believed to be
having an impact on job satisfaction is company policy.
2.4.2.5 Company policy
It usually works better for schools if the school policies can be drawn up after
proper consultation with all the stakeholders in the community. One would
like to believe that, if teachers are involved in drawing up or drafting policies
for schools, they would keep to the standards they have drafted for
themselves.
According to the researcher's observations and teaching experience, the
below-mentioned issues should be taken into account when drawing up a
school policy:
35
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• The school should focus on successful learning for children.
• The school should affirm the values and uniqueness of each person,
recognising differences - culture, gender, learning style, age, language,
and role - as well as checking on different perceptions and contributions to
design a shared future that works for all.
• The school should work to build a sense of community among children and
adults (both professional educators and community members) that
ensures a continuity of values and cohesion between the school and the
community it serves.
2.4.2.6 Security
It seems that if teachers experience the following conditions which allow them
to experience security, their job will only then start to be satisfying:
• If they occupy permanent posts.
• If they gain the confidence of parents and pupils as they are enabled to
meet set standards.
• If they feel no threat exposed to their family, that is financially, socially or in
any other way.
It is important to note that one of the organisational variables regarded to be
having an impact on work satisfaction, is to have a secure and orderly
school climate. Therefore, if work situations are unclear and unpredictable,
a feeling of safety is highly unlikely (Johnson & Holdaway 1991 :53).
Furthermore, a climate that is likely to make employees feel safe and secure
at work, is seen to be characterised by the following:
36
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• When the management is perceived to be flexible and supportive.
• When employees are free to exercise control over their own work.
• When there are clear agreed-upon organisational roles and norms, as well
as freedom of expressing feelings and opinions (Johnson & Holdaway
1991 :53).
After this analysis of job satisfaction, it appears important at this stage to
focus on worthwhile and desirable values concerning what happens at work.
2.4.3 Locus of control
Although teachers worldwide have different ways to improve education on all
levels, their ultimate aim is to provide the best possible education. What is
necessary to achieve this is a positive job attitude of all staff members. With
regard to control to achieve job satisfaction, those teachers who prefer
internal control, Cheng (1994:180) found to have a more positive job attitude
in terms of organisational commitment, intrinsic satisfaction, role clarity and a
feeling of a job challenge. They also have more positive perceptions of the
school organisation in terms of the principal's leadership, organisational
structure and teachers' social norms.
Cheng (1994:186) concludes that locus of control seems to be a powerful
indicator of teachers' job attitude and feeling, perceptions about the ways the
organisation are structured and thus about their level of job satisfaction.
2.4.4 Role tensions
Bacharach and Bamberger (1990:321) clearly state that role conflict and role
ambiguity are significantly related to job satisfaction but directly related to job
37
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
satisfaction and eventually job stress. NewelI (1995:40) agrees that role
ambiguity and role conflict are possible sources of stress at work.
According to Mullins (1989:338) the tension developing in a work situation
easily can develop in role stress. A certain amount of stress can be
psychologically beneficial as it can improve performance. On the other hand,
high amounts of stress can be harmful, causing tension, frustration and
dissatisfaction.
2.4.5 Leadership
According to Bohloko (1999:44) principals have a challenging managerial role.
They have to lay the groundwork for the sound motivation toward
organisational goals by involving staff members in planning and formulating
the organisational goals.
It should be clear that the teachers' job satisfaction depend on the relationship
between the teachers' perception and experience of the principal's behaviour
and their own expectations, values and skills. In whatever leaders do, directly
or indirectly, they influence the satisfaction of their subordinates (Strauss
1977:299). The direct influence lies in their daily interactions while the indirect
one lies in the management activities that design systems for the
organisation.
Tarrant (1991 :33) states that the quality of education should be determined by
the success of educational leaders, arguing that these leaders have a
significant role in the overall morale and effectiveness of teachers and as well
as on the success of the students.
2.5 WORK VALUES
In the work situation, work values are regarded as of the utmost importance
38
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
(Knoop 1991 :683). In this context valuation can be seen as a qualitative act,
an inner estimation and judgement of what gives value to exertion and effort.
As values are defined as worthwhile and desirable concerning what happens
at work, different types of behaviours (other orientated values) have been
identified to be necessary for the effective functioning of organisations,
namely:
• Collective morality.
• Social interest.
• Social responsibility.
• Prosocial orientation.
• Organisational citizenship.
• Prosocial behaviour.
• Organisational spontaneity.
• Selflessness.
• Cooperation.
• Concern for the welfare ofothers.
(Korsgaard, Meglino & Lester 1997: 160).
In the researcher's view, these work values are assumed to influence
teachers' satisfaction to a very large degree. For example, collective morality
can be related to the fact that social support may also be regarded as
indicative of a favourable school culture or a collaborative climate, which may
also be regarded as a significant factor in professional development.
The social aspects of work values are important within the context of job
satisfaction because these relate to relationships with important fellow
workers. These relationships could lead to better understanding of one
another and real concern for the welfare of others. Social responsibility
develops and the school setting becomes a place where concerns, problems,
happiness and other personal matters are shaved.
39
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
Therefore it appears to the researcher that the professional activities that
teachers perform most frequently are sharing (cooperation) experiences and
activities relevant to new developments and this appears to be how teachers
cultivate experiences of satisfaction.
Table 2.1 attempts to reflect the interrelation of different work values that
appear to be important to leading employees or teachers to attaining job
satisfaction which seems to enhance maximum performance. Hence the
importance of looking into different categories of work and people related
values under the sections to follow.
2.5.1 Intrinsic work-related values
Common sense view suggests that everybody, whatever their sphere of
activity, should be engaged in a continuous search for improvement. One of
the constructs of this value is achieving through work, meaning that success
may also be thought of in terms of examination results, few absentees, active
participation by pupils, good classroom behaviour by pupils, etc. (Rowland &
Birkett 1992:46). This could then lead to the teacher feeling that he/she is
functioning independently in the classroom, achieving success and being of
value in the society.
40
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
Table 2.1: Factor structure
Values Their constructs
• Intrinsic work-related values • Being responsible.
• Achieving through work.
• Influence over your work.
• The opportunity to use your abilities and
knowledge.
• Made to feel independent in your work.
• Being of value to society through your
contributions.
• Job satisfaction as regards the work.
• Intrinsic work outcomes values • Esteem (being valued as a person).
• Job status.
• Extrinsic job outcomes values • Recognition for work well done.
• Making a difference in an organisation.
• Take pride in working for an organisation.
• Benefits (better salary, vacation,
pension).
• Job security.
• Job satisfaction with pay.
• Extrinsic people-related values • Relating with supervisors and authorities.
• Relating with co-workers and peers.
• Extrinsic job-related values • Possibilities of promotion.
• Convenient working hours.
• Working conditions.
• Conditions of service.
(Knoop 1991 :686)
2.5.2 Intrinsic work outcomes values
One of the constructs of this value is recognition for work well done. It is
evident that authorities' or supervisors' comments or responses to teachers'
efforts of going an extra mile, has a significant impact on teachers' satisfaction
at work. Therefore management should be viewed as human behaviour
which is inescapable and should be purposefully directed for the good of the
41
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
organisation (Smith 1999:318). This means that when teachers feel they are
recognised as of being of value to the organisation, they will easily be able to
make a valuable contribution to society. This positive disposition will motivate
teachers to work hard because they take pride in working in their school.
2.5.3 Extrinsic job outcomes values
It appears that satisfaction with the payor salary fits in well with all the other
extrinsic job outcomes, i.e. working conditions and convenient hours of work.
Although much is suspected about the importance of linking rewards to
performance, research (Schoderbek & Deshpande 1993:391) has shown that
an effective pay system can increase an individual's motivation to perform by
as much as 40%, with subsequently increasing productivity, decreasing costs,
and increasing competitiveness.
2.5.4 Extrinsic people-related values
Relating to co-workers and peers appears to be another important construct
related to employee's satisfaction. Another effective strategy is teamwork,
meaning that teams work together to maximise the efforts of each member in
order to reach the team's goals, eventually reaching individuals' goals or
satisfying individual needs.
2.5.5 Extrinsic job-related values
The possibilities of promotion is one of the constructs of this value. Some
people pursue a particular career because they have a strong feeling that it is
a calling for which they are well qualified and they see it as a role where they
can make a recognisable contribution to society. Therefore it appears
important for working conditions to be such that they offer opportunities for
career development, which will lead to promotion.
42
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
Furthermore in relation to values in education, the Minister of Education, Prof.
Kader Asmal, set up a working group which came up with the summarized
recommendations below:
The South African National Department of Education came up with a working
group, in February 2000, which was given a mandate to research and report
on values in education. The working group (Prof. Wilmot James, Mr Franz
Auerbech, Ms Zubeida Desai, Dr Herman Giliomee, Dr Pallo Jordan, Ms
Antjie Krog, Mr Tembile Kulati, Mr Khetsi Lehoko, Ms Brenda Leibowitz and
Ms Pansy Tlakula) in May 2000 came up with a report that highlighted the
following values, which need to be promoted in the South African education
system:
• Equity: This in essence refers to the fact that the need for equality of
opportunity is a perspective that educators must bring to bear on the
learning environment and must therefore be a central part of the pre-
service and in-service training of administrators and teachers.
Furthermore this perspective needs to be supported by all sectors of
society (i.e. business, government and divil society) especially in how they
allocate resources and set priorities.
• Tolerance: This refers to a meaningful concept of mutual understanding,
reciprocal altruism and active appreciation of the value of human
difference.
• Multilingualism: The main value that is promoted in this area of
language, is the importance of studying through the language one knows
best, and then the fostering of multilingualism.
• Openness: The issue principally in this area, has to do with the value of
being open and receptive to new ideas and willingness to debate ideas in
43
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
order to arrive at quality decisions.
• Accountability: The basic principle here is that teachers and
administrators must be leaders and set the example, because children
learn by examples consciously or unconsciously. Therefore everybody
has to take responsibility.
• Honour: According to the working group, for the average person, the limits
of one's immediate culture are limits of employability, social acceptance,
dignity, social honour and citizenship. Meaning that all our efforts should
include our sense of honour and identity (NdoE: May 2000).
At this stage it appears important to move from work values to teachers'
needs. This means that the next section will deal in depth with teachers'
needs that should be met in order for them to experience job satisfaction.
2.6 TEACHERS' NEEDS
It is evident that teachers regard a need for an acceptable evaluation system
as most important. They seek an appraisal instrument that is enabling, that
allows self-revelation and forms part of teaching (Jantjes 1996:50). This
means that teacher evaluation should help to identify demotivated teachers so
that such teachers could be offered in-service training that will boost their
morale and confidence.
At this stage of the history of education in South Africa it seems that a critical
number of teachers who see their job as not just delivering education, but as
recreating it in however small a way, is the absolute precondition for change
that is purposeful and cumulative (Claxton 1989:3).
The following have been identified as key areas which appear to be teachers'
needs:
44
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• The basic demand teachers are making is that the instruments for their
appraisal should be negotiated and be appropriate to their context.
• Teachers need good salaries; reasonable class sizes; support from
colleagues; as well as cooperation from pupils, students and teachers.
• When it comes to school management, it is very clear that teachers would
like to have a chance of participation (Claxton 1989:3).
From this analysis of teachers' needs, it becomes clear that new policies are
needed to reverse the trends which dominated the troubled history of South
African education and training. It also seems that a century or more of
discriminatory provision has entrenched huge disparities in physical facilities,
professional services and teaching quality.
Other categories for teachers' needs are highlighted below:
• A need for instructionally-focused school leadership
This entails clear expectations that good management should at least be able
to bring about order and consistency by designing formal plans, putting up
clear organisational structures and then analysing results against the
acceptable plans. This means that leadership should address the issues of
change, i.e. establishing direction by cultivating a vision of the future (Robbins
1998:347).
• Support from the district
Clear guidance and directives from the Education District Offices and the
Department of Education are essential.
45
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• Involvement and support from parents
Parents and community members should recognise teachers' work which is
well done and support them when dealing with difficult matters related to their
learners. Furthermore parents need to know that everything about education
is cooperative, and that teachers expect parents to work with them in
mutually supportive ways (Rich 1998:39).
2.7 SUMMARY
In this chapter the following aspects (or subsections) were given attention:
• Work values were discussed under the following headings: Intrinsic work-
related values; intrinsic work outcomes values; extrinsic job outcomes
values; extrinsic people-related values; and extrinsic job-related values.
• Classroom performance was viewed in the context of the appreciation or
unappreciation of the work done by the teacher in the classroom.
• Under the subsection of teacher appraisal it became clear that appraisal
should be seen as one of the procedures for integrating a teacher into the
teaching profession and that the desired outcome is achieved in part by
meeting the teacher's social and psychological needs.
• Job satisfaction was viewed in the light of intrinsic factors (i.e.
achievement, recognition, the work itself and responsibility) and extrinsic
factors (status, supervision, relationship with peers, salary, company policy
and security).
• The important aspect of work values received attention by referring to
certain intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
46
Chapter 2 Job satisfaction and work values (teachers' needs)
• Teachers' needs were identified with regard to the correct instrument of
appraisal that is appreciated and agreed upon by all stakeholders.
It appears that, for one to be able to meet one's needs in the working
situation, one has to feel and experience job satisfaction, which appears to be
leading towards maximum performance and commitment.
One other aspect identified to be of greater concern in the teaching profession
is the stress which teachers experience in their teaching practices. Therefore
Chapter three will address the issue of job stress.
47
JOB STRESS (TEACHERS' PROBLEMS)
3.1 INTRODUCTION
~ or teachers to deal with stress effectively and intelligently, they need to
,.JJ understand and manage their own stress before they can even think
about bringing about changes (Claxton 1989:42).
Therefore it seems that, if teachers lack effective stress management that
results in the fact that they are unable to meet their needs at work, it may
furthermore result in difficulty to experience job satisfaction. Hence their
performance is likely to be poor in such circumstances. Therefore a lack of
effective stress management may negatively affect people's well-being, lead
to dissatisfaction, to reduced job performance and feelings of not being fully
committed or motivated to do one's job.
What appears to be most needed at this stage is the answer to the question of
how teachers have to cope with stress in order to maintain or improve their
job performance. It appears that the first step in dealing with stress is to
acknowledge its existence in teaching. Understanding the dynamics of stress
seems to be important as far as teachers are concerned, so that they will not
associate stress with personal weakness and professional incompetence
(Dunham & Cotgrove 1986:1).
48
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
3.2 DEFINITIONS OF STRESS
Many efforts have been made in recent years to increase knowledge about
stress which is experienced at work. According to Mazibuko (1996: 17), a
standard definition of the term "stress" that is accepted by most national and
international researchers on stress hardly exists. The following are some
definitions of stress:
• Rowland and 8irkett (1992: 166) define stress as lack of correlation
between an individual and his or her environment.
• Sandovals (1988:393) defines stress as a call for a response or an action
when one's potentialities and abilities appear to be insufficient to meet a
need for personal resources.
• Mazibuko (1996:18) defines stress as "...a condition that arises when a
person's perception of an environment demand exceeds his perception of
resources to cope with it ...".
• Johnstone (1989:4) defines stress as u ••• a neutral physiological
phenomenon, in terms of the non-specific response of the human body to
any demand ...".
• Elias (1989:398) emphasises that stress refers to individual responses that
are mental, emotional, physical and behavioural to an anxiety-producing
event.
Therefore the researcher feels that stress refers to an obvious imbalance
between coping resources and intensified demands or needs. To be more
relevant to this study, teachers' stress appears to be referring to the
experience of unpleasant feelings such as anger, anxiety, depressions,
49
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
nervousness, frustration and tension resulting from the circumstances of their
work as teachers.
According to Dunham and Cotgrove (1986: 1-4), there are three specific
approaches to a better understanding of the nature of stress in teaching:
• The first approach focuses on pressures exerted on teachers in schools.
From this angle stress is seen as a "set of courses, not a set of symptoms"
(Dunham & Cotgrove 1986:1). One can gather from this definition that it
appears as if stress can be tolerated up to a certain point, but when it
becomes intolerable, damage may result, either psychologically or
physiologically or both. Therefore it becomes clear that stress is not
necessarily a bad thing. A certain amount of stress is still essential for
survival and to get other things in motion (Rowland & Birkett 1992: 167).
When there are too many demands on teachers to deliver, that is what can
possibly result in too much stress, which is dangerous.
• The second approach focuses on the teachers' reactions to the pressures.
From this angle, stress is viewed as unpleasant feelings related to tension,
frustrations, anxiety, fatigue and depression (Dunham & Cotgrove 1986:2).
It therefore seems that teachers' reactions to pressures exerted upon them
consist of emotional and bodily manifestations, such as headaches,
muscular tension and stomach ailments.
• The third approach looks at both pressures and reactions and also coping
resources which teachers use when they attempt to cope with their
difficulties. From this angle, stress is defined as too many pressures and
not enough coping resources (Dunham & Cotgrove 1986:3). From this
definition it appears important to try and identify demands which teachers
perceive and experience as stressful as well as their behaviour in
response to these demands.
50
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
In summary, it needs to be noted that stress in this study (and other studies)
is interpreted as a process of complex (physiological, physical, emotional and
behavioural) reactions caused by new or long overdue demands or pressures
which are significantly more than coping resources (Dun ham & Cotgrove
1986:3; Van Zyl & Pietersen 1999:75).
In the next section terms associated with stress are defined, as these terms
are used more frequently when referring to stress. The terms as defined
below will be used in this study in the context of the given definitions. A
definition of these terms will further help to obtain a better understanding of
the concepts analysed in this chapter.
• Stressors
According to Hayward (1993:5), a stressor is a feeling within or outside the
individual which leads to stress response. On the basis of that experience or
feeling, which is an individual's unique perception, stress can then be viewed
as negative or positive. Gold and Roth (1993: 15) refer to a negative
perception of stress as distress, which is an unpleasant experience, and the
positive aspect is referred to as eustress, which is an event that is
experienced as pleasant.
• Coping strategies
Coping strategies are viewed as factors that boost people's efforts to bring
stress under control. This means that strategies may fall into categories in
their processing that might be a reaction to what is already experienced or
planning for what is anticipated.
Therefore it appears that teachers need to develop a specific set of cognitions
and behaviours to deal with situations perceived to be stressful.
.. V.I. IBlIOT~
51
I
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• Senior management team
The researcher defines "senior management team" as those members of the
school staff (Heads of Departments, Deputy Principals, Principals) who hold
promotional posts at the school in the context of the Free State Education
Department.
3.3 MODELS OF STRESS
Rigby, Bennett and Boshoff (1996:38) state that a teacher's stress does not
only affect the teacher, but also the students, the school, the teaching
profession and the educational system. This fact is indicated by the model in
Figure 3.1.
Characteristics of the
individual teacher
I I
Teacher Chronic
Potential I~ Potential ~ Potential ~ Potential i.,.. stress symptoms:
stressors stressors stressors stressors
i~
psycho-
Negative somatic
I I effects coronary
mental
Response
correlates:
Psychological
Physiological
Potential Behavioural
non-
occupational
stressors
I
Figure 3.1: A model of teacher stress (adapted from Rigby et al. 1996:39)
52
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
What is clear in this model is that unpleasant feelings have the potential of
negatively affecting teachers' health (i.e. psychologically, physiologically, [e.g.
increased heart rate] and physically), posing a threat to coping strategies.
Furthermore, from this teacher stress model, two types of interventions are
identified to address either the teachers' primary appraisal or their secondary
appraisal in the stress transaction:
• Teacher Stress Inoculation Intervention (TSII);
• Coping Skills Intervention (CS1) (Rigby et al. 1996:4).
3.3.1 TSII and CSI
The comparison between Teacher Stress Inoculation Intervention (TSII) and
the Coping Skills Intervention (CSI) is indicated as follows:
Table 3.1: Comparison between TSII and CSI
TSII CSI
- Cognitive appraisal potential stressors - Development of coping skills to deal
with the stressors encountered in
teaching
- Aims at facilitations of the development - Aims at the facilitation of the develop-
of alternative cognitions of potentials in ment and acquisition of coping skills and
the teaching situation effective responses which could be used
by teachers to deal with the actual
stressors
- Consists of eight phases: - Consists of six phases:
* relationship-building and education * education phase
* data collection and integration * cognitive restructuring
* cognitive concepts * assertiveness training
* skills acquisition * autogenic training
* palliative coping * physical exercise
* cognitive structure and process
* self-reward and self-efficiency state-
ments
* generalisation and maintenance
(Rigby et al. 1996:41)
53
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
From this table it appears that CSI aims at reducing the level of stress related
to the actual task of teaching. This seems to lead to the fact that teachers
who have effective coping strategies for dealing with stress are better able to
cope with or to organise their work loads.
TSII appears to focus mostly on reducing teachers' state of anxiety, that is
their feelings of tension, nervousness, worry and apprehension. Therefore it
seems to help teachers increase their levels of satisfaction with life in general
(Rigby et al. 1996: 43).
The interrelatedness of the two interventions is hereby reflected in Figure 3.2:
Characteristics of the
individual teacher
Teacher
stress Coping skills
inoculation intervention
intervention (CSI)
(TSI!)
