Measuring Science Teachers' Stress Level Triggered by Multiple Stressful Conditions

LILIA HALIM, MOHD ALI SAMSUDIN, T. SUBAHAN M. MEERAH

and KAMISAH OSMAN

MEASURING SCIENCE TEACHERS’ STRESS LEVEL TRIGGERED

BY MULTIPLE STRESSFUL CONDITIONS

ABSTRACT. The complexity of science teaching requires science teachers to encounter

a range of tasks. Some tasks are perceived as stressful while others are not. This study

aims to investigate the extent to which different teaching situations lead to different

stress levels. It also aims to identify the easiest and most difficult conditions to be

regarded as stressful conditions by science teachers. An occupational stress inventory of

25 items developed by Okebukola (1988) validation of the occupational stress inventory

for science teachers. Science Teacher, was used to measure the science teachers’ stress

level in science teaching. A four point Likert scale ranging from 1 Y Fno stress at all_ to 4

Y Fextreme stress_ was used. Fifty-eight Malaysian secondary science teachers

participated in the survey in which six volunteered to participate in the interview study.

The data was then analyzed using the Rasch model to measure the level of stress caused

by different kinds of stressful conditions. Even though Foverloaded science syllabus_ was

identified to be the basis of multiple stressful conditions, it was, however, difficult for the

respondents to regard it as a stressful condition. On the other hand, the respondents found

that Fhaving to teach difficult science topics_ is easiest to be regarded as a stressful

condition. It was shown that even though Foverloaded science syllabus_ is the starting

point for stress caused by multiple conditions, due to the availability of coping strategies

which can be employed by the respondents, the stressor is minor in causing stress among

teachers. On the other hand, when teachers lack the availability of coping strategies

dealing with teaching difficult science topics, they easily feel stressful. One of the main

recommendations to overcome stressful conditions is to provide the science teachers

Ftopic specific pedagogy_ during in-service training.

KEY WORDS: multiple stressful conditions, Rasch model, science teachers, stress

inventory, topic specific pedagogy

INTRODUCTION

Teaching is a challenging task which can generate stress. In fact, stress in

the teaching profession has been recognized as a crucial problem. Stress

can lead to low motivation at work, a sense of alienation, and worse still

it can cause teachers to quit. According to Kyriacou (1987), stress leads

to poor performance among teachers, and Billingsley and Cross (1992)

observed that stress is also one of the factors that contribute to low

job satisfaction. A decline in a teacher_s productivity is detrimental to

International Journal of Science and Mathematical Education (2006) 4: 727Y739# National Science Council, Taiwan 2006

student progress as it leads to students’ low performance (Helgeson,

1988).

The sources of stress vary depending on the individual_s experience;

and teachers can be categorized into three groups depending on the way

they manage stress (Mcgee-Cooper & Trammell, 1990). The first group

comprises those who leave the teaching profession because they are

unwilling to face the job pressure. The second group consists of teachers

who experience a high level of stress but carry on in their teaching

profession while waiting eagerly for the school break and their retire-

ment day. The third group is the progressive and well developed teachers

who, though stressed, are still capable of handling the stress which

comes from multiple sources.

Hoover-Dempsy and Kendall (1982) contend that science teachers

face a lot more pressure compared to non-science teachers. There are three

explanations to support the argument by Hoover-Dempesy and Kendall.

First, it is a common view that students perceive science as a difficult

subject; thus, teachers face the uphill struggle of attempting to change

the students’ perception. Second, the rigorous preparation required for

science laboratory teaching and the teachers’ responsibility to ensure

students’ safety can also give rise to stress. This is because laboratory

work involves a lot of preparation on the part of teachers, and they have

to be constantly aware of the students’ safety. Third, since science

education plays a crucial role in the socio-economic development of the

country, the expectation of society is high. The gamut of responsibilities

demanded, on not only the teaching tasks but also on the expectations of

society, can heighten the feeling of stress among science teachers.

According to Soyibo (1994), studies on stress level of science

teachers are limited compared to studies on stress for teachers in general.

