Occupational Stress and Professional Burnout in Teachers of Primary and Secondary Education: The Role of Coping Strategies

Alexander-Stamatios Antoniou, Aikaterini Ploumpi, Marina Ntalla

Institution of Childcare G. & A. Chatzikonsta, Athens, Greece.
University of Athens, Athens, Greece.

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2013.43A051                

Abstract

This research investigates the levels of occupational stress and professional burnout of teachers of primary and secondary education. It also aims to investigate the coping strategies that they adopt, and the relationship between them. The survey involved 388 teachers who teach in public schools in Attica. Three instruments were administrated to teachers: “Teachers’ Occupational Stress” (Antoniou, Polychroni, & Vlachakis, 2006), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1986) and the “Stress Coping Strategies Scale” (Cooper, Sloan, & Williams, 1988). The findings showed that teachers of Primary Education experience higher levels of stress compared to the teachers of Secondary Education. Female teachers experience more stress and lower personal accomplishment than men. Rational coping behaviors are a resource which help teachers overcome work-related stressors and burnout and achieve their valued outcomes with students, while avoidance coping predicted high level of stress and burnout.

Keywords

Teachers’ Stress; Burnout; Coping Strategies

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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