Assessing the causes of stress among teachers and its management by heads in selected junior high schools in the Atwima Nwabiagya north district

Abstract

The study assessed the causes of stress among teachers and its management by heads in selected junior high schools in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District. The study examined the causes of stress among teachers in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District, identified the effects of stress on teachers in schools and determined the strategies in place by school management to manage stress among teachers. The study was based on the use of structured questionnaires. Primary and secondary data were used in gathering data for the study. In selecting the respondents, multistage sampling technique was used. Purposive sampling was used to select public schools for the study while the census sampling technique was used for one hundred and twenty (120) respondents. However, one hundred teachers responded to the questionnaires. The study revealed that students’ indiscipline, excess work load, inadequate teaching facilities, and poor remuneration causes stress when such needs are not met contributed to stress among teachers. The study revealed that stress has lots of effects on teachers which include inability to manage time well, inability to meet deadlines, feelings of inadequacy in the performance at work, job dissatisfaction, having less interest in the job, absenteeism and reduction in effectiveness or productivity. To ensure teachers give off their best, school management encourage teachers to share their problems with trusted ones, carrying out duties in order of priorities, encouraging teachers to think objectively about a situation and being in self-control. Among the recommendations were regular orientation programme for teachers on how to deal with stress especially on how to handle troublesome students in classrooms, negotiating better salary structure to improve teachers’ situation and to curb the exiting of teachers from the profession, improving employee benefits packages, with particular emphasis on salary, job security, and a clear job promotion path for employees at all levels.