Based on the stress inventory developed by Okebukola (1992), Soyibo

found that Jamaican science teachers find it stressful when they are faced

with (a) non-availability of safety devices in the laboratory, (b) students’

demonstrated lack of interest in science, and (c) having to teach

traditionally difficult topics. The following are viewed by the Jamaican

science teachers as factors that cause the least stress: fear of getting

wounded, low pay, and not enough periods on the school time table for

effective teaching.

It is important for science teachers to control their level of stress

when confronted with different types of tasks. It would be a serious

problem if science teachers viewed so many tasks as stressful. We,

however, cannot generalize the level of stress without analyzing the

different types of conditions which are the sources of stress. This study

LILIA HALIM ET AL.728

adopts the definition postulated by Kyriacou (1987) in that Fstress is a

response syndrome of negative affect that is developed due to prolong

and increase pressures that cannot be controlled by the coping strategies

that the individuals have._ The level of stress in this study is seen as

stress caused by multiple stressful conditions. In other words, the more

situations perceived by teachers as stressful, the higher the level of stress

experienced by teachers. Thus, this study attempts to answer the follow-

ing questions:

1) Do different teaching situations trigger different levels of stress?

2) What are the stressors that science teachers deem easy and difficult to

rate as stressful?

METHODOLOGY

The occupational stress inventory for science teachers, comprised of 25

items and developed by Okebukola (1988), was used to measure the

science teachers’ stress level. The 25 items were further categorized into

five main stressors: (a) curriculum, (b) facilities, (c) student character-

istics, (d) school administration, and (e) professional growth and self

satisfaction. Some of the items found in the five main stressors include:

overloaded science syllabus, having to use obsolete equipment for

science teaching, inadequate budget for the science department, and lack

of opportunity to attend in-service training. Subjects were asked to

respond to the questionnaire based on a four point scale. Scores of 4, 3,

2, and 1 were given for extreme stress, moderate stress, very mild stress

and no stress, respectively.

A total of 58 experienced science teachers answered the questionnaire

and taught in urban schools. Most Malaysian secondary schools are

located in urban areas in which they follow the same curriculum and

have the same facilities with the exception of a small number of

residential schools. This study involved a total of 15 government schools

from one of the 13 states in Malaysia whereby 3Y4 science teachers were

randomly selected from each school to participate in the study. 36%

(n = 21) of the teachers had teaching experience between 1 and 5 years

while 22.44% (n = 13) had teaching experience between 16 and 20 years.

Three groups of respondents of about 12% each had teaching experience

ranging from 6Y10 years, 11Y15 years and more than 20 years.

In addition to the survey, an interview was conducted to gain insights

into the pattern of the survey findings and for validation. They were also

MEASURING SCIENCE TEACHERS’ STRESS LEVEL 729

asked why certain stressors are easy or difficult to be rated as stressful.

Six teachers from the survey study volunteered to participate in the

interview. The teachers teaching experience ranged from 1Y20 years.

DATA ANALYSIS

In determining the level of science teacher stress caused by different

kinds of situations, the Rasch model of analysis was used. The Rasch

model helps us to transform the raw data into equal-interval scales,

known as logits (Bond & Fox, 2001). According to Bond and Fox, the

model is based on the idea that all persons are more likely to answer easy

items correctly than difficult items, and all items are more likely to be

passed by persons of high ability than by those of low ability. Thus,

persons who have high total scores on the variable in question are more

agreeable overall than persons with low scores. Likewise, items that

receive lower ratings are more difficult to endorse than items that receive

higher ratings.

The output of the analysis is then displayed in the form of a ruler in

which the ruler displays the arrangement of the items of the

questionnaire and of the persons on the same scale. The ruler can help

the investigator to identify which items are more difficult to endorse than

others and which persons are more able than others.

In the context of this study, it is assumed that the more stressful the

respondent, the greater the possibility of the respondent to approve an

item which represents certain situations as a Fstressful_ category

compared to the less stressful respondents. Meanwhile, an item that

represents a more stressful condition has a greater possibility to be rated

as Fstressful_ by the respondent compared to the item that represents a

less stressful condition. By matching the item and the respondent in a

single line, we can conclude that if the respondent rates less stressful

conditions as Fless stressful,_ the respondent will also rate more stressful

conditions as Fmore stressful._In the process of analyzing data by the Rasch analysis, the validation

of the inventory is also being conducted. A process of confirmation is

made whether the assumption of unidimensionality holds up empirically.