I
Teacher Chronic
stress symptoms:
Potential ~ Primary ~ Actual ~ Secondary ~ !~ psycho-
stressors appraisal stressors appraisal Negative somatic
effects coronary
mental
I Response
correlates:
Psychological
Physiological
Potential Behavioural
non-
occupational
stressors
I
Figure 3.2: A model of teacher stress (adapted from Rigby et al. 1996:4)
54
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
It also appears that teachers who are able to restructure their perceptions of
stressors in the primary appraisal stage, are more likely to see themselves as
more healthy, more satisfied with life in general and less anxious. This
situation, from the researcher's view, confirms that it is essential for teachers
to develop stress management skills for better health which will lead to better
performance.
3.3.2 Stress performance versus demand
As mentioned in 3.2 a moderate level of stress is necessary to ensure the
healthy functioning of the individual. Therefore it appears important that the
balance between performance and demand or arousal should be maintained.
Figure 3.3 reflects the situation regarding maintaining balance as described:
Intended performance
Arousal curve .......... ••••• D •••••••••••• ,lt-.....'
Fatigue point ........
P .
e
r
f
o
r Actual
m performanceexhaustion in
a rapid decline
n III health
c
e ~
Bre akdown L
Demand or arousal
Figure 3.3: Performance vs. arousal (Hayward 1992:4)
55
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
From this figure it follows that, if the stress level is unremitting, too intense
damage may occur. According to Hayward (1992:5) "...professional stress is
often activated by developments and changes over which the individual
practitioner in the caring professions has little or no control - South African
education is on the brink of fundamental changes. There will be inevitable
stressful consequences as teachers adapt to their new realities".
Therefore it seems essential that teachers and the top management teams of
schools should learn to understand themselves and others better through a
greater awareness of the stress involved in teaching. Learning outcomes
anticipated by teachers are dealt with in the next subsection.
3.3.3 The teacher's sense of efficiency
The teacher's sense of teaching efficiency puts focus on the learning
outcomes teachers expect will result from their teaching. The teacher's sense
of personal teaching efficiency "...is an integrating construct that mediates the
relationship between teacher's expectations about the efficiency of teaching
specific students and teacher's classroom interactions with those students"
(Ashton & Webb 1986:7).
Figure 3.4 represents the fact that the teachers' sense of teaching efficiency is
derived, at least in part, from their more general beliefs about response
outcome contingencies and the more general category of response-outcomes
beliefs:
56
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
Generalised beliefs about
response - outcome contingencies
Sense of teaching efficiency
Generalised beliefs about
Specific beliefs about teachers' ability to perceived self-efficacy
motivate students
Sense of personal teaching efficiency
Special beliefs about one's personal
competence in motivating students
Figure 3.4: Model of the teacher's sense of efficiency
(Ashton & Webb 1986:7)
Furthermore it appears important at this stage to also look at teachers' low
sense of teaching efficiency.
3.3.4 The teacher's low sense of efficiency
According to Ashton and Webb (1986:6) research on learned helplessness
clearly reflects a difference between a low sense of teaching efficiency and a
low sense of personal teaching efficiency. This leads to a further distinction
between the following:
57
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
(a) Universal helplessness; and
(b) personal helplessness.
• Universal helplessness is experienced by those teachers who do not
expect that they, or any other teacher, will have much effect on the
achievements of their poorest students. It is difficult for such teachers to
realise that such students can be helped. Furthermore, these teachers
who experience universal helplessness are unlikely to experience high
levels of stress or guilt or suffer a loss in their professional self-esteem
when their poorest students perform poorly.
• Personal helplessness: This type of helplessness seems to be
experienced much more often by teachers with a low sense of personal
teaching efficiency. The implication here is that these teachers, instead of
placing the responsibility for low achievement solely on the shoulders of
the students, share the blame for student failure. These teachers appear
to be quite sure that low-achieving students could learn if only they were
better teachers and more knowledgeable, talented and dedicated.
When asked to teach low-achieving students, these teachers with a sense of
personal helplessness are likely to feel guilty, to experience a high degree of
stress, and to suffer a loss of professional self-esteem.
Thus Figure 3.5 represents a comparison between universal helplessness
and personal helplessness.
58
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
Low sense of teacher efficacy
Belief in teacher's inability to motivate Belief in one's personal sense of
students incompetence in motivating students
(Universal helpnessness) (Personal helplessness)
(Low sense of teaching efficacy) (Low sense of personal efficacy)
Negative expectations due to universal Negative expectations due to personal
helplessness helplessness
Cognitive Motivational Affective
Cognitive Motivational No affective deficit deficit deficit
deficit deficit deficit Difficulty in Passivity and High stress
Difficulty Passivity and Little stress learning that little effort depression,
in learning little effort due to one is capable exerted to guilt and/or
that teachers exerted to personal of motivating motivate shame
can motivate motivate resilience students students
students students
Figure 3.5: Comparison of universal and personal sense of inefficacy
(Ashton & Webb 1986:7)
59
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
In the researcher's view it is essential for employees to be well informed about
these models.
In the light of all these different models of teachers' stress, it appears at this
stage essential to put more focus on the question of how stress affects
teachers. Hence different perspectives of the effects of stress are given
attention to in the sections which follow.
3.4 DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF STRESS
Attention will be given to determine what teachers are talking about when
they say they are stressed or suffering from stress. The process of stress can
be seen as a chain of manifestations of how a person perceives, appraises,
reacts and interacts with the environment.
According to Beard (1988:53) it appears that the common strategy in most
research is to identify important relationships between one or several factors
in the environment and some stress reactions, that is, perceived strain, job
dissatisfaction or psychosomatic complaints. Therefore it appears that stress
affects people in different ways, namely physically, psychologically,
emotionally, and physiologically. Hence at this stage it seems essential to
look in detail at the different effects of stress on teachers.
3.4.1 Physical perspective
Stress affects the following:
• The circulatory system: The heart rate increases; the blood pressure
increases; people may suffer from nose bleeds, possible heart attack,
strokes or other serious circulatory problems.
60
Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• Breathing: This is accompanied by shortness of breath, panic attacks in
which people are unable to catch their breath and asthma attacks.
• Digestion: Some people may have bouts of diarrhoea; others get
constipated; people may feel sick; ulcers can develop.
• The skin: People may go clammy; sweat; lose their colour; develop spots,
boils, or rashes; eczema or psoriasis can break out.
• Hair: People's hair may start to go grey very early; premature balding may
result.
• Posture: People often look slumped; their shoulders sag; they have a
clenched jaw and muscle tics; involuntary twitches can arise; and for some
people, cramp is stress-related.
• Sleep: Some people nod off as soon as they get home and sit down. At
times they wake up at midnight and they cannot fall asleep again till much
later. Anxiety causes these things to happen.
• Eating: People may lose their appetites or pick at their food. These
manifestations can develop into clinical obesity, anorexia or bulimia.
• Consumption of drinks and drugs: Alcohol consumption can increase;
smoking can increase; people may start using pills of various sorts,
including non-prescription drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and even
heroin.
• Sex: People may lose interest; women's periods are often affected, either
by losing their regularity or even disappearing for a while.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• Energy levels: People may feel persistently wiped out. Teachers often feel
that they simply do not have the energy to take advantage of even free
time or periods. By half-term many teachers feel exhausted. They feel
that they spend the days stretched to the limit and end days emotionally
drained. They can also feel hyped up, restless and agitated, or in a kind of
listless, uninterested state that makes them feel dead and dispirited
(Claxton 1989:43-45).
3.4.2 Physiological perspective
It appears that physical and physiological perspectives are more or less
interrelated. Some key concepts under the physical perspective also form the
important part of the physiological perspective.
The concern here is based on the fact that it seems that prolonged stress can
lead to ill-health. Certain kinds of illness and illness proneness that can be
experienced, are mentioned below:
• People are more likely to catch cold or flu.
• They suffer from mysterious, but more debilitating viruses, e.g. glandular
fever.
• They suffer from different kinds of aches and pains, e.g.:
headaches;
migraines;
neck and shoulder pains;
backaches; and
perhaps the recurrence of old injuries (Claxton 1989:45).
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lt has become clear through research (Jevne, Zingle, Eng, Ryan, Hazen &
Mortemoire 1994:3) that illness is taking a heavy economic, educational and
personal toll. Therefore the economic cost of sick leave, the educational
implications of being taught by teachers whose competence is compromised
by illness, the toll of disruption within an academic year, and the personal
suffering are combining to create what is being called the "crisis in education"
(Jevne et al. 1994:3).
The study by Jevne et al. (1994) confirms that allocating subjects to an
educator that he/she does not prefer or that he/she is not even prepared for,
does have the potential to contribute to a health disabling condition.
Therefore the lives of many people other than the educator who is ill are
influenced by the experience.
Thus it becomes clear from this perspective that - while the individual faces
the loss of health, of various personal and professional roles, of status, of self-
esteem, and of security - the system loses predictability and resources.
3.4.3 Psychological perspective
According to Beard (1990: 110), despite the acknowledgment of stress and
burn-out as important occupational hazards among many professional and
teaching groups, a process whereby committed professionals disengage from
their work in response to job stress is characterised by the following
symptoms:
• Dissatisfaction.
• Anxiety.
• Tension.
• Conflict.
• Pressure.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• Nerves.
• Boredom.
• Fatigue.
• Strain.
• Depression.
(Beard 1990: 110).
It appears essential that teachers should be able to deal with the psycho-
social dimension of their profession and their lives, hence the need to be
given the knowledge and skills to support themselves and to have the support
of others in order to employ their skills effectively. Therefore it is essential for
teachers to be able to recognise how they react to their own feelings, which
have the potential of disturbing their ability to teach. Furthermore research
reflects that teachers who leave the profession complain of emotional
disturbances such as frustrations (Gold & Roth 1993:51).
If teachers therefore are able to realise what is happening to them and if they
are able to identify their emotions and their reactions to them, their ability to
deal with them should be much greater.
3.4.4 Emotional perspective
People usually enjoy the pleasurable feelings and emotions they experience
and they often try to deny or change the negative ones. Furthermore, on the
other hand, in most cases people are not aware of how they permit their
emotions to affect them personally.
At this stage it is essential to look at how teachers' lives can be influenced by
their good or bad behaviours:
• People normally learn to react to their feelings when they copy the
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behaviour of their parents and other family members.
• It seems that there is a common pattern according to which teachers react
to their feelings and, in cases where the reactions develop into behaviours
which are negative, the consequences to the teachers' self-confidence are
inevitable.
• Emotions often are a signal to people that they have unmet emotional
needs which must be addressed or there could be serious consequences.
• It also seems that teachers have emotional needs of various kinds and
degrees, namely:
=> the emotional need to be loved;
the emotional need to be accepted by others;
the need to feel worthwhile;
the need for security and self-confidence.
• It is necessary for teachers to pay attention to their feelings rather than just
react to them or deny them. It should be helpful to analyse one's present
situation and to determine one's feelings about the people and events in
one's life (Gold & Roth 1993:61-63).
3.4.5 Social perspective
The following appear to be possible societal stressors (from the researcher's
point of view):
• The contemporary South African society - comprising a diversity of
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languages, cultures, and religions - is making many different and
conflicting demands on the teacher concerning the inculcation of values
and the aim of the education system.
• Whichever value system is adopted by the individual teacher or groups of
teachers within a particular school, there might be colleagues, pupils and
parents of that same school who will reject those selfsame values.
• Society is not only asking those who educate to prepare the new
generations for conditions which exist at present, but also for the needs of
the future society.
• It seems as if society has changed its attitude towards teachers:
=> No longer does the parent give unqualified support to the teacher in
the presence of the child.
=> No longer is the teacher regarded as a person whose acquisition of
knowledge, sense of vocation and self-sacrifice is to be admired.
Therefore, it is clear that aspects of the society can be a source of
professional job satisfaction and achievement of teachers. Conversely, it
seems societal factors can cause considerable teaching stress.
Ashton and Webb (1986:29-31) note the following:
• The life experiences of most teachers demonstrate their allegiance to the
ethic of vertical mobility, self-improvement, handwork, deferred
gratification, self-discipline and personal achievement.
• The individualistic values rest on the assumption that the social system
generally works well, is essentially fair, and moves society slowly - but
inevitably - towards progress.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• Teachers in particular are made anxious when they discover that:
Their salaries are lower than those of most workers with
comparable training and responsibility;
Their profession provides limited opportunities for continued
economic and status achievement;
Their salary increases have fallen behind the rate of inflation;
A stereotypical image of teachers' work and worth, promulgated
by the press and widely held by public, has lowered the status of
the teaching profession;
Their achievements apparently go unrecognised by the public
and by school administrators.
According to Ashton and Webb (1986:30) any of the above-mentioned
conditions can throw teachers into what is called status panic. That panic
becomes particularly acute when all of the above-mentioned conditions are
perceived to be at work simultaneously, as is apparently presently the case in
education. Furthermore it is evident that all schools are highly dependent
upon their teachers to provide an effective and efficient service. Thus it is
imperative that teachers are sufficiently well equipped to cope with the unique
brand of pressures which they face.
For teachers to deal effectively with stress, it is equally important that they
should have a clear understanding of the sources of stress. Hence the
concept of the sources of stress is investigated in the following section.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
3.5 THE SOURCES OF STRESS
McManus (1989: 1) offers a bewildering collection of definitions, estimates of
prevalence, claims about trends, historical evidence, and speculations
regarding the causes and cures of stress. Research evidence (Johnstone
1989:7) also clearly reflects that there are a number of studies or reviews
dealing with the identification of what might be regarded as the stressful
elements of teachers' work.
Johnstone (1989:7) further indicates that many writers concur in finding major
sources of stress in teaching, namely:
• Pupils' failure to work or behave.
• Poor working conditions.
• Work load.
• Poor school ethos.
McManus (1989:97) also indicates the following principal causes of stress:
• Poor staff communication.
• Disruptive and noisy pupil behaviour.
• Poor working conditions.
• A lack of time and too much work.
• Trying to uphold standards.
Another picture emerges when Rowland and 8irkett (1992: 173) in Table 3.2
indicate possible sources of stress in life events.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
Table 3.2: Life events vs. stress
LIFE EVENT INTENSITY OF STRESS OR
LIFE CRISIS UNITS
1 Death of spouse 100
2 Divorce 73
3 Marital separation 65
4 Jail term 63
5 Death of close family member 63
6 Personal illness or injury 53
7 Marriage 50
8 Fired at work 47
9 Marital reconciliation 45
10 Retirement 45
11 Change in health of family member 44
12 Pregnancy 40
13 Sex difficulties 39
14 Gain of new family member 39
15 Business readjustment 39
16 Change in financial state 38
17 Death of close friend 37
18 Change to a different line of work 36
19 Change in number of arguments with spouse 35
20 A large mortgage or loan 30
21 Foreclosure of mortgage or loan 30
22 Change in responsibilities at work 29
23 Son or daughter leaving home 29
24 Trouble with in-laws 29
25 Outstanding personal achievement 28
26 Spouse begins or stops work 26
27 Begin or end school or college 26
28 Change in living conditions 25
29 Change in personal habits 24
30 Trouble with the boss 23
31 Change in working hours or conditions 20
32 Change in residence 20
33 Change in school or college 20
34 Change in recreation 19
35 Change in church activities 19
36 Change in social activities 18
37 A moderate mortgage or loan 17
38 Change in sleeping habits 16
39 Change in number of family get-togethers 15
40 Change in eating habits 15
41 Holiday 13
42 Christmas 12
43 Minor violations of the law 11
(Rowland & Birkett 1992:172)
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
Given the existence of all these possible sources of stress in general,
common sense does then indicate that stress is not inevitable for all teachers
all the time. It also appears from this table that dealing with people appears to
be very stressful because all the events refer to personal encounters.
Overall, it appears that the sources of stress seem to fall into six major
categories, namely:
• Poor motivation on the side of the pupils.
• Pupils lack discipline.
• Poor working conditions.
• Time pressure.
• Work pressure.
• Low status.
• Conflicts with colleagues.
Although these six major categories have emerged as the most commonly
identified sources of stress (Cole & Walker 1989:32), there are a number of
other minor issues related to sources of stress that need to be kept in mind,
namely:
• In most cases any aspect of the teacher's work may result in extreme
stress.
• Secondly, there are many changes taking place in schools, therefore an
understanding of the current major sources of stress needs to be based on
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up-to-date information.
Up to this stage, the researcher has deliberated on sources of stress in
general. In the next subsections key sources of teachers stress are briefly
discussed.
3.5.1 Children's behaviour and attitudes
In this section it appears essential that the concepts mentioned below are
worth commenting on:
=> Troublesome behaviour.
=> Poor motivation on the side of the pupils.
=> Pupil indiscipline.
• Troublesome behaviour
Troublesome behaviour needs to be seen in the context of classroom
structures. According to McManus (1989:2) troublesome behaviour refers to
any behaviour by any student that is seen by a teacher to be initiating a vector
of action that competes with or threatens the primary vector of action at a
particular moment in the classroom activity.
Research evidence (McManus 1989:96) reflects clearly that, confronted by
troublesome behaviour, teachers can never be sure how much they
themselves have contributed to the problem. Most teachers appear to
suspect that the gap between perfection and what they manage to achieve
most days could be filled with extra effort on their part. Furthermore it has
been indicated in other studies that there are professions that can claim an 80
percent satisfaction rate, meaning that these professions are not confronted
with complex pressures that form part of daily school activities (McManus
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
1989:96). Poor motivation on the side of pupils can be one of these daily
pressures.
• Poor motivation on the side of pupils
Pupils' poor attitude towards school and their lack of motivation have
consistently been identified as a major source of stress in numerous studies
(Cole & Walker 1989:31). Therefore it seems important that all pupils of
whatever age must be active, either mentally or physically, during all the
lessons.
The teacher must at least have different ways of motivating pupils. Obviously
the subject matter will determine the type of activity to a large extent, but
means must be devised to achieve the desired kind of and a high level of
activity. Through observation, one can safely indicate that classes that are
not properly managed or controlled, are characterised by too much noise.
Too much noise is seen as a probable source of stress and as being capable
of keeping the teachers unsettled, annoyed or aggressive, which could be an
unconscious signal of loss of control (Claxton 1989: 47).
According to the researcher's observations, noise is not the only reason for
students to be less motivated. Other factors like disorder and lack of control
can also contribute. Therefore, it seems that the problem of poorly motivated
pupils is more complex.
• Pupil indiscipline
In classroom activities it is possible that a tense and highly unpleasant
exchange between a teacher and pupils can take place. The obvious fact is
that such exchanges can be extremely stressful at the time, although - in most
cases - they are quickly over. Assertiveness and a calm outward appearance
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
have been identified as effective in maintaining discipline in classrooms
(Rowland & 8irkett 1992:46).
Therefore it seems that discipline should not be seen as a negative activity,
but the exercise of discipline should be a habit in the classroom. Constant
monitoring and vigilance, using a consistent tone of voice and body language
usually will engender respect.
It appears that, if teachers are inexperienced or lack the proper ability to deal
with pupils, troublesome behaviour and more stress are likely to prevail.
3.5.2 Poor working conditions
According to Cole and Walker (1989: 31) poor working conditions refer to the
following:
~ Problems such as inadequate equipment.
~ Poor staff room facilities.
• Inadequate equipment and poor staff room facilities
A lack of resources or materials in classrooms is identified as an issue that
limits teachers' efforts to do better (Cole & Walker 1989:16).
Many teachers see themselves in a dilemma, i.e. contradictions abound: On
the one hand, education departments promote teaching methodology, while
on the other hand, they do not equip teachers with what they need to put
content into practice.
According to the researcher's observations, a lack of resources may not only
be a matter of teaching materials, but also issues like the following:
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• A problem of space.
• Poorly preserved buildings.
• Poor quality furniture.
• Inadequate heating/cooling.
• A lack of suitable premises.
Apart from the lack of resources, it appears that institutional limitations also
exist, for example:
• Timetable problems.
• Internal rules.
• Standards laid down by teaching institutions or inspecting bodies.
• The need to set aside time for meetings:
~ between members of staff;
~ between staff and students;
~ between staff and the governing body;
~ to discuss examinations.
The above-mentioned circumstances indicate that improvement attempted by
the teacher requires an extra effort in order to get what he/she needs.
3.5.3 Time pressure
Gray and Freeman (1987:62) state the following:
"Frequently we switch tasks from one priority to another as we
manipulate our work-load. At other times we have high energy
and cram a lot into a short time while at others everything seems
to be spaced out over a long, leisured period. Few of us keep
up the same pace all the times, indeed to do so is to put
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ourselves under extreme pressure and to become stressed".
From this statement of Gray and Freeman one can make the following
inferences, namely:
• It appears that human beings are never free of moods, preferences,
idiosyncrasies and fluctuation in enthusiasm. All this hardly makes
straightforward rational behaviour possible.
• It appears that it is not always easy to decide what is personally and/or
professionally important, but it seems that it may be easier to decide on
what is urgent and therefore needs to be attended to more urgently.
• It seems that when people have work that is tedious, it is often better to do
it bit by bit. Some people like to do work all at once, however.
Therefore it is essential to have a clear idea of which work is supposed to be
done, so as to be able to pace one's work more accurately.
