Teacher stress and commitment in the Fanteakwa District

Abstract

The teaching profession is one of the most stressful jobs. Researchers have established that stress influences commitment negatively. In other cases, others have found that commitment serves as a buffer to stress. These studies on teacher commitment were mostly quantitatively driven, and few were situated in Ghana. The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between teacher stress and commitment in the Fanteakwa District. The study further looked into how teacher perceive stress and commitment of S.H.S teachers, their experience and their coping strategies. The study also look at the relationship between teacher‟s stress and their commitment. The study used a qualitative research approach and a case study design. The study employed purposive sampling to select five (5) teachers for interviews and observations. The findings of the study showed that stress and commitment of teachers are interwoven. As a teacher demonstrates commitment his/her becomes evident. The findings also showed coping strategies serve as a buffer to excessive pressure from teacher stress. The study contributes to knowledge by the construction of a new model that connects teacher stress with commitment. The study also presents teacher stress and commitment from the context of a developing country like Ghana. The implications of the findings are that schools should create a supportive environment for teachers which recognizes the existence of stress that comes with commitment, rather than schools trying to eliminate the stress