In this study, the attribute is referred to as the level of science teacher’s

stress caused by multiple stressful conditions. The Rasch analysis

program report fit statistics as two chi-square ratios: infit and outfit

mean square statistics (Wright, 1984; Wright and Masters, 1981).

Linacre and Wright (1994) propose a reasonable range for item mean


square fit statistics specifically in the Likert scale test context. An

accepted range is from 0.6 to 1.4. It was found that three items in this

study have values that exceed 1.4 (Table I); therefore, we decided to

drop those three items (2, 4 and 5) from the analysis.In addition, the

interview data was analyzed to illuminate the pattern of responses

obtained from the stress inventory.

RESULTS

Figure 1 shows the map of the 22 items obtained from the Rasch

analysis, which are positioned to their calibrations on a single

continuum. As shown on the right hand side of Figure 1, the items on

this single continuum are ordered from the Beasiest to be rated as a

stressful condition^ to the Bmost difficult to be rated as a stressful

condition.^ The left hand side of Figure 1 also matches the level of stress

of respondents in a single line, whereby the respondents are ordered from

the Bmost stressful science teacher^ to the Bleast stressful science

teacher.^ The most stressful science teacher is one who rates all the

conditions represented by the items as stressful conditions. Conversely,

the least stressful science teacher has rated all the conditions represented

by the items as unstressful conditions. By using this line, we are able to

measure the level of the science teachers’ stress caused by multiple

stressful conditions. Along with this aim, this study was conducted to

answer the following questions:

(1) Do different situations trigger different levels of stress?

The arrangement of the items can be used to indicate the level of

science teacher’s stress caused by multiple stressful conditions. In

order to measure the level of stress experienced by science teachers,

TABLE 1

The infit and outfit values of items 2, 4 and 5

Item description and no.

Infit mean

square

Outfit mean

square

Not enough periods on the school

time table for effective science teaching (item 2)

1.62 1.35

Inadequacy of good science textbooks

for students’ use (item 4)

1.51 1.59

Having to teach subjects like integrated science

that one is not specially trained for (item 5)

1.60 1.62


Fig

ure

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fsc

ien

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ach

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by

mu

ltip

lest

ress

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con

dit

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the initial step matches the items with respondents in the single line

based on logits (unit of measurement used in Rasch model analysis).

By looking at the line in Figure 1, it is evident that most of the

conditions produce different levels of stress in the science teachers.

As shown in Figure 1, respondents in this study find it difficult to

rate the condition related to Foverloaded science syllabus_ as a

stressful condition. On the other hand, Fteaching difficult science

topics_ is easily seen as a stressful situation. The position of the item

also indicates that when science teachers experience stress due to

that particular condition, they will also experience stress in the other

conditions or stressors below it. This is because the teachers who are

located at the upper part of the line are likely to view the stressor

which is at par and those below it as stressful. Therefore, as shown

on the left-hand side of Figure 1, the higher the position of the

teacher in relation to the line, the higher the stress level of the

teacher compared to those who are at the bottom part of the line. In

other words, if the teacher feels stress because of an overloaded

science syllabus (item 1), there is a high possibility that the teacher

will also feel stress based on some of the other stressors or condi-

tions, e.g. Fbecause there is non payment of science teaching allow-

ance_ (item 23), Fnon-availability of safety devices in the lab_ (item

9), and Fhaving to teach traditionally difficult topics_ (item 3). The

analysis shows that certain stressful conditions will act collectively

with other types of conditions that lead to a high level of stress in

the teachers.

(2) What are the stressors that science teachers feel difficult and easy to

rate as stressful?