Rowland and Birkett (1992:50) clearly emphasise the importance of time
management in order to avoid stress:
''Time is a finite resource when we feel that there isn't sufficient
time to do what we want to, we have to either reduce our
demands of it or use it more efficiently".
From the above statement it appears that teachers do not have enough time
to do the job that they ought to do and want to do. The following areas of work
have been identified by Claxton (1989:29) as factors which lead to stress time
management:
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• It seems teachers do not have enough time even for short-time demands,
e.g.:
=> Preparation.
=> Marking.
=> Report-writing.
=> Sorting out pupils' disputes.
=> Clearing up the heat of the moment misunderstandings with
colleagues.
• Long-term demands:
=> No time to clear the backlog of paperwork.
=> Replying to letters.
=> Ordering supplies.
=> Planning schemes of work.
=> Setting up meetings with educational psychologists for pupils who
have problems, etc.
Pressure of time starts to be conspicuous when people rely on stopgap
decisions. Those are issues that should have taken at least an hour of
discussion with colleagues or pupils who are concerned, but that have to be
dealt with in a few minutes.
What also needs to be noted, is that the very nature of teaching is filled with
interruptions which militate against a task being completed timeously.
Examples are:
• Intrusions of intercom announcements.
• Telephone calls.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• Unscheduled staff meetings at short notice.
• Practices for school activities.
• Numerous visitors in the form of school nurses, doctors, psychologists,
orthodidacticians.
It therefore appears that all these interruptions forestall the teachers' efforts to
reduce the workpile and therefore contribute further to teaching stress.
3.5.4 Conflict with colleagues
In general terms, it does appear that conflict is an inevitable part of life in
modern organisations. Common sense reflects that clashes of interests and
personalities do prevail in different institutions and organisations. Therefore,
what appears to be the most important thing, is how to deal with the situation
in order to alleviate the potentiality of conflict as also being a source of stress.
According to Hayward (1993:7), a great deal is constantly expected from
teachers, because it appears that teachers need to act as diplomats,
mediators, counsellors, disciplinarians and imparters of knowledge.
Furthermore it is clear that all these roles are not easy roles and they
sometimes conflict with one another.
The general point is that change may lead to stress by introducing conflict or
ambiguity into a previously stable teaching situation. According to the
researcher's observations, change might equally be welcomed as an
alleviation of stress, depending upon the circumstances and the participants.
Therefore, in this section, it appears essential to look at two concepts that
appear to determine the working relations with colleagues, namely:
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• Leadership style.
• Communication.
3.5.4.1 Leadership style
Through observations, it becomes evident that the leadership style adopted
by the senior management team has a pivotal role in determining the kind of
school in which teachers carry out their professional duties.
From observations, it also appears that the most common leadership styles
are the autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire types. Each leadership style
seems to have a contribution to make to the effective management of the
school. Therefore it is important to indicate how these leadership styles
contribute to effective management, i.e.:
• Autocratic: According to the researcher's observation, the autocratic
leadership boosts effective management, if it is applied where it is
relevant. For example, if the employer and employee have agreed on the
target date, one has to be very much autocratic in insisting that people
stick to original target dates. Furthermore that will assist the organisation
to meet its set goals.
• Democratic: Effective management of the school will be boosted by a
democratic leader, because he/she brings into a system, awareness of
democratic values, such as equality, justice, freedom, diversity, integrity,
dignity, honesty, empathy and most importantly respect for human life
(Nguru, 1995:61).
• Liassez-faire: According to the researcher's observations, laissez-faire
leadership style plays a unique role in the process of developing effective
school management, that is through its allowance of independence,
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
people are free to do as they wish, they are given enough chance to have
influence in their own work. It does seem, however, as if there are too
many schools where this style is in constant use with the expected result
of chaos in these schools.
Therefore a clear warning is that principals should not adhere rigidly to any
one style.
In trying to work with colleagues, the most important question at this stage is
how a leader should try to deal with situations where there are personality
clashes. How should he/she contribute most effectively in group situations
and gain effective contributions from others? The figure that follows, tries to
address the above stipulated questions:
Assertive
Competing Collaborating
Compromising
Unassertive Avoiding Accommodating
Figure 3.6: The Managers Guide to Self-development
(Adapted from Rowland & 8irkett 1992:30-35)
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
Rowland and 8irkett (1992:34) indicate the style of handling differences
between oneself and others:
• Avoiding behaviour. This is a behaviour that is unassertive and unco-
operative. The individual prefers not to deal with or discuss the particular
conflict at the given moment.
• Accommodating behaviour. That is giving in to someone else's point of
view. This behaviour is also viewed to be unassertive and cooperative.
• Compromising behaviour. This behaviour is seen to be intermediate in
both assertiveness and cooperation. This is a way of trying to satisfy both
parties.
• Competing behaviour. This behaviour is deemed to be assertive and
unco-operative. In this situation the individual focuses only on winning and
defending his position.
• Collaborating behaviour. This is seen to be both assertive and co-
operative. This follows a problem-solving approach and attempts are made
to try and reach a solution which satisfies both parties by trying to resolve
a resource problem.
The other concept that has a bearing when it comes to conflict with
colleagues is communication.
3.5.4.2 Communication
Hayward (1993: 9) states that: "...when communication within the school is
open and honest, most teachers feel that they are making an important
contribution to accomplishing the school's objectives. The communication
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
system within a school affects morale and may therefore increase or decrease
stress".
A class or subject teacher communicates with a variety of people every day,
i.e. children, parents, colleagues and school administrative officers. Therefore
different styles of communication are needed and it is possible that stress
may result in the process. It then appears that communication is essential for
positive and meaningful interpersonal relations. Hence interaction with others
seems to be necessary to meet one's needs and to make one's life more
fulfilling as one begins to resolve one's problems and issues.
At this stage it is essential to try and see how communication and leadership
style can influence each other (Hayward 1993:9):
• The autocratic leader is recognised by a one-way (top down) style of
communication.
• The democratic leader is seen by two-way communication, i.e.
suggestions made by subordinates are listened to and receive
consideration.
Therefore it seems that teachers become angry, frustrated and stressed when
they are not given the opportunity to participate in two-way communication
with the senior management team.
Gold and Roth (1993: 120-123) identify the following aspects that are essential
and form a critical part of the support process:
• Accepting and caring: Accepting is seen to be a non-judgemental way of
dealing with people who seek support. The relationship is sensitive to
those people's feelings and attitudes, while caring indicates to the other
person that it really matters to you what happens to him or her. A real
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
message is sent to the person who seeks help.
• Empathy: Empathy refers to the fact that an endeavour is made to see
others' problems as they experience them, i.e. trying to become congruent
with the other people and seeing the world as they see it.
• Non-threatening, non-evaluative: The helper tries to communicate with
somebody who seeks help in such a way that his/her views or advice is
not perceived as a threat. Similarly the helper needs to free the receiver
from the threat of being evaluated. Therefore what it means is that the
helper needs to provide the receiver with the recognition that the centre of
the responsibility lies within him- or herself, not with any external person.
• Trust: Trust refers to the fundamental aspects of building a positive
helping relationship. Trust is characterised by honesty, openness and
sharing confidence. Therefore when the receiver has trust in the helper,
then he/she is more likely to be free of fear of ridicule or humiliation
because he/she trusts the other person to respond with compassion and
honesty.
• Individuation: This is seen to be the "ability to maintain' separateness of
persons' in a helping relationship ... Each person in a relationship must be
strong enough to contribute to the goals of that relationship without
requiring the other person to conform to their own personal values or
preconceived ideas" (Gold & Roth 1993:122).
• Recognising growth: Here the emphasis is on the fact that the helper
should have a clear understanding that the receiver is in the process of
becoming. The aim here is only to assist the receiver to reach his/her goal
or potential and not to judge him/her on the basis of past or current
inadequacies or levels or achievement.
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It becomes clear from this discussion that leadership style and communication
are critical elements when it comes to working relations with colleagues,
including one's seniors. The better understanding of the dynamics
surrounding one's relationship with others will lead to a better understanding
of a role that one is expected to play. Hence it is important to closely look at
role conflict and role ambiguity in the next section.
3.5.5 Role conflict and role ambiguity
Role conflict is defined by Jevne et al. (1994: 14) as follows:
" ... the simultaneous occurrence of two or more sets of
inconsistent expected role behaviour for an individual. It occurs
when a person cannot reconcile the inconsistency between
these sets of role behaviour".
What it really means in practice is that the school's expectations contradict the
person's expectations i.e. the person/teacher might be having two or more
strong influences affecting him or her.
This type of scenario is also clearly reflected in South African schools, where
teachers are often heavily involved in extramural activities and a particular
teacher has more roles to play than simply being a class or subject teacher.
After school hours, the selfsame teacher might play many roles such as a
soccer coach or referee and therefore role conflict starts to build up as all
roles start to become very important to the teacher concerned. That is where
stress starts to emerge. Role ambiguity is defined as inconsistent or
insufficient knowledge related to one's duties, benefits, rights, responsibilities
and confusion related to how one's duties can best be performed (Jevne et al.
1994:14).
This definition reflects the following:
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• The person is unclear about how to perform.
• The person is unclear about what is expected.
• A lack of clarity exists concerning job performances and expected
consequences (rewards, penalties, etc.).
Therefore it seems that if the educational manager does not demarcate,
preferably in writing, the wrong expectations of each teacher can lead to
unnecessary stress.
Johnstone (1989:25) indicates that conflict, ambiguity and overload are all
mediated by people's personalities (e.g. key personalities, being anxiety-
prone, being introvertal, being flexible). Note a few explanations of examples
of people's personalities:
• Anxiety-prone persons or those who are introverts and experience role
conflict more intensely.
• Those who are flexible usually account for almost the entire effect of the
conflict, whereas the more rigid personalities usually reflect no greater
tension in high conflict situations than in the low conflict ones.
• Role ambiguity seems to alleviate stress by leaving loopholes in
accountability or by allowing for personal initiatives.
The number of different and often explicitly contradictory roles that teachers
have to fulfil, lead to a great deal of stress. Hence stress arises from the
pressure on the person in adjusting between roles. Teaching seems to involve
so much and such frequent role changes that it is no wonder that pupils often
consider teachers somewhat less than human.
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Common sense dictates that people are different from one another and
perceive the organisation(s) to which they belong differently. Therefore it
seems that organisations are arenas of potential conflict. Thus schools, like
other organisations, must also work through the conflicts that arise in them
and the sooner and more fully they are resolved, the better for all concerned,
since the consequences always seem to increase personal stress.
Organisations or schools (faculties/departments) need to be aware of their
own peculiar and specific sets of stress signals. Realistically, stress signals
might be sending a clear message about the make-up of the organisation(s)
or the array of organisational ills. That especially includes people working in
the organisation. This question of stress signals necessitates the importance
of looking at the burnout symptoms which might be forming part of stress
signals.
3.5.6 Management and leadership
At this stage it seems essential to analyse the question of whether there is a
difference between management and leadership or whether they are the
same. According to the researcher's understanding, if these two concepts (in
terms of their difference) are not clearly understood, that can possibly lead to
considerable job stress.
By highlighting the following differences, Adair (1991 :53) indicates that
leadership and management are not the same:
• Managers are expected to be accountable for all resources, e.g. money,
machinery and people. Furthermore they are expected to be concerned
with the proper and efficient use of resources.
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• Leaders are expected to be concerned with giving direction, building
teams and inspiring others by word and example.
• Furthermore managers strive for a good administration, while leaders care
about administration.
It is clear from this analysis that management and leadership overlap
considerably. It also appears that both concepts are about achieving
objectives, i.e. getting results through other people.
According to the researcher's point of view, teachers, principals and school
management teams should be able to recognise the distinctive features of
these concepts (so as to be able to achieve a sense of job satisfaction or less
job stress). Hence the importance of specifically analysing the distinctive
features of leadership and management.
Schuitema (1994:28-30) indicates the following distinctive features of
management:
• Power: The way the manager exercises his/her power, determines as to
whether the employee's trust will be granted or withheld.
Therefore the manager should be able to pacify the people on
the floor and be able to reassure them that management does in
fact care for their well-being.
• Wealth: The manager should be able to make people produce something
bigger than the total of that which each individual is taking from
the system. Furthermore the manager must be able to reveal
the fact that wealth is created by people who are generous,
because they give more than they take.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• Discipline: The manager should be disciplined. That also entails being
able to stick to the organisation's plans, so as to ensure
maximum production, which will possibly lead to job satisfaction
and the achievement of set goals.
• Courageous: The manager should be prepared to go into dangerous
places and blast them out for the benefit of the organisation and
all its employees. He/she should have the noble qualities of the
human will.
Adair (1991: 58) indicates the following distinctive features of leadership:
• Giving direction: Leaders are supposed to indicate the way forward, to
have a sense of direction and be able to identify new objectives,
new services and new challenges.
• Source of inspiration: Leaders are supposed to the pace or supply
organisational motivation by providing examples and by
illustrating moving energy.
• Building teams: Leaders should be able to transform groups of individuals
into teams. At the same time seems teams should assist in
meeting the needs of individuals and that will possibly lead to
less work stress.
• Example: Leaders are expected to lead.
• Acceptance: The leader should be able to win the hearts and minds of
those who work with him/her.
Therefore it appears that a problem (which can contribute to work stress) only
starts when managers or leaders develop a tendency to see people as
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
"things" or "human resources" and not as persons that are free and equal,
intelligent and motivated, as well as immensely capable.
Furthermore it is clear that effective leadership will have an end product and a
high performance team. That means that there appears to be no way
according to which a good leader, who is not also a good manager or
administrator, can be envisaged.
3.5.7 Leadership and change
It appears that change is capable of being a source of stress. The implication
may be that managing an organisation without much change may be less
stressful.
Anderson (1992:54) indicates that:
"The necessity of integrating management and leadership
knowledge and skills within each key decision maker (or at least
on each team) is becoming more critical as world history faces
us with increasing complexity, spastic change and
unpredictability. Each manager must lead and each leader must
manage in a world where both leadership and management
dimensions must be developed in order to respond to constant
change and pressures, both internal to and external to an
organisation" .
Therefore it appears essential to manage change so as to be able to ensure
that change is envisioned, anticipated and adapted to our environment. This
implies that a manager should enable his/her employees to effectively cope
with increasingly accelerated change. Furthermore it seems that, more than
ever, people need innovative and creative leadership.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
According to Anderson (1992:62) there are ten key practices relating to
leadership and change:
• Seeking opportunities to change, grow, innovate and improve.
• Being prepared to take risks and learn from accompanying mistakes as
well as being prepared to explore and experiment.
• Having a clear vision for the future and being able to predict the future
through making adjustments along the way.
• Responding to important input from the floor and enlisting others in a
common vision by recognising everybody's values and interests.
• Building trust and making contact with employees at all levels and sharing
concern for the development of others and the organisation as a whole by
fostering collaboration.
• Being more committed to positive relationships with others and
strengthening people by sharing important information with them in
addition to increasing freedom for people's discretion and visibility.
• Behaving in ways that are consistent with what one preaches, i.e. leading
by example.
• Enabling people to gain some wealth from their productions, i.e. deliberate
plans for small wins to foster commitment.
• Recognising every contribution made by individuals and the impact of their
participation for improvement.
\
• Providing dignity and respect to team accomplishments through regular
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
celebrations.
These ten practices clearly reflect to those in positions of leadership that, with
these kinds of complex demands facing them, it is not puzzling that it is
expected that a wide range of skills should be exposed in the behaviours of
those who are most effective and efficient. It therefore appears that managing
the process of change can possibly contribute to job satisfaction and less
work stress.
3.6 BURNOUT SYMPTOMS
The term "burnout" has been defined by different researchers as follows:
• Three states, noted as emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and
personal accomplishment burnout. This syndrome can also be related to
physical, emotional and mental exhaustion (Sarros & Sarros 1992:57).
• Furthermore burnout syndrome is related by other researchers to the
following: feelings of helplessness; the development of a negative self-
concept and negative attitudes; a lack of energy and ideals; failure due to
excessive demands on energy strengths or resources (Mazibuko
1996:29).
The two terms, "burnout" and "burning out" can be differentiated as follows:
• Burning out: This process is seen to be gradually occurring over extended
periods of time. Thus "burning out" in teachers appears to be more
appropriately referring to the gradual erosion of important technical,
psychological and social resources. Therefore "burning out" appears to be
cumulative and more clearly related to the long-term negative impact of
occupational stress on teachers' coping resources.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• Burnout: This is seen as a long-term gradual process in teachers and
refers to an end-state phenomenon, which within the proposed framework,
is best employed as a concept indicating a point at which the
studenUteacher experiences a substantial depletion of critical coping
resources and a significantly reduced capacity for effective performance
(Mazibuko 1996:30).
Rowland and Birkett (1992: 169) emphasise the importance of recognising
burnout by coming up with a checklist of symptoms:
• Increased pulse level.
• Higher blood pressure.
• Palpitations.
• Cold hands and feet.
• Aches and pains.
• Change in appetite.
• Diarrhoea.
• Constipation.
• Queasiness.
• Frequent colds.
• Migraine.
• Blurred vision.
• Skin eruption.
• Frequent urination.
• Getting irritable more frequently.
• Feeling anxious for no apparent reason.
• Going on the defensive.
• Being more critical.
• Feeling depressed.
• Crying more than usual.
• Being more aggressive.
• Being unable to concentrate.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• Vacillating in decision-making.
• Making more mistakes.
• Being more forgetful.
• Being irrational.
• Being unreasonably negative.
• Being less able to make realistic judgements.
• Changing work habits.
• Neglecting personal habits.
• Being unable to sleep.
• Being more lethargic.
• Drinking more alcohol.
• Smoking more.
• Changing eating habits.
• A reduced sex drive.
• Increase in absenteeism.
• Being more accident prone.
• Relying more on medication.
Fatigue is the body's warning signal which tries to prevent people from
carrying on until total exhaustion. Unfortunately people are often not aware
that their work performance is declining at the point where fatigue becomes
exhaustion.
Naturally some symptoms on the checklist could be indicative of physical
illness (e.g. back pain, loss of weight, tension headaches, absenteeism),
although it seems physical illness might in turn relate to classroom stress.
Equally, some symptoms could be indicative of hard but stressful work (for
example feelings of exhaustion, over-eating, increased consumption of
alcohol, moodiness).
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
Therefore it appears from this analysis that an important element in the
growth of the problem is the lack of support. Especially in African society,
citizens usually wash their hands of the education of their young and try to
make teachers solely responsible when, in many cases, the problems are
those of society and require social solutions.
The phrase "teacher burnout" has become a catch phrase in educational
literature and includes all the reactions, apathy, aggression, anxiety, neurosis,
defeatism or sheer bloody-mindedness which can be observed in today's
teachers (Rowland & 8irkett 1992:166-170).
3.6.1 Teacher burnout
Through observations one realises that many teachers learn that they have
unrealistic expectations regarding teaching. This appears to be especially true
of teachers who had support and collegiality during their training period, yet
were left to their own resources once they began teaching. It seems that once
teachers become discouraged and frustrated in their goals, disillusionment
usually follows. They appear to have no one to talk to about their
expectations.
According to Gold and Roth (1993:33) "burnout was essentially caused by a
mismatch between what workers feel they are getting in return from their work
and what they feel they are giving to others". Furthermore three patterns of
change that professionals demonstrate when they are in a state of burnout
are identified, namely:
• They lose sympathy and tolerance for clients and are inclined to blame
them for their own difficulties.
• They demonstrate a loss of their own sense of idealism and optimism
regarding change.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• They look outside their professional work to find fulfilment.
In this model it is further indicated that burnout is caused by a loss of
commitment and purpose in work. Whenever the expectation level is
dramatically opposed to reality and the person persists in trying to reach that
expectation, trouble is on the way.
3.6.2 Burnout factors
According to Gold and Roth (1993:32)
"...the burnout syndrome appears to be a response to chronic,
everyday stress rather than to occasional crises ... what
changes overtime is one's tolerance for this continual stress, a
tolerance that gradually wears away under the never-ending
onslaught of emotional tensions"
Therefore it seems that the role of stress leads to withdrawal of the individual
who might be working in a human service position. Gold and Roth (1993:35
to 45) indicate burnout factors as follows:
(a) Lack of social support. The following functions are important:
• Professional support.
• Professional challenge.
• Emotional support (i.e. having someone who is on your side and
who appreciates what you are doing.
• Emotional challenge.
• The sharing of social reality.
This means that there is an essential relationship between social support and
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
burnout (Sarros & Sarros 1992:57).
(b) Demographic factors. Findings from numerous studies (according to
Gold & Roth 1993) reflect that men are more vulnerable than women
and may need more social support and assistance. This appears to be
especially true since there are in most cases fewer males in
elementary schools, resulting in less male camaraderie or even male
bonding. Furthermore, for those teachers who teach in junior high,
middle and high school, higher burnout appears to be high in
comparison to those teaching low grades.
(c) Student violence, classroom discipline and control. Trying to
control students who are difficult, disruptive and disrespectful has long
been a problem for many teachers.
(d) Self-concept. It appears that teachers with higher self-concepts are
more resistive to stress and more likely to maintain a sense of personal
accomplishment while workinq under pressure. Furthermore it appears
that teachers often feel that their sense of self-worth and belonging is
affected when they become disillusioned and discouraged. They at
times begin to question their reason for being teachers and even
wonder if they have anything to offer their students.
