Occupational stress of primary school teachers in the Republic of Republic of Ireland

Leavy, Aileen (2021) Occupational stress of primary school teachers in the Republic of Republic of Ireland. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Stress defined as an unwanted experience accompanied by physical, intellectual, or behavioural changes can trigger negative reactions (Taylor, 2012, Kundaragi, 2015). Teaching is an extremely stressful occupation. Studies suggests teaching is a stressful occupation due to many different causes (Kyriacou, 2001, Simón & Alonso Tapia, 2016). The research on teachers’ occupational stress in Republic of Ireland has been limited (Darmody,2011., Kerr et al, 2011). This study examines the causes of occupational stress among Irish primary school teachers, with a particular focus on class level, school size and location of school (Tokar & Feitler, 1986). The Teacher’s Stress Inventory (TSI) (Fimian, 1984) was used to collect data from one hundred and twenty eight participants who were teaching in primary school across Republic of Ireland. Class level being taught was a statistically significant factor in occupational stress levels (8.4% of variance). There was a non-significant positive relationship, between stress levels and years of experience, r(124) = .16, p = .07. Similarly, there was a non-significant and negative relationship between stress levels and school size( r(124) = -.16, p = .07). There was a statistically significant difference in occupational stress levels derived from the Discipline and Motivation subscale of the TSI (F(6.90, 120.41) = 3.68, p < 0.05), this was significantly lower for the junior level teachers. These results support international research on the sources of teachers’ occupational stress levels (Kyriacou, 2001). The results acquired from this study impact our understanding of occupational stress among primary school teachers in Republic of Ireland.

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Occupational stress; Irish primary schools; Irish primary school teachers; Teacher’s Stress Inventory; Causes of stress; Class level; School size; Location of school; Years of experience
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > Ireland L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > Teaching Personnel > Primary School Teachers H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > Industrial Psychology > Workplace Stress
Divisions:	School of Business > BA (Honours) in Psychology
Depositing User:	Clara Chan
Date Deposited:	12 Aug 2021 15:39
Last Modified:	16 Sep 2021 15:19
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/4949

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