Referring to the distribution of the respondents, on the left hand

side of Figure 1, it is shown that science teachers in this study had

difficulty to rate Foverloaded science syllabus_ as a stressful con-

dition compared to the other items (0.0%). This is because, as

indicated by four interviewees, teachers only need to teach con-

cepts that will be considered in the national examination. The

following are some of the interiew excerpts illustrating the teachers’

views:

BAn overloaded syllabus is not a problem for the teacher because the teacher can choose

which concepts that are related with the examination, means exam-oriented teaching

method, thus, teacher will not teach everything, teacher chooses the important physics

concept.^

Female teacher, 20 years teaching experience


The above view is also shared by science teachers of lesser teaching

experience:

B... teach what is important based on what will be questioned in the examination, but if it

is not important, just teach in a simple manner. We can also provide lessons through

additional class. For an experience teacher, the syllabus is at their fingertips, ... do not

have a problem to finish the syllabus, have his own way to finish the syllabus^

Male teacher, 4 years teaching experience

Another two teachers felt that the nature of a syllabus which is organized

according to the level of students had helped them to avoid stress:

BAlthough there are 10 topics in our syllabus, teachers have their own teaching plans.

Thus, they can avoid feeling stress. Teachers can follow certain level, therefore only

certain levels will be fulfilled. Do not have to be rigid. If the student is weak, level 1 is

enough, but if the student is a high achiever, can proceed to level 3^


BIf we love to teach, we will not feel stress, the important thing here is to be creative. The

syllabus has been developed by the ministry. And it has been simplified to be used by the

teachers. The learning objectives have been set at various levels. Although it is

overloaded, but it has been arranged by the education ministry^

Female teacher, 1 year teaching experience

As shown in Figure 1, teaching difficult science topics is located at the

very bottom of the Rasch’s straight line. This indicates that the science

teachers in this study easily regard teaching difficult science topics as a

stressful condition (100%). Teaching difficult science topics is unavoid-

able, especially when science teachers are required to teach subject

matter that is not their specialization. In Malaysia about 30% of those

teaching science subjects were trained in other subjects, most frequently

mathematics. The mismatch between the teachers’ option and the

subjects they actually taught is worst in physics at the upper secondary

level (Zin and Lewin 1996).

One of the interviewees supported the view that teaching difficult

science topics as a stressful condition is due to the teachers’ own lack of

understanding of the subject matter as illustrated below:

B... when teachers lack the understanding of the concepts to be taught to the students, the

teacher is unable to deliver the concept in the way that is understandable to the students,

hence the students will not understand and that causes stress to the teacher. At the same


time, when the students asked difficult questions and the teachers are unable to answer

that will also cause stress to the teachers^

Female teacher, 5 years teaching experience

Teachers also find it stressful teaching difficult science topics due to the

lack of teaching strategies that can facilitate students’ understanding of

the concept being taught. This view is expressed by most of the

interviewees:

B... when we want to teach the difficult topic for the weak students, it is difficult. It is

because we have to think of a suitable teaching approach and we have to think hard,

about the best way to make students understand, that is stressful. Imagine in a class, we

have to teach difficult topic, the class consists of low and high achievers, whereas the

approach is different for the low and high achievers, it is stressful because we do not

know how to overcome the problem^


BAlthough I use so many teaching methods, the students still do not understand. When I

asked which part that they do not understand, the answer is from the beginning of the

lesson, the problem is they do not concentrate.^


BHave to think what kind of method that is effective to teach difficult topics. If the

teachers have long teaching experience, more than 15 years, it will not be a problem

for them because these teachers know the appropriate teaching method. But for the

new teachers, they have to think first about an effective method to teach the difficult

topics^

Male teachers more than 15 years teaching experience

BTeachers have taught so many times, but the students still do not understand, and this

makes the teacher worried ... because the teachers are afraid that the students can not

answer the question during the examination. The student depends heavily on the teacher.