(e) Administrative pressures. If teachers see the administrator as one
who is mainly interested in running the school and offering little or no
support where discipline problems or parental dissatisfaction is
concerned, feelings of satisfaction in their teaching and with their job
are often affected. Furthermore it appears that burnout is related to a
lack of support for teachers on the part of administrators.
(f) Difficult parents. It appears that there are two types of parents that
often cause teachers serious problems and contribute to their feelings
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
of disappointment and disillusionment that frequently lead to burnout if
some form of intervention is not begun.
(i) The first kind of parents are those that show a lack of support and
interest. This lack of parental support appears to be usually evident
during special programmes or events at schools.
(ii) Another type or group of parents usually complain that teachers are not
well prepared and are underqualified for the job. These parents are
usually highly critical and often verbally abusive of teachers (Rich
1998:37).
(g) Role conflict and role ambiguity. It is reflected that role conflict and
role ambiguity may be related to burnout. Two common sources of
conflict as far as teachers are concerned, are the following:
(i) Teachers are usually expected to provide quality education, while they
are often hindered from using the best curriculum material available
and proven instructional methods.
(ii) They are usually held responsible for handling the disciplinary
problems in their classes while they are not given the authority to do
so.
(h) Isolation. It appears through observations that teachers are an
isolated group, vulnerable to public criticism and attack. In fact, it
seems teachers are not respected by many of their students, parents
and even administrators. They are quickly reminded of their failures
and only on rare occasions are they praised for their successes.
(i) Disillusionment. This is seen to be the final stage which ultimately
leads to burnout. Gold and Roth (1993:41) further indicate a gradual
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
progression which often is as follows:
(i) A sense of frustration, negative feelings and anger, which lead to
feelings of dissatisfaction.
(ii) Feelings of hopelessness begin to set in.
(iii) Multiple physical ailments and a feeling of apathy appear.
(iv) Withdrawal and depersonalisation from others become common.
(v) A loss of caring about others and often oneself is experienced
(vi) Disillusionment and a near total feeling of giving up or burnout results.
U) Unmet needs. It appears that when individuals perceive that their
needs are not being met over a period of time, they become
discouraged, angry and depressed. It has been identified that unmet
needs fall into three major areas:
(i) Emotional and physical needs.
(ii) Psycho-social needs.
(iii) Personal-intellectual needs (Gold & Roth 1993:42).
(k) Unfulfilled expectations. Most teachers usually begin teaching with
the expectation that they will make a difference in the lives of the
children they teach. Expectations are often shattered for both
beginning and experienced teachers who have not been prepared to
handle the challenges caused by limited language proficiency and the
broad range of individual needs. These unmet expectations can
produce feelings of irritability, anger, depression and hopelessness.
Then, as stress increases, physical disorders occur and the teacher
begins the steady and gradual decline toward burnout.
(I) Psychological symptoms. Burnout appears to be actually a
psychological state, where feelings of depression, anger, guilt,
sadness, alienation, anxiety, disillusionment and despair may manifest
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
themselves when emotional needs are not being met, especially when
teachers are unaware of how they can identify and meet these needs.
(m) Physical symptoms refer to types of illness that are usually related to
burnout, for example flu, insomnia, headaches, and serious long-term
illness such as heart diseases, cancer and others.
3.6.3 The stress-burnout relationship
To eliminate confusion between stress and burnout, the relationship between
these two concepts is outlined in Table 3.3:
Table 3.3: Relationship between stress and burnout
Stress Burnout
(i) Stress is a condition of disequili- (i) Burnout is a syndrome of progressive
brium in the intellectual, emotional disillusionment
and physical state
(ii) Cultivated by one's perceptions of (ii) Results from an individual's perceptions
threat of unmet needs and unfulfilled expecta-
tions
(iii) Results in physical and emotional (iii) Characterised by psychological and
reactions which are positive or physical symptoms which diminish
negative self-esteem depending on one's
interpretations
(iv) May be of short or long duration (iv) Develops gradually over a period of time
(Gold & Roth 1993:44)
From Table 3.3 it can be concluded that stress is followed by burnout. Burnout
is therefore a process which starts with too high and extended levels of stress.
This stress situation causes strain and anxiety in the teacher and this results
in the teacher withdrawing himself/herself from the work situation and
becoming cynical, apathetic or rigid.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
Therefore, what appears to be essential at this stage, is the ability of the
teachers to be able to cope with stress or their managerial strategies of
stress. Therefore it is important to look at teachers' coping resources in the
next section.
3.7 TEACHERS' COPING RESOURCES
Johnstone (1989:32-33) outlines the following ways of coping with stress:
keep things in perspective;
avoid confrontation;
relax after work.
Dunham (1984:109) indicates the following strategies:
• Set aside a certain amount of time during evenings or weekends when you
take a total break from anything connected to work.
• Try to learn from each individual situation.
• Talk about stressful situations with close ones (husband/wife/ family).
• Be fully involved with family/friends when you are out working.
• Say "No" to unnecessary demands.
• Try to bring feelings and opinions into the open.
• One should learn to admit one's limits more easily.
• Accept a problem.
• Talk about your problem with colleagues at school.
• Always try to be consistent and honest.
• Come up with some sort of teaching routine.
• Keep the children occupied, etc.
The following activities have also been identified as ways of reducing stress:
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
Mediation, jogging, relaxation, becoming more detached, listening to music,
talking to the Deputy and the Head, living in a small community, letting off
steam verbally, swimming, dancing (where great concentration is needed, but
of a different quality to that of school work), going out and getting drunk,
taking the pressure off by playing squash, making love, developing a sense of
humour, seeking promotion elsewhere, learning greater self-control, writing
poetry, grumbling a lot (Dunham 1984: 110).
Furthermore other researchers like Rowland and Birkett (1992:178) indicate
the following practical suggestions for coping with stress at work:
• Listen to others' opinions.
• Before talking, ask yourself three questions:
Do I have something important to say?
Does anyone want to hear it?
Is this the time to say it?
• Be positive about current changes.
• Look at others' coping systems.
• Make a personal development plan.
• When getting frustrated or irritable, ask yourself why you are
allowing it to annoy you; use the time to relax and think positively.
• When you are feeling pressured, stop!. Ask yourself, "Must I do it
now or can it wait until I have time?". Think properly.
• Learn to say "No" - do not overcommit yourself. You should try to
cut out irrelevant meetings and courses.
• One needs to be realistic about deadlines and target dates.
• Try to build in "breathing spaces" during the day.
• An attempt to do one thing at a time helps.
• The ability to keep an element of detachment in one's work does
help.
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Chapter 3 Job stress (teachers' problems)
• Note the importance of checking on the following:
Eat a balanced diet.
Get enough sleep.
Vigorous exercise.
Have regular health check-ups.
From the above-mentioned it is clear that some sort of physical activity, for
example playing tennis, bowls, jogging, swimming, dancing, etc. is an
excellent way of taking one's mind from the factors that contribute to one's
stress.
3.8 SUMMARY
This literature study appears to lead to an understanding of the fact that stress
can be reduced by strengthening personal, interpersonal and organisational
strategies. The best way to make this possible appears to be to listen to
teachers and by putting their recommendations into practice.
The literature study in Chapters 2 and 3 will subsequently be followed by an
empirical study in Chapter 4. The latter includes the questionnaire which was
used to obtain facts regarding the issues concerning teachers' stress.
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RESEARCH DES~GN
4.1 INTRODUCTION
7( n the previous chapters, literature on areas of job satisfaction and job
,:.zJ stress among teachers was reviewed. Reference was also made to work
values. In addition, attention was paid to opportunities to alleviate job stress
which appears to negatively affect job satisfaction.
The necessity of this research project is reflected by its efforts to expose how
school managers (Principals, School Governing Bodies [SGBs], the Education
Department) should deal with the needs of the Free State secondary school
teachers so as to lead to job satisfaction, which appears to be essential for
productivity, performance and teacher morale.
Regarding morale in the teaching profession, Education Minister, Kader
Asmal, indicated in his speech on 27 July 1999 (Asmal 1999) that teacher
morale is low: "I agonise over low teacher morale". Hence in this study it is
regarded as of being of importance to devote attention to the question of how
the needs of teachers can be met, a process which is associated with job
satisfaction, which is essential for morale, productivity, commitment and
fulfilment.
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Chapter 4 Research design
4.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The general objectives of the empirical study are to:
• identify ways and means of helping secondary school teachers to develop
coping behaviours that will minimise the impact of stress and alleviate its
negative consequences;
• identify opportunities to satisfy the needs of teachers;
• analyse the data for relative identification of the relationship between the
level of occupational stress and job satisfaction in an attempt to improve
the quality of teaching and learning in the province.
Therefore, the results of this research should identify and highlight the
following:
• Opportunities to improve the job satisfaction of secondary school teachers,
as a means of satisfying their needs.
• Opportunities to alleviate secondary school teachers' job stress.
• To determine whether job stress does affect job satisfaction, work values,
teachers' motivational levels, their commitment, productivity and their
abilities to achieve.
• To identify a sample of stressors of secondary school teachers.
From these general objectives it is evident (as stated in 1.3 of this study) that
the basic purpose of this study is to gain understanding of the complexity
and the extent to which teachers experience job satisfaction, work values and
work-related stress with particular reference to secondary schools.
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Chapter 4 Research design
4.3 HYPOTHESES
For the reasons stated in 4.2 of this study and following from the discussions
in the literature, the hypotheses can be stated as follows:
• There is a significant difference between the biographical factors (age,
sex, length of service, home language, qualification, number of
dependents and marital status) with reference to the teachers' level of
stress.
• There is a statistically significant relationship between teachers' level of
stress and the factors outside the work situation (job satisfaction and work
values) which contribute to their stress.
• There is a statistically significant relationship between teachers' level of
stress and their expectations and circumstances within the work situation,
which contribute to their stress.
• Teachers experience a high degree of stress.
4.4 SUBJECTS
The subjects of this research were secondary school teachers working in
schools that go up to grade 12 within an area of the Harrismith Education
District which covers the towns of Warden, Harrismith, and a portion of
QwaQwa.
The researcher decided to conduct this research with secondary school
teachers, due to the following factors:
• The experience he obtained when he served as a secondary school
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Chapter 4 Research design
teacher and also as a head of department and a principal from 1987 to
1996.
• His observations of stress symptoms and difficulties prevailing in
secondary schools (especially those with grade 12).
Permission was obtained from the Head of the Education Department of the
Free State to have the questionnaires distributed to the secondary school
teachers mentioned above.
4.5 SAMPLE
As indicated earlier in Chapter 1, there are 12 education districts in the Free
State and the Harrismith District would serve as a sample, due to the following
reasons:
• The Free State Province was chosen due to the fact that the researcher is
a resident in this province.
• The Harrismith district was chosen out of 12 other districts to serve as a
sample as a result of its accessibility, as the researcher (during the period
of conducting this study) worked in this district. Therefore it would be
easier to access schools for the empirical study.
• Financial considerations as it would be far cheaper to conduct the whole
process in the Harrismith District.
Secondary schools in this District have an average of approximately 13
teachers and there is a total of 28 secondary schools in the Harrismith District.
Therefore approximately 364 questionnaires were prepared.
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Chapter 4 Research design
4.6 MEASURING INSTRUMENT
The researcher considered an instrument like interviews to obtain self-reports
of teacher stress, job satisfaction and work values, but this was considered to
be not appropriate for the purpose of the present study, because interviews
would be expensive and will demand a great deal of assistance from other
people.
4.6.1 Questionnaire
The researcher deemed the questionnaire to be the most relevant
investigating method for dealing with this research project. According to Best
(1970:51), a questionnaire should comply with the following requirements:
• It must be concise and neat.
• The instructions must be easy to follow.
• The items must be of an objective nature.
• The data gathered must be easy to analyse and quantify.
• The questionnaire must strive to obtain data which cannot be obtained
otherwise.
The questionnaire that was used met the requirements mentioned above.
The researcher made an informed decision (informed by the above-mentioned
requirements and opinions of other researchers) to select one of the available
questionnaires developed by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).
The questionnaire which was selected, is labelled: Experience of work and
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Chapter 4 Research design
life circumstances.
Furthermore, this questionnaire was regarded as the most appropriate for this
study for the following reasons:
• It covered all the areas that needed to be investigated.
• Its validity and reliability had been tested.
• Its questions were such that they touched on all the variables essential in
this study, namely work-related stress (WRS), job satisfaction (JS) and
work values (WV).
Items covered in the literature study, i.e. the work itself, salary, opportunities
for promotion, relationship with supervisors, conditions of work, fulfilment,
enjoyment, satisfaction, performance, commitment, teacher appraisal and
emotional conditions were all more or less covered in the questionnaire.
4.6.2 Aim of the questionnaire
The aim of the questionnaire was to expose tendencies prevailing in the
teaching profession in as far as the variables stated in this study were
concerned. The expectation was that there is a decline in teacher morale and
an increase in job stress or job insecurities. This also seems to be due to
many changes (rationalisation and redeployment) taking place in the teaching
profession.
Furthermore, the questionnaire aimed at dealing with health abnormalities
(e.g. tension headaches and anxiety) caused by physical depletion; a feeling
of hopelessness; an emotional drain; and the development of negative
attitudes towards teaching, life, parents, pupils and colleagues.
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Chapter 4 Research design
The researcher also requested his colleagues (about ten) to go through the
questionnaire and thereafter to voice their opinions in terms of whether it was
accurate in what it intended exposing (according to the researcher's briefing).
Most colleagues were positive about the aims of the questionnaire regarding
reflecting job stress, job satisfaction and work values in the work place.
4.7 STRUCTURE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE
The selected questionnaire has three sections, namely the following:
• Section A, consisting of 40 questions (most questions covering WRS).
• Section B, consisting of 23 questions (covering mostly issues as regards
JS and WV).
• Section C, consisting of 53 questions (covering issues regarding WRS and
JS).
The respondents were instructed to choose one answer from the given five
options (one best answer according to their knowledge, experiences and their
circumstances). Under general instructions, the respondents were informed
of the following:
• Their answers would be treated with strict confidentiality.
• There were no "right" or "wrong" answers; the best results would be
obtained if the respondents indicated their true feelings.
4.7.1 Construction
In answering the questionnaire, a particular feeling was indicated by writing
down any number from 1 to 5. All scales were as follows:
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Chapter 4 Research design
1 = Virtually never
2 = Sometimes
3 = Reasonably often
4 = Very often
5 = Virtually always
4.7.2 Structure of the questions
One of the reasons for selecting this questionnaire is that (except for
relevancy), throughout the questionnaire the questions were kept easy, clear
and were in an understandable language.
The piloting of this questionnaire was also undertaken for the following
reasons:
• To check if it was suitable for local use, in respect of both content and
language.
• To make the researcher aware of the possible time that could be spent in
answering the questionnaire.
• To expose possible limitations and constraints in dealing with the
questionnaire.
• To expose possible subtractions or additions to the questionnaire itself.
Questions in the selected questionnaire are related to concepts and
symptoms of job stress, job satisfaction and work values addressed in the
literature study, namely:
• Key concepts in the teaching profession: teachers, education, needs.
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Chapter 4 Research design
• Classroom performance: teacher appraisal, comments on the old appraisal
system, and basic purposes for teacher appraisal.
• Job satisfaction: intrinsic factors like achievement, recognition, the work
itself, etc.; extrinsic factors like status, supervision, relationship with peers,
salary, school policy and security.
• Work values: being responsible, achieving through work, being of value to
the society, job status, and making a difference in an organisation.
4.7.3 Biographical information
The biographical information section was regarded necessary to investigate
the respondents' particulars, so that the researcher might have a picture of
the personal circumstances that the respondent was operating under. This
section enquired about particulars such as identification (surname and
initials), age, the organisation's particulars, the respondent's post level, sex,
qualifications, marital status, and so on.
Information on each particular was required for a specific purpose, e.g. marital
status: the researcher would like to relate the responses of married and
unmarried respondents and establish if there is any pattern or trend. In
Chapter 3 of this study, for instance, Table 2.1 (adapted from Rowland &
Birkett 1992:172) indicates the effects of the following life events on stress
levels:
• Divorce has an intensity of 73.
• Marital separation has an intensity of 65.
• Marriage itself has an intensity of 50.
/
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Chapter 4 Research design
Hence the importance of knowing the marital status of the respondent.
Therefore all information required in this biographical section was required for
a specific purpose and it was felt that such information would help to ascertain
the following:
• Which sex and age groups experienced more stress and maybe less job
satisfaction.
• Which sex and age groups recognised and operated according to work
values.
• Whether the post level was making a difference.
• Whether the level of qualifications of teachers can be a stressor.
• Whether home language can be a stressor.
• Whether the number of dependents can lead to more job stress and/or
less job satisfaction.
• Whether the length of service can contribute to job satisfaction and/or job
stress or adherence to work values.
The researcher used the answers to the questions in the biographical section
to determine which biographical variables relate to job satisfaction, job stress
and work values.
4.7.4 Scale A
From the literature study it was found that a feeling inside or outside an
individual can be regarded as a stressor. Therefore Section A attempted to
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expose the respondents' feelings in relation to work.
The main question, for instance, (that led to 40 other questions) started as
follows:
• How often in your work do you feel:
=> afraid, not knowing of what exactly? (inside);
=> worried, bored? (inside);
=> that you are disturbed whenever you work hard at something?
(outside);
=> that someone or a situation is annoying you terribly? (outside);
=> afraid of colleagues and/or supervisors? (outside).
Stressors both inside and outside an individual, were being addressed by
questions in this section. Chapter 3 of this literature study reflects the fact
that teachers also need to pay attention to their feelings rather than just react
to them or deny them. Therefore it appears helpful to analyse one's present
situation and to determine one's feelings about the people and events in one's
life.
4.7.5 Scale B
This section aimed at revealing the respondents' feelings about important
circumstances within and outside their work. Therefore this part contained
questions regarding the nature of the respondents' "circumstances" and their
"expectations" .
The basic question (representing 23 other questions in this section) started as
follows:
• How often in your organisation do you feel that:
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Chapter 4 Research design
::::::> you are dissatisfied about the nature of your work (for example, it is not
interesting and challenging or it does not correspond with your
aptitudes )?
What is important is that teachers who sense a possible development in their
work level will experience job satisfaction and will be willing to try new things
and strategies within their work.
• How often in your everyday life do feel that:
::::::> social situations with friends and/or relatives are difficult to handle?
In this study it is revealed that the contemporary South African society is
making many different and conflicting demands on the teacher concerning the
inculcation of values and the aim of the education system.
Furthermore, it is revealed that whichever value system is adopted by the
individual teacher or groups of teachers within a particular school, there might
be colleagues, pupils and parents of that same school who will reject those
selfsame values.
Hence, questions like the following were asked: How often in your everyday
life do you feel that:
• your own views differ from those of other people?
• your status among friends and relatives sometimes causes you
embarrassment?
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Chapter 4 Research design
4.7.6 Scale C
For Section C it is important to note that, unlike in the case of the previous
questions (in Sections A and B) a low score (virtually never) represented a
negative trend, while a high score (virtually always) represented a positive
trend.
Most of the questions attempted to expose trends in work values and job
satisfaction, for example:
• How often in your organisation do you feel that:
~ you are able to assume full responsibility for all you do?
In this study it is indicated that it is very important that teachers should feel
responsible for executing their duties as set and required.
All other questions covered issues regarding job satisfaction and work values,
for example:
• Do your fringe benefits supplement your salary adequately?
• Are your abilities and skills developed and extended?
• Do personnel regulations (for example those regarding transfers and
working hours) contribute to your satisfaction?
• Are you able to talk to your supervisor whenever you want to?
4.8 APPLICATION
The Head of Education in the Free State (Mr N.S.L. Nkonka) granted
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Chapter 4 Research design
permission to the researcher to conduct his research as requested (Appendix
B). The SMOs (school management developers of the three clusters of
secondary schools in the Harrismith District) were also briefed with a view to
obtaining their permission and then making arrangements for conducting the
research project concerned.
The three clusters of secondary schools are as follows:
• Warden (all secondary schools in Warden);
• Harrismith (all secondary schools in Harrismith and Intabazwe);
• QwaQwa (all secondary schools in Tseseng, Makeneng and Makwane).
During the dates agreed upon, the researcher arrived at the cluster venues
(i.e. Iphondle-Warden, Lerato-thandi-Harrismith and District Office
Phuthaditjhaba) and personally handed out the questionnaires to the
respondents (i.e. the secondary school teachers).
The respondents were assured that the researcher was not interested in the
names of teachers or schools and that all information would be held in the
strictest confidentiality. After the questionnaire had been completed, the
researcher collected all the questionnaires.
4.9 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
The fact that the researcher used or selected one of the questionnaires
developed by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), boosted his
confidence concerning the standard and reliability of the questionnaire.
Therefore the reliability of the selected questionnaires had already been
tested.
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Chapter 4 Research design
According to Huysamen (1988:55), reliability refers to the extent to which
variation in individual scores reflects differences in whatever the test
measures rather than random fluctuations. One other thing to note is that the
value of a high reliability factor is that the data collected can be used with
confidence because results should be such that the same process can be
repeated in similar circumstances.
