Social Support And Teacher Stress

Author(s):

Koraljka Bakota(submitting)Lidija Čilić Burušič(presenting)Adinda Dulčić Katarina Pavičić Dokoza Maja Ribar

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

01. Continuing Professional Development: Learning for Individuals, Leaders, and Organisations

Format:

Poster

Session Information

01 SES 04.5 PS, General Poster Session

General Poster Session

Time:

2017-08-23

12:00-13:30

Room:

W4.corridor (Poster Area)

Chair:

Contribution

Research has shown that about one out of four teachers considers his or hers job very or extremely stressful (Kyriacou, 2001), so the question arises whether there are protective factors in this type of work. Quality social relations with other people can affect the health of the individual in general and the effectiveness of his coping with stress (Cohen, Underwood, & Gottlieb, 2000). If we take into consideration that network of people who support us protects us from stressful events (Myers, 2005), social support appears as possible protective factor in stressful situations.

Social support can be defined as the availability of people we can rely on, and who let us know that they care about us, and that they appreciate and love us (Sarason, Sarason, & Shearin, 1986). Thereby, persons who are more socially integrated and who have better social support have better mechanisms for coping with stress, than persons who have less social connections (Cohen et al., 2000). Taking this into account, the aim of this study is to examine the relationship between social support and teacher stress. The role of four types of social support that include emotional, instrumental, informational and support to self-esteem will be examined. It will also be considered whether support comes from family of friends.

Method

A total of 100 teachers form regular primary schools in the Republic of Croatia will be included in the research. For the assessment of teacher stress Sources of Teacher Stress Questionnaire (Boyle, Borg, Falzon, & Baglioni Jr., 1995) will be used, which was previously translated and adapted by Mikulandra and Sorić (2004). Social support will be measured using Croatian version of Macdonald’s (1998) scale, which was translated and adapted by Ivanov and Penezić (2010).

Expected Outcomes

It is expected that teachers who have stronger social support will also experience weaker level of stress, whereby emotional social support will have the biggest role. The results of the planned research should enrich existing knowledge on teacher stress in the process of education. Obtained results will represent a step towards understanding the role of social support in formation and alleviation of teacher stress.

References

Boyle, G. J., Borg, M. G., Falzon, J. M., & Baglioni Jr., A. J. (1995). A structural model of the dimensions of teacher stress. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 65, 49-67. Cohen, S., Underwood, L. G., & Gottlieb, B. H. (2000). Social Support Measurement and Intervention: A Guide for Health and Social Scientists. Oxford University Press. Ivanov, L. & Penezić, Z. (2010). Skala socijalne podrške. In I. Tucak Junaković, V. Ćubela Adorić, Z. Penezić, & A. Proroković (Eds.), Zbirka psihologijskih skala i upitnika: svezak 5(pp. 69-75.). Zadar: Sveučilište u Zadru. Kyriacou, C. (2001). Teacher stress: Directions for future research. Educational Review, 53, 27-35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131910120033628 MacDonald, G. (1998). Development of social support scale: An evaluation of psychometric properties. Research on Social Work Practice, 8, 564-574. Mikulandra, I. & Sorić, I. (2004). Skala za mjerenje izvora nastavničkog stresa. In A. Proroković, K. Lacković-Grgin, V. Ćubela Adorić, & Z. Penezić (Eds.), Zbirka psihologijskih skala i upitnika: svezak 2 (pp. 62-68.). Zadar: Sveučilište u Zadru. Myers, D. G. (2005). Social Psychology. Boston: McGrawHill Sarason, I. G., Sarason, B. R., & Shearin, F. N. (1986). Social support as an individual difference variable: Its stability, origins, and relational aspect. Journal of Personality and Social Pschology, 50, 845-855.