They do not want to read on their own. Although the topics have been taught, but still

they do not understand.^

Female teachers, 20 years teaching experience

The interviewees were also asked what would be the other situations that

would be considered easily by teachers as a stressful condition. All of the

interviewees agreed that Fprincipal’s reluctance to discipline students

who misbehave_ is likely to be considered as a stressful condition, next

to Fteaching difficult topics._ 55.2 percent of the survey respondents


(see Figure 1) also viewed the principal factor as a stressful situation

next to the stressor of Fteaching difficult topics._ The interviewers felt

that when the students are well disciplined, the teachers are then able to

teach effectively and it is the role of principal to discipline students

while the main role of teacher is to teach. The following excerpt

summarizes the view of the other interviewees:

BIt is necessary to control the students, their discipline because this will lead to high

motivation... My students not only do not like science, but they also interfere with the

teaching and learning activities. Actually, they do not want to go to school. For example,

one of the students in my class said to me that the reason for going to school is because

the parents will give money to this student if this student goes to school.^

Male teacher, more than 15 years teaching experience

Thus, it appears that teachers find disciplining students is a stressful

condition and teachers feel that the job of disciplining should be the

responsibility of the school principal. It is stressful because misbehaving

students are often linked to low motivation students, and motivating

students to learn science is a stressful task.

DISCUSSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

This study was conducted to identify the extent to which different teaching

tasks may trigger different levels of stress among science teachers. It also

aims to identify the easiest and most difficult stressful conditions as rated

by science teachers. Based on the Rasch model analysis, it was found that

different stressful conditions lead to different stress levels. In particular,

Foverloaded science syllabus,_ is seen as the indicator of a high level stress

teacher. This is because that stressor will act collectively with other

conditions, thus increasing the level of stress. It is speculated that when

teachers rate Foverloaded science syllabus_ as a stressful condition, they

also regard the other teaching tasks as stressful too.

In this study, we found that Foverloaded science syllabus_ was

difficult to be rated as a stressful condition by the respondents. This does

not mean that Foverloaded science syllabus_ condition is not a stressful

condition. As shown from the interview, the coping strategies of the

science teachers, such as teaching selected concepts and teaching at the

level of the students, helped to reduce the stress level. Nevertheless,

experience has shown that the issue of overloaded science syllabus and

insufficient time to implement it has always been the main concern of

science teachers in Malaysia. If the teachers are no longer able to cope


with this stressor, it will lead science teachers to feel that they are

burdened with work and, as shown in the first part of the analysis, they

will also perceive other teaching tasks as stressful. It was found in

another study by Seok (2004) that too much work is the main source of

stress among 140 primary and secondary Malaysian teachers. Therefore,

it is suggested that Malaysian educators, especially science curriculum

developers, be aware of the role of overloaded science syllabus in

generating a high level of stress in teachers.

Having to teach difficult science topics appears to be the main

concern among the science teachers. Studies by Soyibo (1994) and

Okebukola (1992) indicated that Fhaving to cope with teaching difficult

topics_ and Fhaving to teach subjects like integrated science, that one is

not trained for_ are ranked third on the list of top ten stressors. Such

stressors might lead science teachers to deserting their profession and

impairing their teaching efficiency.

The demanding situation resulting from having to teach difficult

science topics is due to: (a) teachers requiring time to prepare the les-

sons, (b) teachers themselves not understanding the subject matter, (c)

teachers unable to deliver the lessons well, or (d) teachers unable to help

develop conceptual understanding in the students. An implication of this

finding is the importance of providing ongoing in-service training focus-

ing on topic specific pedagogy, especially on topics that are deemed

difficult by the science teachers themselves. As shown in a study of the

needs of non-option physics teachers, it was found that the non-option

physics teachers require assistance in teaching specific topics that are

difficult, namely, electronics and electromagnetism.

Another interesting finding in this study is that science teachers feel

that principals should help to discipline misbehaved students so that

teachers may focus on the process of teaching and learning. This study

has, to some extent, identified teaching conditions that act collectively to

contribute to the level of stress of science teachers. This study also

recommends that in any future development of the science syllabus,

Malaysian science educators need to give careful attention to the breath

and depth of the curriculum so that it does not escalate stress among the

teachers. It also indicates the importance of learning pedagogy specific

to topics.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Ministry of

Science, Technology and Environment, Malaysia for the short term


research grant that enabled us to conduct the study. We would also like

to thank all the respondents who participated in this study.

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http://www.rasch.org/rmt/rmt83.htm.

Lilia Halim

Faculty of Education,

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,

43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

E-mail: [email protected]

Mohd Ali Samsudin




T. Subahan M. Meerah





Kamisah Osman







Measuring Science Teachers' Stress Level Triggered by Multiple Stressful Conditions

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