Emphasis on the fact that the researcher was more interested in the
information respondents supplied (rather than in their names and school
particulars) appeared to have helped respondents to feel free to answer
questions according to real situations and not to be afraid of being victimised
by anyone.
Furthermore, the fact that there were only a few spoiled questionnaires
reflects to the researcher that the respondents took the research very
seriously and endeavoured to answer questions to the best of their knowledge
and abilities.
The questionnaire is a standardised test and is constructionally valid and its
reliability coefficients as measured by the Kader-Richardson Formula and
vary between 0,62 and 0,92 (Van Zyl & Van der Walt 1994).
4.10 PROCEDURES OF ANALYSING RESULTS
4.10.1 Scoring
The selected questionnaire was such that the responses from respondents
could be coded and analysed by a computer. Therefore all the completed
questionnaires (after the questionnaires with missing cases had been sorted
out and regarded as spoiled by the researcher) were taken to the Computer
Centre (at the UOFS) for summarising the make-up of answers.
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Chapter 4 Research design
4.10.2 Interpretation of results
For the purpose of this research, teachers' responses will be seen to mean
the following (as explained to them before completing the questionnaires):
• Virtually never: It refers to an incident that did not happen at all.
• Sometimes: It refers to an incident that occurs occasionally or some-
times.
• Reasonably often: It refers to an incident that takes place frequently or
many times.
• Very often: It refers to an incident that, to a high degree, takes place
frequently or many times.
• Virtually always: It refers to an incident that essentially or practically
takes place at all times or on all occasions, whatever the
circumstances.
It is extremely important, for purposes of accurate interpretation, to note the
following:
• Questions in Section A (which referred to how frequently a particular
"feeling" occurred) and questions in Section B (which referred to how often
particular "circumstances" occurred), were such that the low score
(virtually never) represented a "positive trend", while a high score (virtually
always) represented a negative trend.
For example: Section BJQuestion 5
.:. Do you find it difficult to deal with social matters?
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Chapter 4 Research design
;;.. If the answer was "virtually never", it represented a positive
trend.
~ If the answer was "virtually always", represented a negative
trend.
• The questions in Section C were of such a nature that a low score
(virtually never) represented a negative trend, while a high score (virtually
always) represented a positive trend .
•:. Do you receive recognition for what you do?
;;.. If the answer was "virtually never", it was a negative trend.
;;.. If the answer was "virtually always", it was a positive trend.
4.11 LIMITATIONS
• The language of the questionnaire itself was English. English was the
teachers' second language and that in itself could have influenced results.
• During the time when the questionnaires were taken to cluster centres,
one or two teachers were on leave. Therefore a few secondary school
teachers could not participate in this project.
4.12 SUMMARY
In this chapter the researcher dealt with the following:
• Objectives of the study and the hypothesis.
• The subjects, sample and measuring instrument.
• The structure of the questionnaire, application and reliability.
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Chapter 4 Research design
• Procedures for analysing results, i.e. scoring and the interpretation of
results, as well as limitations.
In the next chapter the tabulation of results, the interpretation of results and
their discussion will be dealt with.
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QCbapter 5
RESEARCH RESULTS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
\!C he results of the study are presented in this chapter in the form of
statistical tables. The discussion of findings is focused around the
following themes:
• Hypothesis 1: There is a statistically significant difference between the
biographical factors (age, sex, length of service, home language,
qualification, number of dependents and marital status) with reference to
the teachers' level of stress.
• Hypothesis 2: There is a statistically significant relationship between
teachers' level of stress and the factors outside the work situation (job
satisfaction and work values) which contribute to the teachers' stress.
• Hypothesis 3: There is a statistically significant relationship between
teachers' level of stress and the teachers' expectations and circumstances
within the work situation which contribute to the teachers' stress.
• Hypothesis 4: Teachers experience a high degree of stress.
Therefore, throughout this chapter, a statistical analysis and a significant
contribution of items in each field or scale will be thoroughly analysed.
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5.2 BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
The first thing that the respondents were confronted with when dealing with
the questionnaire, was the general instructions. Thorough emphasis was
placed on general instructions (e.g. "Make sure that you do not skip
questions. Some questions may perhaps seem very personal, but remember
that your answers will be treated strictly confidential.").
Respondents' confidence in answering questions appeared to have also been
boosted by general instructions like: "There are no 'right' or 'wrong' answers.
The best results will be obtained when you indicate your true feelings".
For more guidance in answering the questions, respondents were also
confronted with specific instructions for dealing with each scale, for example:
"Indicate in Scale A how frequently a particular feeling occurs by writing down
any figure from1 to 5. The scale is as follows:
1 = Virtually never
2 = Sometimes
3 = Reasonably often
4 = Very often
5 = Virtually always".
In the light of the small number of spoiled papers, it is clear that general and
specific instructions had a positive input or influence in ensuring that
questions were answered accordingly. Out of 360 questionnaires given to
respondents, only three were regarded as spoiled and 357 were filled in
accordingly. The analysis which follows has to do with the biographical
information.
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5.2.1 Tabling biographical information
Table 5.1: Age
Age Frequency Percent
24-28 20 5,6
29 - 33 69 19,3
34-38 123 34,5
39-43 65 18,2
44-48 31 8,7
49- 53 10 2,8
54- 59 8 2,2
31 8,7
Total 100
The highest percentage (34,5%) of respondents, were between 34 and 38
years of age.
Table 5.2: Post level
Post level Frequency Percent
1 276 77,3
2 48 13,4
3 11 3,1
4 13 3,6
Total 100
The majority of the respondents (77,3%) were on post level1.
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Table 5.3: Length of service
Experience Frequency Percent
Less than 2 years 7 2,0
2 - 5 years 36 10,1
6 -10 years 107 30,0
More than 10 years 203 56,9
4 1,1
Total 100
It seemed that the respondents were quite experienced, because more than
half (56,9%) had more than ten years' experience.
Table 5.4: Qualifications
Qualifications Frequency Percent
Std.10 4 1,1
Std. 10 + 1,2 + 3 years 143 40,9
More than Std. 10 + 3 years 201 56,3
Std. 8 - 9 1 0,3
5 1,4
Total 100
The majority of the respondents had a Std. 10 plus at least one year training.
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Chapter 5 Research results
Table 5.5: Gender
Sex Frequency Percent
Male 213 59,7
Female 139 38,9
5 1,4
Total 100
The majority of the respondents (59,7%) were male.
Table 5.6: Dependents
Number Frequency Percent
1 67 18,8
2 117 32,8
3 83 23,2
4 38 10,6
5 16 4,5
More than 5 9 2,5
27 7,7
Total 100
The majority of the respondents had dependents ranging from one to more
than five (92,4%).
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Chapter 5 Research results
Table 5.7: Marital status
Status Frequency Percent
Married 260 72,8
Unmarried 93 26,1
4 1,1
Total 100
By far the most (72,8%) were married.
Table 5.8: Home language
Language Frequency Percent
Afrikaans 24 6,7
English 2 0,6
Ndebele 1 0,3
N.Sotho 3 0,8
Shangaan 0 0,0
S.Sotho 240 67,2
Swazi 2 0,6
Tsonga 0 0,0
Tswana 3 0,8
Venda 0 0,0
Xhosa 7 2,0
Zulu 72 20,2
Other 3 0,8
Total 100,0
The majority had South Sotho as their home language (67,2%).
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Chapter 5 Research results
5.2.2 Interpretation
The biographical profile of the investigation group is provided in Tables 5.1 to
5.8 which indicates the following:
The majority of the respondents were rather young, namely 59,4% (5,6% +
19,3% + 34,5%) were 38 years and younger. The majority, namely 77,3%
were on post level one, while 56,9% had more than ten years' teaching
experience. The majority, namely 56,3% were well qualified with at least three
years' tertiary training, while 59,7% of the respondents were male. All of the
respondents had at least one dependent or more. The majority, namely
72,8%, were married and 67,2% had South Sotho as home language.
The fact that the majority (77,3%) of the secondary school teachers in the
sample were on post level one, while most of them had more than ten years'
teaching experience, can be a stressor to educators, in the light of few
opportunities for promotion. Therefore insufficient income could be a stressor,
as the majority had dependents ranging from one to more than five.
5.3 ANALYTICAL TOOLS
For the sake of investigating the hypotheses, the t-test for differences in
means and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), as well as the F-test were
used. Therefore it is important to discuss the definitions of the t-test, the F-
test, and ANOVA.
5.3.1 t-test
The purpose of the t-test is to compare the means of two groups in order to
find out whether the difference in the means is attributed to chance or if it is
genuine differences (Mazibuko 1996: 120). Statisticians usually use phrases
such as "differ by chance" or "sampling error", which are normally used as
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Chapter 5 Research results
synonyms for "variability due to chance". This means that the value of sample
statistics will probably be in error as a result of a particular observation that
happened to be included in the sample. Therefore error in this context does
not imply carelessness or mistakes (Howell 1985: 100).
"Mean" refers to what is generally meant when people use the word
"average". The mean is defined as the sum of the scores divided by the
number of scores (Howell 1989:45).
5.3.2 F-test
The significance of the difference between variances is exposed through the
F-test. Therefore the F-test could be used to determine the impact of the
independent variables on the dependent variable (Mazibuko 1996: 123).
5.3.3 ANOVA
ANOVA is an abbreviation for the "one-way analysis of variance", which refers
to the total variance of measurements of the dependent variable which is sub-
divided into different levels of the independent variable. Although ANOVA
aims at testing the hypothesis involving three or more population averages, it
is also an alternative to the t-test for independent samples when testing the
null hypothesis that two group averages are equal (Jaeger 1983:234).
This statistical procedure permits more than two population averages to be
compared at the same time. Furthermore the null hypothesis of identical
population averages can be tested against the alternative hypothesis that the
population averages differ.
The usefulness of this procedure can be noted as follows:
• Firstly, it deals with differences among sample means.
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Chapter 5 Research results
• Unlike the Hest, it has no limit regarding the number of averages.
• Rather than merely asking whether two means differ, we can ask whether
3,4,5,6 or K means differ.
• It permits us to handle two or more independent variables simultaneously.
• It allows us to look into the interacting effects of two or more variables,
rather than just handling the individual effects of each variable separately
(Howell 1989:220).
5.4 HYPOTHESES INVESTIGATIONS
It is imperative at this stage to briefly explain the statistic called correlation
coefficient, which refers to the extent or degree to which two variables eo-
vary. Therefore, if variables eo-vary, one variable can be predicted from the
other.
According to different researchers (Jaeger 1983:69; Howell 1989: 100) the
strength of the relationship between two variables can be inferred as follows:
• If the correlation coefficient is equal to ±1,00, then it means that 100%
of the variance of one variable would be predictable, using the other.
• If the correlation coefficient is equal to zero, then it means none of the
variance of one variable was linearly predictable from the other.
To investigate the hypotheses, the t-test for differences in means and the one-
way analysis of variance (ANOVA) as well as the F-test were used. Only
these results where significant differences were found, will be provided.
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Chapter 5 Research results
5.4.1 Hypothesis 1
This hypothesis was indicated earlier as follows:
"There is a statistically significant difference between the
biographical factors (i.e. age, sex, length of service, home
language, qualifications, number of dependents and marital
status) with reference to the teachers' level of stress".
Table 5.9: t-test for the difference between the means in the
case of marital status
Variable Frequency Mean Standard t-value p-value
Deviation
Marital
status
Married 260 76,58 17,35 -1,00 0,017*
Unmarried 93 78,80 20,82
* significant at the 5% level
According to the results of Table 5.9, the significant difference for marital
status is at the 5% level, the implication being that the level of stress for
unmarried teachers is significantly higher than those of married teachers.
Therefore hypothesis 1 is accepted in the case of marital status only.
5.4.2 Hypothesis 2
This hypothesis was indicated earlier as follows:
"There is a statistically significant relationship between teachers'
level of stress and factors outside the work situation (job
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Chapter 5 Research results
satisfaction and work values) which contribute to the teachers'
stress".
The correlation coefficient between factors outside the work situation and
teachers' level of stress is 0,5316 and it is significant at the 1% level.
Therefore hypothesis 2 is accepted, meaning that job satisfaction and work
values do influence teachers' level of stress (or vice versa).
5.4.3 Hypothesis 3
This hypothesis was indicated earlier as follows:
"There is a statistically significant relationship between teachers'
level of stress and the teachers' expectations and circumstances
within the work situation (fields 1 - 6) which contribute to the
teachers' stress".
Table 5.10: Correlation coefficients between teachers' level of stress and
teachers' expectations and circumstances within the work situation
(fields 1 - 6)
Teachers' expectations and circumstances Teachers' level of stress
within the work situation
Field 1: Organisational matters -0,3694**
Field 2: Personal matters -0,3313**
Field 3: Physical working conditions and -0,2108**
job equipment
Field 4: Career matters -0,4208**
Field 5: Social matters -0,4245**
Field 6: Relations -0,2900**
** ~ significant at the 1% level
According to the results of Table 5.10, all the correlation coefficients are
significant at the 1% level of significance. Hypothesis 3 is therefore accepted
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Chapter 5 Research results
in all the instances. The fact that all the correlation coefficients are negative,
means that the higher the teachers' level of stress, the lower the teachers'
expectations and the circumstances within the work situation become.
5.4.4 Hypothesis 4
This hypothesis was indicated earlier as follows:
"Teachers experience very high levels of stress."
The group as a whole obtained a mean stress score of 77,0924. Table 5.11
shows that this score implies normal levels of stress and it may therefore be
accepted that this group of secondary school teachers experience normal
levels of stress. It must be noted though that the mean score is very near to
81 which is the lowest value for the "high" interval. Hypothesis 4 is therefore
rejected, but it is clear that the secondary school teacher have some degree
of stress.
Table 5.11: levels of stress according to norm table
Score Interpretation according to norm
40-80 Normal
81-94 High
95 and higher Very high
(Van Zyl & Van der Walt 1994:76)
5.5 SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS
It is imperative at this stage to briefly explain concepts such as "multiple
regression analysis" and "stepwise multiple regression":
• Multiple regression analysis refers to the procedure whereby a subject's
score on a dependent variable is predicted from his/her scores on more
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Chapter 5 Research results
than one independent variable, meaning that any number of independent
variables can be used to predict scores on a dependent variable. It is
usually clear from the context which variables are to be taken as either
independent or dependent variables (Hubert & Blolock 1979:451-452).
• Stepwise multiple regression refers to the statistical procedure whereby
the order in which the variable will enter the prediction equation, by first
handling the independent variable that has the highest correlation with the
dependent variable and then adding predictors one at a time, according to
their contribution to the multiple correlation coefficient (Jaeger 1989:305).
Regression refers to attempts to work at an equation for predicting one
variable from another (Howell 1985:207).
By using multiple regression analysis, it was determined which of the
biographical particulars contributed significantly to the teachers' level of
stress.
Table 5.12: Biographical particulars and teachers' level of stress
Independent B SEB Beta T Significance
variable in the (sig.T)
equation
Marital status 5,33 2,56 0,12 2,08 0,038*
Independent Beta In Partial Min. T.value Significance
variables not in the
equation Tolerance (sig.T)
• Age -0,005 -0,005 0,930 -0,984 0,933
• Length of -0,031 -0,031 0,923 -0,521 0,603
service
• Qualifications -0,004 -0,004 0,988 -0,073 0,,942
• Sex 0,029 0,028 0,931 0,482 0,630
• Dependents 0,038 0,037 0,944 0,638 0,524
(number)
• Home language 0,065 0,065 0,976 1,114 0,266
* Significant at 5% level.
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Chapter 5 Research results
According to the results in Table 5.12, only the marital status contributed
significantly to the teachers' level of stress. This corresponds to the previous
findings as indicated in Table 5.9.
By using stepwise multiple regression it was also possible to determine which
of the factors from outside the work situation and expectations and
circumstances within the work situation (fields 1-6) contributed significantly to
the teachers' level of stress.
Table 5.13: Factors outside and inside the work situation and
level of stress
Dependent variables B SE B Beta T. Sig nificance
in the equation -(Sig.T)
• Factors outside 0.90 0,09 0,44 9,71 0,00**
the work situation
(scale B)
• Physical working
conditions and 0,27 0,13 0,10 2,01 0,04**
job equipment
(F3)
• Career matters
(F4)
-0,58 0,17 -0,22 -3,50 0,00**
• Social matters
(F5)
-0,54 0,19 -0,17 -2,85 0,00**
Dependent variables Beta In Partial Min T. Significance
not in the equation Tolerance (Sig.Tl
• Field one -0,08 -0,06 0,35 -1,09 0,28
• Field two -0,04 -0,03 0,42 -0,63 0,53
• Field six 0,06 0,06 0,40 1,07 0,28
* Significant at 1% level.
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Chapter 5 Research results
According to the results in Table 5.13, Scale B (factors outside the work
situation), field 3 (physical working conditions and job equipment), field 4
(career matters) and field 5 (social matters) contributed significantly to the
teachers' level of stress. The other fields also contributed to the teachers'
level of stress, but not to the same extent. These findings correspond to
previous findings (compare 5.4.2 and 5.4.3).
5.6 OTHER COMPARATIVE STUDIES
• Van Zyl and Pietersen (1999:76-77) found in their study that married
female teachers experience significantly more stress than unmarried
female teachers.
• Brazelle (2000) found the following concerning job satisfaction:
The overall level of job satisfaction of educators in the Free State is
67,74% which can be seen as moderate.
Principals enjoy a higher level of job satisfaction than their
colleagues.
Female educators have a higher level of job satisfaction than their
male colleagues.
Educators with more than 20 years of teaching experience enjoy a
higher level of job satisfaction than their less experienced
colleagues.
Educators with the higher academic qualifications enjoy a slightly
higher level of job satisfaction than their lower qualified colleagues.
• Brazelle (2000) found the following five aspects of their jobs as the main
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Chapter 5 Research results
sources of dissatisfaction of educators in the Free State:
(1) Compensation: A person's salary and the amount of work he/she does.
(2) Departmental policies and practices: The way departmental policies
are put into practice.
(3) Security: The way one's job provides for steady employment.
(4) Advancement: The chances for promotion.
(5) Working conditions: Refers to physical working conditions.
• Van Zyl and Pietesen (1999:74-75) refer to the following research results:
- Van Zyl and Van der Walt (1994) who found that approximately 30-
40% of South Africans suffer from high levels of stress.
Findings by a number of researchers like Beard (1990); Hayward
(1994); Hoek (1988); Marais (1992) and Prinsloo (1990) show that
teachers are exposed to a wide variety of multi-dimensional
stressors within the work situation (for instance, inadequate working
conditions, pupil problems, the threat of redundancy, work pressure,
little participation in decision-making and distribution of tasks and
inadequate salaries).
Biographical factors (for instance age, marital status and education)
have a direct effect on work stress (Decker & Borge 1993; Furnham
& Walsh 1993; Long 1990; Pretty, McCarthy & Catano 1992).
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Chapter 5 Research results
5.7 SUMMARY
In this chapter the following aspects were given serious attention, namely the
different analytical tools, tables reflecting actual results, hypotheses
investigations, as well as significant contributions. The next chapter will
contain the summary, recommendations and conclusions following from this
research.
136
SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS
AND CONCLUSIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
~(t appears that a lack of effective stress management results in important
..:.lJ decrements in well-being, as well as dissatisfaction and a lack on the
side of teachers to perform. This research was therefore conducted with
particular reference to teachers in the Eastern Free State with a view to find
out the relationship between the teachers' level of stress and job
satisfaction/work values (i.e. teachers' expectations and circumstances).
Therefore in the light of the literature review and empirical study, the
summary, conclusion and recommendations will be dealt with in this chapter.
6.2 SUMMARY
As the results are based on a literature study and an empirical study, it
seems important to start with the findings of the literature study. The
literature review in this research consists of two chapters, i.e. Chapter 2 (Job
Satisfaction/Work Values: Teachers' needs) and Chapter 3 (Job Stress).
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
6.2.1 Literature review
The findings in Chapter 2 revealed that all new approaches, such as policy
changes, should target problems inherent in the old systems, particularly
issues that did not have the confidence of stakeholders (compare 2.1).
Teachers feel that democracy and authority must be the corner stones of all
deliberations for new education systems. Chaos, helplessness, demotivation,
disrespect and resentment of authority have been the order of the day in most
black schools. In the light of these experiences, teachers are eager to
experience job satisfaction which needs to be addressed in such a way that
positive educational dividends can be reached (compare 2.1) .
•:. The most important characteristïcs which affect job satisfaction and
work values of secondary school teachers were found to be the
following:
• Chaotic and revolutionary outbursts by school pupils, which started to
be seen as despicable and outrageous. Teachers and inspectors
were blamed for all negative undesirable things in the Education
Department, especially in the ex-Department of Education and
Training. Teachers were disillusioned and started to lack motivation to
do their work. Furthermore, conditions in schools were appalling
(compare 2.1 ).
• A failure of teachers to participate in the search for a more powerful
and enabling form of schooling and to give proposed changes their
best shot. It became clear that the success of any reform - whether
with regard to curriculum, teaching methods, school organisation or
administration - depended upon teachers being "in play", i.e.
participating actively in school matters, but clearly that has not been
the case (compare 2.2).
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
• A failure to clearly realise the role of the teacher, which is that of being
both a transmitter of knowledge and a moral mentor (compare 2.2.2).
The findings clearly indicate that the teacher should be able to do the
following: to determine teaching aims and learning objectives; choose
learning content in accordance with pupils' abilities; select relevant
teaching strategies; assess the progress of his/her pupils; help pupils
to develop all their faculties in a balanced way; have positive attitudes
towards responsibility and hard work; realise that his/her job extends
beyond the business of simply teaching children subject matter; clearly
isolate the place of the teacher in society; and, furthermore, be more
willing to learn about their areas of specialisation.
• An inability to meet or fulfil the needs of the teacher. This finding
reflects that people do their job well if the process of carrying out their
job leads to need satisfaction (compare 2.2.3). The satisfaction of the
following needs was identified to be important for teachers: the work
itself/conditions of work; pay; opportunities for promotion; supervision;
co-workers; roles; responsibilities; classroom practices; teacher
development and appraisal.
• Despite the question of fulfilling the needs of teachers, an inability to
live according to certain work values (i.e. degree of worth, importance
and desirability of what is taking place at work) has been identified to
be an issue that affects teachers' performance (compare 2.2.5).
Therefore teachers' productivity and performance have been examined
and found to be concentrated on the following work values: exercising
responsibility; achievement through work; influence over one's work;
doing meaningful work; being able to use one's abilities and
knowledge; independence in doing one's work; job satisfaction
regarding the work itself; contributing to society; esteem; job status;
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
recognition; influence in the organisation; and pride in working in the
organisation. It became very clear that what happens in the classroom
is essential in the realisation of work values, hence it is important to
critically give classroom performance the recognition it deserves.
• A bureaucratic, closed authoritarian appraisal system has been seen
to be a problem affecting teacher performance (compare 2.3.1).
Criticism aligned to this system is, for example, the following: one
person making judgements which are subjective; teachers
concentrating on impressing superiors; undesirable appraisal systems
have been retrospective - taking place in the end when everything was
over, in other words, when it was too late; appraisal systems did not
have the confidence of stakeholders; in the past they were used to
evaluate teachers according to the prescribed top-down evaluation
approaches; their rating scales contained records of what a teacher
did or did not do to persuade the rater to record performance or to
record numbers that reflected performance.
• The organisation - which is rigid in its unwillingness to expose any
mismatch between the individual and the institution - creates a climate
of intense frustration; demotivation; low effectiveness; adaptability;
poor morale; low job satisfaction; high staff turnover and the rest of the
ills that beset a sick organisation. Therefore there is a need for
appraisal to be seen as one of the procedures for integrating a teacher
into the teaching profession and that the designed outcome is
achieved in part by meeting the teachers' social and psychological
needs. Hence failure to meet the said needs results in the
organisation's or teaching profession's ill health and low job
satisfaction.
• It was found that success in ensuring that teachers experience job
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
satisfaction possibly leads to teachers' performance being improved
and they become more committed and motivated to do better (compare
2.4). This means that people do their jobs well if performance of their
jobs leads to the satisfaction of their needs and that people perform
poorly if job performance does not lead to need satisfaction.
• It was also found that job satisfaction is associated with the following
factors: teaching pupils subjects which teachers feel comfortable with;
parents' and pupils' appreciation of teachers' work; transmitting
knowledge and values to others; exercising autonomy in the
classroom; participation in decision-making and policy-making; an
adequate supply of resources and a good salary; job security and
teacher-pupil ratios and relations; frequent absence from work and
behaving aggressively in the cause of work; an inclination to quit one's
job and psychological withdrawal from work. It has become clear that
many factors associated with job satisfaction are the main ones where
a positive relationship exists between teachers and those who have a
direct bearing on their work such as colleagues, pupils, parents and
principals.
• Factors influencing job satisfaction have been found to be divided into
the following major categories:
Intrinsic factors refer to the following: achievement,
recognition, the work itself, and responsibility (compare 2.4.1).
Extrinsic factors refer to the following: status, supervision,
relationship with peers, salary, company policy, and security
(compare 2.4.2).
Locus of control, role tensions and leadership.
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
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• For the effective functioning of organisations, the following behaviours
have been found to be worthwhile and important: collective morality;
social interest; social responsibility; prosocial orientation; organisational
citizenship; prosocial behaviour; organisational spontaneity; selflessness;
cooperation and concern for the welfare of others (compare 2.5).
• Work values were found to be divided into five major categories, i.e.
intrinsic work-related values; intrinsic work-outcomes values; extrinsic job-
outcomes values; extrinsic people-related values and extrinsic job-related
values. The constructs of these five major categories were found to be
the following: being responsible; achieving through work; influence over
your work; the opportunity to use your abilities and knowledge; being
made to feel independent in your work; being of value to the society
through your contributions; being valued as a person; job status;
recognition for work done; job security and job satisfaction with pay;
relating with supervisors, authority, co-workers and peers; possibilities for
promotion; being happy with the conditions of service; convenient work
hours; benefits (better salary, vacation, pension).
• In summary, with regard to issues related to job satisfaction and work
values, teachers' needs became very clear, i.e. the basic demand
teachers are making is that the instrument for their appraisal should be
negotiated and be appropriate to their context. Fortunately, at this stage,
the appraisal instrument that was negotiated and is acceptable to all was
developed and has been implemented since 1 April 1999 .
•:. The most important issues of teachers' job stress in secondary
schools were found to be the following:
• A lack of stress management results in teachers being unable to meet
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and conclusions
their needs at work and difficulty in experiencing job satisfaction.
Therefore a lack of effective stress management leads to significant
decrements in well-being; dissatisfaction; feelings of disengagement from
the job, and reduced job performance. Furthermore, it became very clear
that understanding the dynamics of stress is important for teachers, so
that they will not confuse stress with personal weaknesses and
professional incompetence (compare 3.1 ).
• We all need a certain amount of stress to get up in the morning and
motivate ourselves. However, what is of great concern, is too much
stress. From the view of teachers' reaction to pressures, stress is viewed
as an unpleasant emotional state, i.e. tension, frustration, anxiety and
emotional exhaustion. Furthermore teachers' reactions to pressures
exerted upon them consist of emotional and bodily manifestations, such
as headaches, muscular tensions and stomach ailments. From the view
of both pressures and reactions and coping resources, stress is seen as
too many pressures and not enough coping resources. Therefore it
became clear that stress can be interpreted as a process of behavioural,
emotional, mental and physical reactions caused by prolonged, increasing
or new pressures which are significantly greater than coping resources.
• It was found that there are different indicators of different perspectives
of stress, i.e. the physical perspective (stress physically affects the
following: circulatory system; breathing; digestion; the skin; hair; posture;
sleep; eating; consumption of alcohol and drugs; sex; energy levels); the
physiological perspective (prolonged stress can lead to ill-health:
catching cold or flu; headaches; migraines; neck and shoulder pains;
backaches and recurrence of old injuries); the psychological
perspective (stress is reflected by the following symptoms:
dissatisfaction; anxiety; tension; conflict; pressures; nerves; boredom;
fatigue; strain and depression); the emotional perspective (emotional
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
needs: to be loved; to be accepted by others; to feel worthwhile; to
experience security and self-confidence); the social perspective (it is
very clear that aspects of society can be a source of professional job
satisfaction and achievement of teachers and, conversely, societal factors
can cause considerable teaching stress) (compare 3.4).
• The most important sources of teacher stress in secondary schools were
found to be pupils' failure to work or behave; poor working conditions;
work load; poor school ethos; poor staff communication; lack of time and
too much work; trying to uphold standards (compare 3.5); relationships in
the classroom; unsupportive parents; conflicts with colleagues.
• "Teacher burnout" has been identified as a catch phrase in educational
literature and includes reactions like apathy, aggression, anxiety,
neurosis, defeatism or sheer bloody-mindedness. Furthermore, it was
found that burnout is caused by a loss of commitment and morale purpose
in work and whenever the expectation level is dramatically opposed to
reality (compare 3.6).
• Teachers' coping resources were found to be for example the following:
trying to keep things in perspective; trying to avoid confrontation; trying to
relax after work; trying to handle each individual situation; talking about
stressful situations with close ones; saying "No" to unnecessary demands;
trying to bring feelings and opinions into the open; learning to admit one's
limits more easily; being positive about current changes; looking at others'
coping systems; and making a personal development plan (compare 3.7).
6.2.2 Empirical review
The empirical research of this study tested the following general hypotheses:
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
6.2.2.1 Hypothesis 1
There is a statistically significant relationship between the biographical
factors (age, sex, length of service, home language, qualification, number of
dependents and marital status) with reference to the teachers' level of stress.
Table 5.9 reveals that there is a statistically significant relationship between
the following variables:
• Marital status (married or unmarried, i.e. single) with reference to the
teachers' level of stress (factors or symptoms: feeling anxious for no
apparent reason; being on the defensive; being more critical; feeling
depressed; being more aggressive; being unable to concentrate;
vacillating in decision-making; making more mistakes; being more
forgetful; being irrational; being unable to make realistic judgements;
changing work habits; drinking more alcohol; smoking more; reduced sex
drive; increase in absenteeism).
Hypothesis 1 is therefore accepted in the case of marital status only.
From the analysis of Table 5.9, it can be concluded that unmarried teachers
experience higher levels of stress than the married ones. The unmarried
teachers could be lacking emotional support, i.e. having someone who is on
their side and who appreciates what they are doing.
6.2.2.2 Hypothesis 2
This hypothesis is stated as follows: There is a statistically significant
relationship between teachers' level of stress and factors outside the work
situation (iob satisfaction and work values) which contribute to the teachers'
stress.
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
As it emerged from the results that the correlation coefficient between factors
outside the work situation and teachers' level of stress was significant the
hypothesis is accepted.
The different variables imply the following:
• Teachers' level of stress. Factors are, for example, the following: physical
factors; types of illness (i.e. insomnia, headaches, etc.); psychological
factors (depression, anger, guilt, sadness, alienation, anxiety,
disillusionment); emotional factors; and social factors (compare 6.2.1).
• Factors outside the work situation are, for example: job satisfaction
(achievement, recognition, status, relations with peers, salary, company
policy and security); work values (being made to feel independent, being
of value to society, possibilities for promotion, being happy with conditions
of service) (compare 6.2.1 ).
It can therefore be concluded that teachers' level of stress is affected by
factors outside the work situation, physical working conditions and job
equipment, career matters and social matters. This means that teachers'
level of stress has an impact on job satisfaction and work values.
6.2.2.3 Hypothesis 3
This hypothesis is stated as follows: There is a statistically significant
relationship between teachers' level of stress and the teachers' expectations
and circumstances within the work situation (fields 1-6) which contributes to
the teachers' stress.
Table 5.10 reveals that there are statistically significant relationships
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
between the following variables:
• Teachers' level of stress and teachers' expectations and circumstances.
Expectations: a need to be recognised; a need for a market-related
salary; a need to function independently; being exposed to the necessary
training courses; etc. Circumstances: dysfunctional organisation;
incorrect leadership styles; dissatisfaction; etc.
Hypothesis 3 is accepted for the mentioned variables.
From the analysis of Table 5.10 it can be concluded that teachers' level of
stress is affected by their expectations and circumstances. Summatively
these expectations and circumstances have been categorised into six fields,
i.e. organisational matters; personal matters; physical working conditions and
job equipment; career matters; social matters; and relations.
6.2.2.4 Hypothesis 4
The hypothesis is stated as follows:
Teachers experience very high levels of stress.
From Table 5.11 it follows that the secondary school teachers of the sample
have a normal level of stress and therefore the hypothesis is rejected. The
mean score of 77,0924 is however very near to the "high" interval and this
therefore implies that there must be a considerable number of teachers who
experience different levels of stress.
6.2.2.5 Other findings
• Most of the respondents who participated in the study were in the age
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
group of 34-38-years (i.e. 34%), followed by the 29-33-years group
(19,3%) and, lastly, the 39-43-years old group (18,2%) (compare Table
5.1). Furthermore, another aspect that has to be noted, is that the
majority of the respondents had relevant qualifications (i.e. 56,3%: Std.
10 + 3 years; 40,9%: Std 10+ 1-3 years = 97,2%) (compare Table 5.4).
• More males were involved in the study (i.e. 59,7%) and, furthermore, the
majority of the respondents had South Sotho as home language (67,9)
(compare Tables 5.5 and 5.8). This could possibly mean that many male,
South-Sotho speaking teachers experience stress.
Following from the fact that hypothesis 1 was accepted, it could also mean
that many of these teachers were unmarried.
• Insufficient income could be seen as a stressor, as the majority (92,4%)
had dependents (ranging from one to five) (compare Table 5.6).
Furthermore, few opportunities for promotion can also be seen as a
stressor, as most of them had the required qualifications and most of them
have more than ten years' working experience (compare Table 5.3). The
implication of this is that most of the people are probably competing for
promotion and that in itself could be stressful.
• The level of stress for unmarried teachers is significantly higher than
those of married teachers (compare 5.9). It is also important to note that
most of the respondents who participated in the study were married (i.e.
72,8%) (compare Table 5.7).
• Job satisfaction and work values (treated as factors outside the work
situation) do have a significant influence on teachers' level of stress (or
vice versa) (compare Table 5.13).
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
• Teachers' expectations and circumstances (treated as factors within the
work situation) do have a significant influence to teachers' level of stress
(or vice versa) (compare Table 5.10). This means that teachers' level of
stress is influenced by the following: organisational matters; personal
matters; physical working conditions and job equipment; career matters
and relations (compare Table 5.10).
6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations arising from this study, based on the findings and
general psychopedagogical principles, will be presented next.
6.3.1 School management should ensure that democracy and authority
are the corner-stones of all schools' activities
School management should see their job as not just delivering education, but
as recreating it for change that is purposeful and cumulative, meaning that
new approaches - such as policy changes - should deal with problems
inherent in the old education system which led to the following stressful
circumstances for teachers:
• Overcrowding at school.
• No communication channels with respect to grievances and complaints.
• Teachers' feelings of being overloaded, pushed around, confused and
fed-up.
• Teachers being excluded from critical decision-making processes.
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
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This means that schools should draw up school policies after proper
consultation with all the stakeholders in the community. Therefore, if
teachers are involved in drawing up or drafting policies for schools, they
should be feeling more cheerful and enthusiastic about keeping to the
standards they have drafted for themselves. Furthermore, this means that
positive educational dividends will be reached which will lead to teachers' job
satisfaction (i.e. feeling the responsibility to help build a just, equitable and
high quality system) and less stress (i.e. less disillusionment and less chaotic
conditions at schools).
The literature survey undertaken in the course of this research revealed that,
when teachers are not involved and consulted in the process of school
management, they do not take pride in the activities at school and as a result
that leads to resistance, which in the end make them feel much
unappreciated within schools by seniors (compare 2.2.4 & 2.3).
6.3.2 New teacher appraisal and its implementation should be given the
attention it deserves
Though an acceptable appraisal instrument was developed, it became very
clear that its implementation has not been given the attention it deserves.
This is exposed by an official letter (Sithole 2000) (see Figure 6.1) written to
all education districts in the Free State Department of Education by the
Provincial COLTS Co-ordinator, Mr F. Sithole.
150
Figure 6.1: Report to the review process of the Developmental Appraisal System (DAS) for its effective implementation,
31 March 2000
District Number of Number of schools trained Level of Number of office- o
schoois implementation based educators zrIII
trained "S.
Bethlehem 251 All schools 50% All ~0)
Bloemfontein East 117 All schools 55% All
Bloemfontein South 193 All schools At 65 schools, mostly All
ex Model C
Bloemfontein West 232 All schools 50% mostly at ex All except for one
Model C schools
Harrismith 198 All schools At most schools All
Kroonstad 292 All in 4 sub-districts, 1 subdistrict outstanding Minimal at all schools All
Ladybrand 294 294 schools At 19 schools All
Odendaalsrus 271 271 schools Minimal All
Phuthaditjhaba 65 65 schools 50% All
Reitz 298 All schools 10% All except for one
Sasolburg 224 All schools 30 -40% All
Welkom 124 All schools 50% All
.... Total 2559
.e.n.. Head Office None
-
Despite the high number of office-based educators trained, it should be noted that no implementation is taking place at this level due to the following reasons:
1. Many of the officials are mainly field workers and it is difficult to organise panel meetings for them, it has not been agreed as to what form
observation of educators in practice will take for them.
2. Many of the officials still view appraisal as meant for schools and are not totally committed to it.
3. District managers, who in many instances, lead SOTs are not totally committed to appraisal.
4. Job descriptions of many of the officials are either being developed or are non-existent.
5. The pressure to make schools functional has led to a shift away from developmental programmes at office level:
Provincial appraisal teams should be used as a consultative forum and not a bargaining chamber. (IJc
Implementation of developmental appraisal should be made compulsory to all institutions. 3
Provinces must budget for the training and implementation of developmental appraisal. 3
III
F..a.rrn!iSb9ols have to get a special consideration when it comes to implementation even if this means redrafting the manual. ~
III ~
:::l 0
08..33
o:::l Cl>:::l
- 0..
CVI I_II
Fani Sithole - 31 March 2000 ëï 0'
:::l :::l
(Sithole 2000) VI VI
Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
There are essential factors about this new teacher appraisal instrument,
which will make teachers perform effectively; feel more motivated; have a
sound understanding of what is expected of them; have a sense of
ownership; and possess the abilities and skills to fulfil the responsibilities
they are charged with (compare 2.3.1.1). These essential factors made
possible by the new teacher appraisal instrument are the following:
• Teachers should concentrate on working well with all individuals rather
than just concentrating on impressing superiors.
• A more complete picture ofa teacher's performance should be produced.
• A range of feedback should be controlled.
• Raters should be representative of key stakeholders, rather than a single
person playing judge.
• There should be target strategic objectives that add values to the
education institution.
• Raters themselves should receive prior training.
• Data collected should add value to the improvement of professional skills,
the recognition of achievement, identifying future needs and agreeing to
appropriate targets.
• It should be seen as a means to an end, not an end in itself, meaning that
performance evaluation should be prospective and ongoing (compare
2.3.1.3:21 ).
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
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Therefore it is very clear that a well-run or -implemented appraisal system will
benefit teachers by giving them a greater sense of purpose through clear
objectives and encouraging self-development and personal initiative, which
should lead to less job stress and more job satisfaction.
6.3.3 Factors outside the work situation should be modified and be
given the necessary attention and adjustments
The findings of this study (compare 5.4.2; hypothesis two) reveal that factors
outside the work situation can contribute positively or negatively to
teachers' level of stress or job satisfaction. Therefore recommendations
aligned to these essential extrinsic factors are:
• Status: The literature findings of this study (compare 2.4.2.1) revealed
that a positive relationship does exist between job satisfaction and
organisational level (i.e. status). Therefore teachers should be enabled
to climb to the organisational level and to feel confidenUready to deal with
new challenges, meaning that opportunities for promotion should be
created.
• Supervision: The partnership model is recommended as the best
(comparative) supervisory style. Therefore teachers should be
supervised and their work should be controlled, as they expect
acknowledgement of and recognition for what they have done.
Furthermore teachers derive satisfaction from the appreciation of their
work by authority.
• Relationship with peers: One should have a positive relationship with
co-workers, as it boosts one's ability to achieve in the work situation.
Receiving feedback from others about one's contribution gives one a
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
sense of fulfilment and satisfaction. The management team can play an
important role in achieving good relationships among colleagues.
• Salary: Teachers should be given a living wage or good salary (i.e. a
salary that will enable them to feel cheerful, enthusiastic and powerful).
This means that a good salary would make teachers feel appreciated and
recognised for the good work they are doing for the community. Therefore
it is clear that better salaries for teachers can take them a long way to job
satisfaction and lead to better performance and delivery.
• Company policy: School policy should be aligned to community values. It
should be seen to be ensuring continuity of community values. Therefore
the process of consultation is a key concept in drawing up school policies.
• Security: School management members and teachers should occupy
permanent posts. It has become clear that when teachers occupy
temporary posts, they continuously operate under a threat. Therefore
they experience a great deal of stress and as a result psychological safety
is undermined and involvement is likely to be low.
Perhaps that is why the National Education Minister, Prof. Kader Asmal, gave
clear instructions that by 30 June 2000 the process of redeployment and
rationalisation should have come to an end in the Department of Education.
6.3.4 Factors within the work situation should be modified and be given
the necessary attention and adjustment
The findings of this study (compare 5.4.3) reveal that factors within the work
situation can contribute positively or negatively to teachers' level of stress
and job satisfaction. Therefore recommendations aligned to these essential
intrinsic factors (compare 5.4.2) are:
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
• Achievement: Teachers should be enabled to reach their goals, e.g.
teach pupils successfully; achieve standards set by the school
management; assess the progress of their pupils; help pupils to develop
all their faculties in a balanced way; and lastly help pupils to develop into
well-balanced responsible adults. This means that resources should be
made available for teachers to perform and experience a sense of
achievement, which is critical for improving job satisfaction and reducing
job stress.
• Recognition: Supervisors should show appreciation and recognition of
the work well done by teachers. This can be done in a number of ways,
i.e. through good remarks; giving awards or rewards; giving more
responsibility (which reflects that the superior has more confidence in a
teacher); etc.
• The work itself: Teachers should have desirable professional
attitudes, i.e. positive attitudes towards responsibility and hard work -
positively acknowledging the place of the teacher in society and be more
willing to learn about their areas or subjects of specialisation. This means
that teachers will experience professional development if they are more
willing to take advantage of opportunities for growth. This can be
achieved if teachers take pride in their work because their status and
good work receive positive recognition.
• Responsibility: Teachers should take responsibility for the work given
to them, meaning that school management and teachers should own their
workload and plan for it. School management should acknowledge that
teachers are professional people who are able to be effective in their
work.
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
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6.3.5 What happens at work (work values) should be made to be
worthwhile and desirable
For the effective functioning of any organisation, the following types of
behaviours should be implemented, namely collective morality; social
interest; social responsibility; prosocial orientation; organisational citizenship;
organisational spontaneity; selflessness; co-operation; and concern for the
welfare of others (compare 2.5).
Furthermore it becomes very clear that it is important in an effective
organisation (school) to give reasonable consideration to teachers' needs,
e.g. teachers need evaluative procedures that are enabling and allow self-
reflection; they need good salaries, reasonable class sizes and support from
colleagues, as well as support and appreciation from school management.
6.3.6 Teachers should be equipped with effective stress management
skills
This means that for teachers to deal with stress effectively and intelligently,
they need to understand and manage their own stress long before they can
even contemplate bringing about changes or making valuable and
recognisable contributions. Furthermore, this means that teachers should be
enabled to differentiate between stress and personal weaknesses and
professional incompetencies.
Therefore a teacher should be made to be aware of the different
perspectives of stress and what stress is capable of, i.e. it should be well
understood that stress negatively affects the following: the circulatory system,
e.g. the heart rate increases; the blood pressure increases; breathing;
digestion; skin; hair; sleep; eating; consumption of drinks and drugs; sex;
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
energy levels; it leads to regular headaches; migraines; backaches; it
furthermore leads to dissatisfaction; anxiety; tension; conflict; pressure;
nerves; fatigue; strain and depression; emotional and social behaviours.
To help teachers to understand themselves better and also the effects of
stress, the staff of school clinics can play an important role. It is sad that in
many provinces school clinics are non-existent and therefore the positive role
that these school clinics can play in the total functioning of school settings
can not be experienced.
6.3.7 Teachers should be enabled to identify sources of stress
For teachers to be able to reduce stress levels, they should be capacitated in
identifying their specific basic sources of stress, i.e. pupils' failure to work or
behave; poor working conditions; workloads; a poor school ethos, poor staff
communication; attempts to uphold standards; a lack of time and too much
work; too high or unrealistic expectations of the parents; physical demands of
teachers' low status; conflicts with colleagues; leadership styles (compare
3.5). For this teachers need professional help and school clinics can be of
great help.
6.3.8 Teachers should be capacitated to be able to be aware of their
coping resources in their working environment
For teachers to reduce job stress and improve job satisfaction, it has become
very clear that teachers should be aware of possible coping resources, i.e.:
• They should always be consistent and honest.
• They should devise some sort of teaching routine.
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
• They should always try to keep children effectively occupied.
• They should listen to others' opinions and be positive about changes.
This means that when a teacher is getting frustrated or irritable, he/she
should be able to ask him-/herself: "Why do I allow this to annoy me?" Then
he/she should be able to move out of that situation and think positively. Their
training as teachers should be of such a nature that they can find resolutions
to stressful situations.
Thus it is evident that teachers' level of stress can be reduced by reinforcing
or encouraging factors that lead to job satisfaction and effective work values.
6.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY
An investigation can be made to expose the role the department officials (i.e.
District-based and Head Office-based) can play in helping teachers to
achieve or fulfil their goals and needs, so as to help teachers to experience
job satisfaction (reduce teachers' level of stress), which is essential for
productivity, performance and teacher morale.
The Harrismith Education District was chosen out of 12 other education
districts to serve as a sample for this study. The Free State Department of
Education took a decision to reduce 12 education districts to five districts
(which is in line with the Free State Government's prescription for
demarcation). Therefore the Harrismith Education District currently (January
2000) falls under District 19, which is at present bigger and consists of the
former Bethlehem, Reitz, Harrismith and Phuthaditjhaba Districts. Therefore
a similar study could be conducted for all teachers in this new District 19.
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Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
6.5 CONCLUSION
From the empirical results of this research, it is evident that teachers in
secondary schools certainly suffer from a substantial level of stress and
burnout which could manifest itself in the form of universal helplessness
and personal helplessness, referring to those teachers who have difficulty
in realising that they can have an effect on the achievements of their weakest
students and choose to share the blame for student failures. Furthermore
more teachers suffer a loss in their professional self-esteem when their
weakest students perform poorly and thus they feel guilty.
In summary the following conclusions can be drawn from this empirical study:
• Various stressors (listed in the form of questions in Scale A of the
questionnaire filled in by a sample of secondary school teachers in the
Eastern Free State) were found to have a debilitative effect on the
psychosomatic well-being of the teachers and this causes burnout
syndromes which manifest themselves in the form of physical,
physiological, social, psychological and emotional disorders. It is evident
that these disorders lead to situations where teachers will not be able to
perform their work effectively as revealed by questions in Scale B
(Appendix A).
• Job satisfaction and effective work values are affected negatively by
significant levels of teachers' stress. Therefore it is evident that factors
related to job satisfaction as revealed by questions in Scale C (Appendix
A) are highly favoured to have an effect in reducing teachers' level of
stress. Steyn and Van Wyk (1999:37) also found in their study (regarding
the job satisfaction of teachers) that a considerable scope exists for
eliminating sources of dissatisfaction among teachers and school
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Chapter 6 Summary. recommendations
and conclusions
management. Furthermore researchers should be warned to apply
findings of job satisfaction with caution, due to the fact that measuring the
job satisfaction of teachers is problematic because attitudes are abstract
and individuals often have problems in expressing themselves accurately.
• The following conspicuous categories influencing job satisfaction and
work values emerged from both the content and the empirical study:
management styles; teacher appraisal instruments; job security; teachers'
salaries; interpersonal relations; appreciation by the community and the
school management; physical working conditions (e.g. class sizes,
resources, work loads).
The fact of the matter is that this study does not claim to have identified all
issues associated with job satisfaction in secondary schools, nor does it
suggest to have isolated causes and effects. This study is actually aimed at
gaining understanding of the complexity and the extent to which
educators experience job satisfaction, job stress and effective work
values.
From the findings it is very clear that many factors contributing to the job
dissatisfaction of educators in secondary schools correspond with the
findings in other studies (Steyn & Van Wyk 1999; compare 5.6). Therefore
the following can further be concluded:
(i) Physical conditions in schools have a negative impact on
teachers' job satisfaction and should be given serious attention.
(ii) Overload: Teachers experience feelings of being overtaxed and
unappreciated. Feelings of being overtaxed are attributed to
overcrowded classrooms, difficult students, a lack of resources,
as well as a lack of support services. Furthermore the issue of
160
Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
rewards is of great concern for teachers to feel appreciated.
(iii) Organisational factors such as salary, opportunities for
promotion, the work itself, policies and working conditions,
security, etc. all contribute towards job satisfaction. It needs to
be noted that it is possible that a person can feel differently
about each factor, for example, be satisfied with opportunities for
promotion, but not satisfied with regard to job security or salary.
Two conspicuous issues in this area can be highlighted as
follows:
• Teachers' poor salaries are a source of dissatisfaction.
• The government policy of right-sizing (redeployment and
rationalisation) is a source of feelings of insecurity and
anxiety.
Therefore, these two areas should also be addressed and be
promoted on the agendas of the senior management of the
Department of Education provincially and nationally.
(iv) The management style of authorities is an issue of pressing
concern. It should therefore be given the attention it deserves.
The fact of the matter is that the management should be aware of
the impact its leadership style can have on teachers' job
satisfaction (Steyn & Van Wyk 1999:42).
Furthermore teachers want to be part of the process of change. Therefore
better ways should be devised of keeping teachers informed of departmental
policy. District managers should work out strategies of ensuring that all key
stakeholders (in particular teachers) have a regular and recent update about
161
Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
all changes taking place in the Department of Education and what role they
(teachers) are expected to play.
Another important finding is that when secondary school teachers experience
stress, some important implications are the following:
~ Their health and their productivity levels can be negatively
influenced. Therefore, information exposing factors that give rise to
these levels of stress should be known so that it is possible to
come up with clear coping strategies.
~ A clear finding in this study is that married teachers experience
significantly less stress than the unmarried teachers (compare
Table 5.9:129).
~ Comparatively, Van Zyl and Pietersen (1999:76-77) found in their
study that married female teachers experience significantly
more stress than unmarried female teachers.
The fact that unmarried teachers experience significantly more stress than
married teachers, can be attributed to not having support at home, having no
one to share your frustrations with, feelings of not being loved and not being
ready to love.
The fact that married female teachers experience more stress can be
attributed to their having various roles to fulfil, i.e. being a homemaker, a
supportive wife, being a mother, as well as at the same time trying to develop
her career and being a good worker (Van Zyl & Pietersen 1999:77).
These findings are hard facts of life and it is not easy to come forward with
ways to help these teachers who experience stress because of their situation.
What can be done for married mothers are fore example, child-care facilities,
eradicating stereotypes and prejudice against married female teachers,
162
Chapter 6 Summary, recommendations
and conclusions
flexible working schedules and patterns (Van Zyl & Pietersen 1999:77).
What is essential at this stage is that employers, managers (Free State
Department of Education, School Management Developers, principals,
School Governing Bodies) and psychologists (district officials in the District
Psychological Services Section) should take these results (from this study
and other studies) into account and should place greater emphasis on the
prevention of high levels of stress developing in teachers. Therefore these
role-players should seriously consider the implementation of recommen-
dations made in this study and in other similar studies with a view to guidance
in preventing high levels of stress as well as enhancing job satisfaction and
effective work values.
The findings and recommendations in this study are extremely important for
teachers (for their own management strategies of stress and the cultivation
of job satisfaction), heads of departments and principals (for dealing
effectively with teachers with low performance), SMOs and District Managers
(for realising the importance and impact of clarifying changes and processes
in the new education system), as well as the general public (i.e. strategies
for relevancy into community values).
Stress can certainly be treated if it is diagnosed in time. Pro-active action
can be taken if enough is known about typical levels and causes of stress
among teachers. Because the country needs well-trained citizens, it is
necessary that the trainers (teachers) are healthy in all different areas of their
personal functioning. A cooperative action by all role-players is essential to
address the different issues.
163
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APPENDIX A Ic
QUESTIONNAIRE
,
,~
Job satisfaction. work VQlu~sGnd
school teachers
"
UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE
BLOEMFONTEIN
2001
176 J
......... ;.. .. ;..;..;. .. ;.;0;.- .. x- ;0;0 :--.. ;..;..;.- ;0;.;.- ;.- ;..;.-.. ;..;..;.;.- ;.;.- .. ;.-.. ;. ;.. ;.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.;0;0 ;.;.;.. ;.;.;.;.- .. ;. ;.-.. ;.;.;.;.;0;.;.;.;.;.;.- .. ;.;.;.;.;0;.;0;.- ;.;..;.;.- ;.- ; ..;.;.;.- ;..;0 ;0;0;0;.;.;0;0;..; ;.; ; x.;..- ;...;.;.-.;0;.;.;.- .. ;0;0;0;..;. :- ;0;0;0;.;.;.;0;0;.;..;0;0;0;.;0;.;.;.;.;.;0;.- x ;.;..;-;-;.;.;.;.;.;0;0 xc-;..-.;.;.;..;-.;.- ;.;.;.;.;.;.;0;0;.;.;0;';';0;.;';.";';';';0;0;';';';';';';':1':::
BIOGRAFIESE INLIGTING
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Kantoorgebruik
Office use
Skryf asb. u besonderhede in die toepaslike spasie in:
Please write your particulars in the appropriate space:
Van en voorletters
Surname and initials
JaarIYear Maand/Month Dag/Day
Vandag se datum
Today's date
I I
Ouderdom
Age DD
Naam van organisasie
Name of organization DD
Naam van afdeling
Name of division DD
Pos (Naam)
Post (Name) DD
Pos (Vlak)
Post (Level) DD
Maak slegs 'n kruis op die inligting wat op u van toepassing is:
Make a cross on those particulars which are applicable to you:
Dienstydperk 1 2 3 4
Length of service Minder as 2 jaar 2 - 5 jaar 6 - 10 jaar Meer as 10 jaar D
Less than 2 years 2 - 5 years 6 - 10 years More than 10
years
Kwalifikasie 1 2 3 4
Qualification St. 8-9 St. 10 St. 10 + 1, 2 tot 3 Meer as St. 10. + D
Std 8 - 9 Std 10 jaar 3 jaar
Std 10 + 1, 2 to 3 More than Std 10 +
years 3 years
1 2
Geslag Man Vrou D
Sex Male Female
1 2 3 4 6
Afhanklikes (Aantal) 1 2 3 4 ~ 51 Meer as 5 D
Dependents (Number) 1 2 3 4 More than 5
1 2
Huwelikstaat Getroud Ongetroud D
Marital status Married Unmarried
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Huistaal Afrikaans Engels Ndebele N-Sotho Shangaan S-Sotho Swazi
Home language Afrikaans Enulish Ndebele N-Sotho Shanqaan S-Sotho Swazi
8 9 10 11 12 13
Tsonga Tswana Venda Xhosa Zoeloe Ander DD
Tsonga Tswana Venda Xhosa Zulu Other
RAAD VIR GEESTESWETENSKAPLIKE NAVORSING, 1991 HUMAN SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL,
1991
Groep: Menslike Hulpbronne Group: Human Resources
(waarby ingelyf is die Nasionale Instituut vir Personeelnavorsing) (incorporating the National Institute for Personnel
Research)
177
1. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
The questionnaire contains questions on feelings that you have experienced in your life.
The following should be taken into account as a general guideline when answering the
questions:
• Do not ponder over a question too long - read and indicate the reaction that comes to mind
spontaneously.
• Make sure that you do not skip questions. Some questions may perhaps seem very
personal, but remember that your answers will be treated strictly confidential.
• There are no "right" or "wrong" answers. The best results will be obtained when you
indicate your true feelings.
The questionnaire consists of two parts. The first part deals with your experiences in your work
and the second part with your circumstances and expectations. Read specific instructions and
then answer all the questions following these instructions on the separate answer sheet.
2. SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS
2.1 Experience of work
This part contains questions regarding feelings that you perhaps experience in your work.
By using Scale A, indicate how frequently a particular feeling occurs by writing down any figure
from 1 to 5. Scale A is as follows:
1 = Virtually never
2. = Sometimes
3. = Reasonably often
4. = Very often
5. = Virtually always
Example:
How often in your work do you feel ...
restless?
Based on this example the deduction can be made that the person feels restless virtually
always.
Now answer Questions 1 - 40 (under Scale A). Please mark the number with an "X".
How often in your work do you feel ... 1 2 3 4 5
1. as if you are coming up against a wall and simply cannot make
any progress?
2. afraid, not knowing of what exactly?
3. uncertain (unsure, doubtful)?
4. worried?
5. that your views clash with those of another person?
178
6. that you are experiencing conflict?
7. bored?
8. irritated (annoyed)?
9. that you have no confidence in yourself?
10. that you depend too much on the help of others?
11. alone?
12. that you would like to attack another person?
13. that you merely accept things as they are?
14. that you are disturbed whenever you work hard at something?
15. that you are losing control of your temper?
16. that no-one wants to support you?
17. that your work situation compares unfavourably with those of
others?
18. despondent (cheerless, down)?
19. that you have broken some rule or other?
20. inferior (no self-confidence, unimportant)?
21. that someone and/or a situation is annoying you terribly?
22. guilty?
23. downhearted?
24. fearful?
25. that you can do nothing about a situation?
26. aggressive (want to hurt someone/break something)?
27. that you are getting sad?
28. overburdened (too much work/responsibilities)?
29. angry?
30. afraid without knowing whether you are afraid of a particular
person and/or situation?
31. not exactly sure how to act?
32. that you are having trouble concentrating since you are worried
about something?
33. that you have no interest in the activities around you?
34. that you need assistance continuously?
35. that you do not wish to participate in anything?
36. afraid of colleagues and/or supervisors?
37. that it seems as if you will never get out of this mess?
38. dissatisfied?
39. that you are tearful (weepy, sorrowful)?
40. that you have too much responsibility and too many problems?
179
2.2 Circumstances and expectations
2.2.1 Circumstances
Questions are asked about the way you feel about important circumstances within and outside
your work.
Indicate below Scale B how often particular circumstances occur by writing down any figure
from 1 to 5. Scale B is as follows:
1. = Virtually never
2. = Sometimes
3. = Reasonably often
4. = Very often
5. = Virtually always
Use this scale to answer each of the questions below.
Example:
How often do you feel in your organisation that...
there is not sufficient opportunity for social intercourse? §
Based on this example the deduction can be made that the person feels that there is virtually
always insufficient opportunity for social intercourse within the organisation.
Note also that questions are asked about circumstances in your everyday life.
Example:
Scale B
1 = Virtually never
2 = Sometimes
3 = Reasonably often
4 = Very often
5 = Virtually always
How often in your everyday life do you feel that...
there is not enough time for sport and recreation?
180
Based on this example the deduction can be made that the person feels that he/she only
sometimes does not have the time for sport and other recreational activities.
Now answer Questions 1-23 (under Scale B). Please mark the number with an "X".
How often do you feel in your organisation that... 1 2 3 4 5
1. the organisation as a whole does not function satisfactorily (for example
owing to poor organisation, little confidence in employees and/or
incorrect leadership styles)?
2. you are dissatisfied about the nature (content) of your work (for
example it is not interesting and challenging or it does not correspond
with your aptitudes)?
3. you encounter one or more of the following: considerable noise,
high/Iow temperature, odours, gases, poor lighting, crowding of people
and/or any other problems that concern your physical working
conditions?
4. situations in which you find yourself, have a negative effect on the
progress and development of your career (for example your
weaknesses are overemphasised and/or you find it difficult to progress
to higher posts)?
5. you find it difficult to deal with social matters (such as socialising in a
group and/or maintaining good interpersonal relations)?
6. you are dissatisfied with one or a few of the following: pension, medical
and housing aid, bursaries, achievement bonuses, group and other
insurance, salary and/or any other aspects of your remuneration
package?
7. you are dissatisfied with one or more of the following: working clothes,
working hours, conditions of employment, communication channels with
respect to grievances and complaints, rules regarding transfers,
termination of employment and/or any other regulations involving
personnel matters?
181
Note that the following questions deal with circumstances in your everyday life.
How often in your everyday life do you feel that ... 1 2 3 4 5
8. family crises (for example death, illness and strife)
have an adverse effect on your life?
9. financial obligations (for example the payment of a
house loan) make life difficult for you?
10. the phase of life in which you find yourself currently
(for example middle age and/or retirement) makes life
difficult for you?
11. the general economic situation in the country (for
example inflation) makes life exceptionally difficult for
you?
12. rapidly changing technology poses a problem for you?
13. facilities (for example water laid on, electricity) at
home are unfavourable?
14. social situations with friends and/or relatives are
difficult to handle?
15. your status among friends and relatives sometimes
causes you embarrassment?
16. your health does not allow you to do what you would
like to?
17. your background (i.e. your past life/where you come
from) causes you embarrassment?
18. your home life is affected adversely owing to the fact
that you have to spend much time on activities at
work?
19. problems with transport make life difficult for you?
20. there is something wrong with your spiritual life?
21. your own views differ from those of other people?
22. inadequate provision is made for accommodation (for
instance your housing is not suitable)?
23. there are too few recreational facilities (for example
for golf and squash)?
182
2.2.2 Expectations
Questions are asked about the extent to which you feel that your expectations with regard to
your job are realised.
Indicate according to Scale C how often the expectations referred to in the specific questions
are actually realised. Scale C is as follows:
1. = Virtually never
2. = Sometimes
3. = Reasonably often
4. = Very often
5. = Virtually always
Use this scale to answer each of the following questions.
Example:
How often do you feel in your organisation that...
you are able to talk to your colleagues?
Based on this example one can deduce that the respondent only sometimes feels that he/she
can talk to his/her colleagues. Note also that, unlike in the case of the previous questions, a
low score (virtually never) represents a negative trend while a high score (virtually always)
represents a positive trend.
Now answer Questions 1-53 (according to Scale C). Please mark the number with an "X".
183
How often do you feel in your organisation that...
1 2 3 4 5
1. you receive recognition for what you do?
2. regulations regarding personnel matters (for example
concerning working hours, conditions of employment and
working clothes) reflect well on the organisation?
3. you can get the work assigned to you done in time?
4. you are able to perform your tasks without having to be on your
feet for long periods, having to lift heavy objects, having to be in
a bent or crouching and/or in an uncomfortable position?
5. you are able to assume full responsibility for all you do?
6. you can perform your tasks without the nature of your work and
your actions endangering other people's safety/lives and/or
having a negative effect on the nature/quality of their lives?
7. your salary is market-related, in other words, it compares well
with what persons with similar qualifications and experience
earn?
8. you are able to function independently?
9. your necessary job equipment (for example stationery, tools,
electronics and laboratory equipment) is always available?
10. you are exposed to the necessary training courses?
11. all your good qualities are used?
12. you are satisfied with your promotion?
13. your fringe benefits (for example housing subsidy) ensure your
support and security?
14. you have status (to feel important)?
15. you are able to get along with your supervisor?
16. the personnel regulations (for example regarding working
clothes and working hours) satisfy your needs?
17. you can perform your tasks without endangering your own
safety as a result of the nature of your work and the actions
required from you?
18. you are included in decision-making that concerns you?
19. you can perform your tasks without coming into conflict with
other people or straining your relations with other people as a
result of the nature of your work?
184
20. the instructions that you receive are in keeping with previous
instructions (in other words that you do not receive contradictory
instructions)?
21. you can trust your supervisor in all circumstances?
22. facilities (such as toilets and kitchens) meet your needs?
23. you have sufficient job equipment at your disposal?
24. physical working conditions (for example lighting and
temperature) are satisfactory?
25. your fringe benefits (for example housing subsidy) supplement
your salary adequately?
26. your abilities and skills are developed and extended?
27. you have sufficient knowledge and information available to do
your work?
28. your tasks can be performed without demanding your continued
and intense concentration?
29. the nature of the furniture and decorations in your working area
creates a pleasant working environment?
30. you have good relations with your colleagues?
31. your colleagues consider you successful and/or hardworking?
32. your salary is adequate to motivate you to work hard at all
times?
33. you are making progress?
34. your job equipment (for example computer, stationery and tools)
is in working order?
35. personnel regulations (for example those regarding transfers
and working hours) contribute to your satisfaction?
36. your input is adequately remunerated?
37. your physical working conditions (for example lighting and office
space) are adequate for the type of work that you do?
38. you are happy with the nature of your fringe benefits (for
example housing, pension, medical aid)?
39. you are able to perform your duties without time playing too big
a role?
40. the way in which things are organised contributes to your good
achievement?
41. management believes its employees to be hardworking and/or
reliable?
42. you have enough work to keep busy?
185
43. the requirements of your job correspond with what you have to
offer?
44. the social demands made on you are of such a nature that you
can easily satisfy them (maintain good relations with others)?
45. your good achievements are noticed?
46. you are able to display initiative?
47. you are able to be involved in different tasks?
48. your post is essential and will be retained?
49. you find regulations regarding staff matters (for example working
hours, working clothes) satisfactory?
50. you are able to maintain good relations with your supervisor(s)?
51. your potential is used to the full?
52. you are able to talk to your supervisor whenever you want to?
53. you are able to maintain good social relationships with
everybody?
""""I'" I I11 IIIIIIIIIIIIII""'III!"""""""""""';""'II""""''''''"'1111"'111_"1' "",,111,,"111""'1
Thank you for your cooperationl
186
APPENDIX B:
Letter of Approval
187
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188
~ummarp
JOB SATISFACTION, WORK VALUES
AND WORK-RELATED STRESS OF
SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
11i"he aims of this study are to, by means of a review of the literature and
~ empirical investigation:
• gain an understanding of the complexity and the extent to which teachers
experience job satisfaction, work values and work-related stress, with
particular reference to secondary schools in the Eastern Free State; and
• measure the levels of stress among a group of secondary school teachers,
as well as to determine the effect of biographical and organisational
factors on their levels of stress. Furthermore, the aim was to look at
relations in terms of how the job satisfaction and work values (teachers'
needs) of these teachers are affected by work-related stress.
It became very clear from the literature review that the impact of stress is
experienced at all levels of society (Van Zyl & Pietersen 1999:74), from
individuals to national level. In the Sunday Times (August 1999) it is indicated
that South Africa is a very stressed society and that support is becoming
harder to find, as familial networks are not strong enough.
A very clear fact is that, without support, stress spills over into different
relationships and environments.
189
In this study it was furthermore concluded that the teaching profession also
has the potential of being stressful and affecting the working environment. It
was found that a lack of effective stress management results in important
decrements in well-being, as well as dissatisfaction among teachers and an
inability to perform up to standard (compare 6.1).
The literature survey also revealed that both satisfaction and performance are
connected to rewards (Steyn & Van Wyk 1999:37):
• Rewards impact more directly on the cause of satisfaction than
performance.
• Rewards levelled on ongoing performance cause subsequent
performance.
Therefore this research evidence confirms the fact that it is extremely
important for supervisors or school management to show appreciation and
recognition of the work which is done well by teachers. Lynn (1998:46)
reflects an interesting statistic supplied by the US Department of Labour,
namely that in 1995 it was announced that 46 percent of people who left their
jobs did so because they felt unappreciated.
Furthermore, it is important for management to be fully aware of the impact of
all factors believed to be promoting job satisfaction and effective work values,
for example:
• Achievement, recognition, working conditions, status, relationship with
peers, salary, company policy and security.
• Making people feel responsible; creating opportunities for people to use
their abilities and knowledge; making people feel independent in their
work; being of value to society through one's contributions; creating
190
possibilities for promotion; and enabling people to be happy with the
conditions of service.
The method of research entailed an empirical investigation in which a sample
of 360 secondary school teachers from the Harrismith Education District (i.e.
the Eastern Free State towns Warden, Harrismith and Phuthaditjhaba) had
been targeted. The questionnaire was used to verify four formulated
hypotheses:
1) There is a statistically significant relationship between the
biographical factors (age, sex, length of service, home language,
etc.) and teachers' level of stress.
2) There is a statistically significant relationship between teachers'
level of stress and factors outside the work situation (job
satisfaction and work values) which contribute to teachers' stress.
3) There is a statistically significant relationship between teachers'
level of stress and the teachers' expectations and circumstances
within the work situation (fields 1 - 6) which contribute to teachers'
stress.
4) Teachers experience very high levels of stress.
The following analytical tools were considered to analyse and interpret
research results:
t-test: To verify it means of two groups have a difference that occurred by
chance;
F-test: To highlight the significance of the difference between variances.
ANOVA: A one-way analysis of variance.
191
Three hypotheses were accepted for different variables, as showed in the
results, and only one was rejected.
It was found that:
(1) the majority of respondents were younger than 38 years of age (59,4%)
(cf. Table 5.1);
(2) 77,3% of the respondents were on post level one (cf. Table 5.2);
(3) 56,9% had a length of service that was more than ten years (cf. Table
5.3);
(4) the majority, namely 56,3%, were well qualified with at least three
years' tertiary training (cf. Table 5.4);
(5) the majority of respondents were male, i.e. 59,7% (cf. Table 5.5);
(6) the majority (92,4%) of the respondents had dependents ranging from
one to more than five (cf. Table 5.6);
(7) 72,8% of the respondents were married (cf. Table 5.7);
(8) 67,2% had South Sotho as home language (cf. Table 5.8);
(9) most of the teachers in the Eastern Free State were on post level one,
while the majority (92,4%) had dependents ranging from one to more
than five and therefore insufficient income could be a stressor for
educators (cf. Tables 5.2; 5.6);
(10) the fact that more teachers were well qualified (56,3%), that more of
them (56,9%) had more than ten years' teaching experience and that
the majority of them were in post level one, imply that few opportunities
for promotion could be a stressor for educators in the Eastern Free
State;
(11) the level of stress for unmarried teachers is significantly higher than
those of married teachers (cf. Table 5.9);
(12) there is a significant relationship (1% level) between teachers' level of
stress and teachers' expectations and circumstances (cf. Table 5.10).
These concepts (teachers' level of stress; teachers' circumstances and
expectations) are explained as follows:
192
Cl Teachers' level of stress: This is reflected by the following feelings: no
progress, being afraid, feeling uncertain, doubtful, or worried; your views
clash with other people's views; experiencing conflict; being bored; being
irritated; losing control of your temper; no confidence in yourself;
depending on others; feeling alone; you would like to attack other people;
no-one wants to support you; being despondent; feeling guilty;
downhearted; aggressive; overburdened; angry; no concentration;
dissatisfied; fearful; weepy; too many problems; etc.
Cl Teachers' expectations and circumstances within the work situation are
reflected by the following feelings:
• Circumstances: dysfunctional organisation; incorrect leadership styles;
you are dissatisfied with regard to the nature of your work; there are
problems that concern physical working conditions (e.g. crowding of
people, poor lighting); a situation that impacts negatively on the progress
and development of ones' career; it is difficult to progress to higher posts;
it is difficult to maintain good interpersonal relations; dissatisfaction with
regard to aspects like pensions, medical fund, housing aid, achievement
bonuses, insurance, salary and all other aspects of your remuneration
package; working hours; conditions of employment and all other
regulations involving personnel matters.
• Expectations are reflected by the following feelings:
You want to be recognised for what you do; assume full responsibility;
have a salary that is market-related; function independently; have the
necessary job equipment; be exposed to necessary training courses; have
fringe benefits that will ensure your support and security; feel important
and have status; you want to be able to get along with your supervisor;
have personnel regulations that satisfy your needs; be included in
decision-making that concerns you; perform duties without relations with
others; receive uncontradictory instructions; have furniture and decorations
193
in your work area that create a pleasant working environment.
(13) It was also found that there is a significant relationship between
teachers' level of stress (feelings noted in point 12) and factors outside
the work situation (job satisfaction and work values):
• Factors outside the work situation are, for example, family crises; financial
obligations; the general economic situation in the country; the rapidly
changing technology; unfavourable home facilities; social status with
friends; health; background; transport problems; spiritual life problems;
inadequate accommodation at home; and few recreational facilities.
• Job satisfaction is reflected by the following characteristics: the work itself;
conditions of work; remuneration opportunities for promotion; supervision;
co-workers; roles; responsibilities; classroom practices; teacher
development and appraisal.
• Work values are reflected by characteristics like the following: exercising
responsibility; achievement through work; influence over one's work; doing
meaningful work; being able to use one's abilities and knowledge;
independence in doing one's work; job satisfaction with regard to the work
itself; and contributing to society.
In conclusion, it can be noted that teachers' level of stress is affected by their
job satisfaction and work values (or vice versa).
194
~p5(Dmming
WERKSBEVREDIGING, WERKSWAARDES
EN WERKSVERWANTE STRES VAN
SEKONDêRESKOOL-ONDERWYSERS
71B ie doelstellings van hierdie studie is die volgende:
• Om In denkbeeld te vorm van die kompleksiteit en die mate waarin
onderwysers werksbevrediging, werkswaardes en werksverwante stres
ervaar met spesifieke verwysing na sekondêre skole in die Oos-Vrystaat.
• Om die stresvlakke van In groep sekondêreskool-onderwêsers te meet,
asook om die effek van biografiese en organisatoriese faktore op hul
stresvlakke te bepaal. Verder was die doelom verhoudinge in oënskou te
neem in terme van hoe die werksbevrediging en werkswaardes
(onderwysers se behoeftes) van hierdie onderwysers beïnvloed word deur
werksverwante stres.
Bogenoemde doelstellings is verwesenlik deur middel van In oorsig van die
literatuur en In empiriese ondersoek.
Uit die literatuurstudie het dit baie duidelik geblyk dat die impak van stres op
alle vlakke van die samelewing ondervind word (Van Zyl & Pietersen
1999:74), vanaf individue tot op nasionale vlak. In die Sunday Times
(Augustus 1999) was dit aangedui dat Suid-Afrika In spanningsvolle
samelewing is en dit word al hoe moeiliker om ondersteuning te vind,
aangesien gesinsnetwerke nie sterk genoeg is nie.
195
en Feit wat baie duidelik blyk, is dat - sonder ondersteuning - stres
verskillende verhoudinge en omgewings beïnvloed.
Verder is daar in hierdie studie tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die
onderwysprofessie ook oor die potensiaal beskik om spanningsvol te wees
en die werksomgewing te beïnvloed. Daar is bevind dat en gebrek aan
doeltreffende stresbestuur enbelangrike afname in gesondheid tot gevolg het,
asook ontevredenheid onder onderwysers en en onvermoë om volgens die
gewenste gehalte te presteer (vergelyk 6.1).
Die literatuuroorsig het ook aan die lig gebring dat beide tevredenheid en
prestasie verband hou met belonings (Steyn & Van Wyk 1999:37):
• Belonings het enmeer direkte invloed op die oorsaak van tevredenheid as
op prestasie.
• Belonings met die oog op voortgesette prestasie het weer op sy beurt
prestasie tot gevolg.
Hierdie navorsingsbewyse bevestig dus die feit dat dit uiters belangrik is vir
skoolontwikkelaars (supervisors) of die skoolbestuur om waardering en
erkenning te betoon vir die werk wat goed verrig word deur onderwysers.
Lynn (1998:46) wys op eninteressante statistiek soos voorsien deur die VSA
Departement van Arbeid, naamlik dat daar in 1995 aangekondig is dat 46
persent van die mense wat hul werk verlaat het, dit gedoen het omdat hulle
gevoel het dat hulle nie waardeer word nie.
Verder is dit belangrik vir die bestuur om ten volle bewus te wees van die
impak van al die faktore wat moontlik kan bydra tot die bevordering van
werksbevrediging en doeltreffende werkswaardes, byvoorbeeld:
196
• Prestasie, erkenning, werksomstandighede, status, verhouding met
eweknieë (peers), salaris, maatskappybeleid en sekuriteit.
• Om mense verantwoordelik te laat voel; die skep van geleenthede vir
mense om hul vermoëns en kennis te gebruik; om mense onafhanklik in
hul werk te laat voel; van waarde vir die gemeenskap te wees deur
middel van die bydraes wat jy lewer; die skep van moontlikhede vir
bevordering; om mense in staat te stelom gelukkig te wees met die
diensvoorwaardes.
Die metode van navorsing het 'n empiriese ondersoek behels waarin 'n
steekproef van 360 sekondêreskool-onderwysers van die Harrismith
Onderwysdistrik (dit wil sê die Oos-Vrystaatse dorpe Warden, Harrismith en
Phuthaditjhaba) die teikengroep was. Die vraelys is gebruik om vier
geformuleerde hipoteses te verifieer:
1) Daar is 'n statisties beduidende verband tussen biografiese faktore
(ouderdom, geslag, diensjare, moedertaal, ens.) en onderwysers se
stresvlakke.
2) Daar is 'n statisties beduidende verband tussen onderwysers se
stresvlakke en faktore buite die werksituasie (werksbevrediging en
werkswaardes ) wat bydra tot onderwysers se stres.
3) Daar is 'n statisties beduidende verband tussen onderwysers se
stresvlakke en, onderwysers se verwagtinge en omstandighede
binne die werksituasie (velde 1 - 6) wat bydra tot onderwysers se
stres.
4) Onderwysers ervaar baie hoë vlakke van stres.
197
Die volgende analitiese instrumente is oorweeg om die navorsingsresultate te
ontleed en te interpreteer:
t-toets: Om te verifieer of die gemiddeldes van twee groepe 'n verskil toon
wat per toeval voorgekom het.
F-toets: Om die belangrikheid van die verskil tussen variansies te
beklemtoon.
ANOVA: 'n Eenrigtinganalise van die variansie.
Drie hipoteses is aanvaar vir verskillende veranderlikes, soos aangetoon in
die resultate, en slegs een is afgekeur.
Daar is bevind dat:
(1) die meerderheid van die respondente was jonger as 38 jaar (59,4%)
(vgl. TabelSJ);
(2) 77,3% van die respondente was op posvlak een (vgl. Tabel 5.2);
(3) 56,9% het dienservaring van meer as tien jaar gehad (vgl. Tabel 5.3);
(4) die meerderheid, naamlik 56,3%, was goed gekwalifiseerd met tersiêre
opleiding van ten minste drie jaar (vgl. Tabel 5.4);
(5) die meerderheid van die respondente was manlik, d.w.s. 59,7% (vgl.
TabeI5.5);
(6) die meerderheid van die respondente het afhanklikes gehad wat
gewissel het tussen een tot meer as vyf (vgl. Tabel 5.6);
(7) 72,8% van die respondente was getroud (vgl. Tabel 5.7);
(8) 67,2% het Suid-Sotho as moedertaal gehad (vgl. Tabel 5.8);
(9) die meeste van die onderwysers in die Oos-Vrystaat was op posvlak
een, terwyl die meerderheid (92,4%) afhanklikes gehad het wat
gewissel het tussen een en meer as vyf en daarom kon 'n
onvoldoende inkomste 'n stresfaktor vir opvoeders gewees het (vgl.
Tabelle 5.2; 5.6);
198
(10) die feit dat meer onderwysers goed gekwalifiseerd was (56,3%), dat
meer onderwysers (56,9%) meer as tien jaar onderwyservaring gehad
het en dat die meerderheid van die onderwysers op posvlak een was,
impliseer dat min geleenthede tot bevordering 'n stresfaktor vir
opvoeders in die Oos-Vrystaat kon wees;
(11) die stresvlak vir ongetroude onderwysers is beduidend hoër as dié van
getroude onderwysers (vgl. Tabel 5.9);
(12) daar is 'n beduidende verband (1%-vlak) tussen onderwysers se
stresvlakke en onderwysers se verwagtinge en omstandighede (vgl.
Tabel 5.10). Hierdie begrippe (onderwysers se stresvlakke;
onderwysers se verwagtinge en omstandighede) word as volg
verduidelik:
o Onderwysers se stresvlakke: Dit word weerspieël deur die volgende
gevoelens: geen vordering; vrees; onsekerheid; twyfel; kommer; jou
beskouinge bots met dié van ander mense; jy ondervind konflik; verveeld
wees; geïrriteerd wees; jou humeur verloor; geen vertroue in jouself hê
nie; op ander vertrou; alleen voel; wil ander mense aanval; niemand wil
jou ondersteun nie; terneergedruk voel; skuldig voel; mismoedig en
bedruk voel; angsbevange wees; aggressief; oorlaai; vol woede; geen
konsentrasie; ontevrede; huilerig; te veel probleme; ens.
o Onderwysers se verwagtinge en omstandighede binne die
werksituasie word weerspieël deur die volgende gevoelens:
• Omstandighede: wanfunksionele organisasie; verkeerde leierskapstyle;
jy is ontevrede met betrekking tot die aard van jou werk; daar is probleme
rakende jou fisiese werksomstandighede (bv. opeenhoping van mense,
swak beligting); 'n situasie wat 'n negatiewe invloed het op die
vooruitgang en ontwikkeling van jou loopbaan; dit is moeilik om bevorder
te word tot hoër poste; dit is moeilik om goeie interpersoonlike
verhoudinge te handhaaf; ontevredenheid betreffende aspekte soos
199
pensioene, mediese fonds, behuisingsubsidie, prestasiebonusse,
assuransie, salaris en alle ander aspekte van jou vergoedingspakket;
werksure; voorwaardes van indiensneming en alle ander regulasies
rakende personeelaangeleenthede.
• Verwagtinge word deur die volgende gevoelens weerspieël:
Jy wil erkenning hê vir wat jy doen; aanvaar volle verantwoordelikheid;
wil 'n salaris hê wat markverwant is; wilonafhanklik funksioneer; die
nodige werkstoerusting hê; blootgestel wees aan die nodige
opleidingskursusse; wil byvoordele hê wat jou ondersteuning en
sekuriteit sal verseker; wil belangrik voel en status hê; in staat wees om
met jou toesighouer oor die weg te kom; wil personeelregulasies hê wat
voldoen aan jou behoeftes; wil betrokke wees by besluitneming wat jou
raak; wil instruksies ontvang wat mekaar nie weerspreek nie; wil
meublement en versierings in jou werksarea hê wat 'n aangename
werksomgewing skep.
(13) Daar is ook bevind dat daar 'n beduidende verband tussen
onderwysers se stresvlakke (gevoelens soos aangedui in punt 12) en
faktore buite die werksituasie is (werksbevrediging en werkswaardes ):
• Faktore buite die werksituasie is byvoorbeeld die volgende:
familiekrisisse; finansiële verpligtinge; die algemene ekonomiese situasie
in die land; die snelveranderende tegnologie; ongunstige huislike
fasiliteite; sosiale status met vriende; gesondheid; agtergrond;
vervoerprobleme; probleme rakende jou geestelike lewe; onvoldoende
akkommodasie tuis, en min ontspanningsfasiliteite.
• Werksbevrediging word weerspieël deur die volgende kenmerke: die werk
self; werksomstandighede; vergoeding; geleenthede vir bevordering;
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toesig; medewerkers; rolle; verantwoordelikhede; klaskamerpraktyke;
onderwyserontwikkeling en evaluering.
• Werkswaardes word weerspieël deur kenmerke soos die volgende: die
uitoefen van verantwoordelikheid; prestasie deur middel van werk; invloed
uitoefen oor In mens se werk; betekenisvolle werk verrig; in staat wees om
jou vermoëns en kennis te benut; onafhanklikheid ten opsigte van die
doen van jou werk; werksbevrediging met betrekking tot die werk self, en
In bydrae tot die samelewing lewer.
Ten slotte dien daarop gelet te word dat onderwysers se stresvlakke
beïnvloed word deur hul werksbevrediging en werkswaardes (of omgekeerd).
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