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Newsletter

Volume 31 | 2008 | Number 3

Teacher Stress and Collegiality: Overlooked Factors in the Effort to Promote Evidence-Based Practices

By Dr. Anthony Biglan, Oregon Research Institute

Teachers’ psychological well-being and school culture are important in preventing adolescent problems and ensuring successful youth development. Teachers report considerable stress, burnout, and depression (Bauer et al., 2006; Jurado et al., 1998; Kyriacou, 2001; Schonfeld, 1990, 1992). Makinen and Kinnunen (1986) studied teacher stress over a year. Stressed teachers had more illness, medicine intake, anxiety, depression, and sexual passivity. Those high in burnout reported more psychological and psychosomatic symptoms (Bauer et al., 2006).

Teachers also have alcohol and other substance issues, with stress as a major contributor. Watts and Short (1990) found a higher rate of alcohol use among elementary teachers than for all occupations (12% had five or more drinks in a row in the past week, and 6% three or more times in the prior 2 weeks). Teachers were higher than the national sample on lifetime amphetamine and tranquilizer use. Fimian et al. (1985) studied alcohol and OTC drug use among 1,788 teachers (6 to 11% reported a great-to-major need for substances to manage stress; 3 to 11% used them daily or near daily). The Index of Teacher Stress accounted for up to 24% of the variance in total substance use. According to Jarvis (2002), a survey of teachers indicated that 40% saw doctors for stress-related problems, 20% felt they drank too much, 15% considered themselves alcoholics and 25% suffered from problems including “hypertension, insomnia, depression, and gastrointestinal disorders.”

Teachers’ Effectiveness

Teachers’ psychological wellbeing is related to their ability to deal with student behavior; the relationship is certainly reciprocal. Student misbehavior is a major teacher stressor (Abel & Sewell, 1999; Borg et al., 1991; Chan & Hui, 1998; Dorman, 2003; Kelly & Berthelsen, 1995; Makinen & Kinnunen, 1986; Manassero et al, 2006; Newmann et al, 1989). Depression and burnout are more likely in schools with high levels of student disruptiveness (Beer & Beer, 1992; Dorman, 2003; Hasting & Bham, 2003; Schonfeld, 1992). At the same time, distressed teachers are less able to handle misbehavior or provide nurturance. Their intolerance of challenging behavior (Kokkinos, Panyiotou, & Davazoglou, 2005) impairs their ability to handle it. Yoon (2008) found elementary teachers who reported stress in handling student misbehavior had much more negative relationships with students. Burnout also has a relationship to teachers’ uncertainty about dealing with problem behavior. Just as parental depression can increase parents’ attention to children’s negative behavior (e.g., Johnson & Jacob, 1997), depressed teachers fail to handle students’ misbehavior as well as they could.

Attrition, Turnover, and Absenteeism

Teachers quit at much higher rates than those in other careers do (9% in their first year, 20% within three years, and 30% by five years; NCES, 1997). Losing teachers constitutes national loss, given the teacher shortage (e.g., CAPE 2000) and the high cost of replacement (AEE, 2005). High turnover, when teachers transfer to escape stressful conditions (Ingersoll , 2001) hampers educational effectiveness. More qualified teachers have high turnover rates (Lankford et al, 2002; Podgursky et al., 2004). Finally, many who continue teaching still want to leave. Jackson et al. (1986) found that many teachers who scored high on burnout stayed, despite preferring to leave the job (and sometimes education itself). Only 39% of those who stayed said they wanted to; 30% said they would rather leave.

Miller et al. (1999) surveyed 1,576 Florida special education teachers and examined predictors of their leaving the field or transferring in two years. Perceptions of high stress and poor school climate were two of the most important predictors of leaving or transferring. Jackson et al. (1986) studied burnout among New Hampshire teachers and found all three burnout dimensions predicted whether teachers had left teaching a year later. Collegial social support predicted personal accomplishment. Role conflict predicted emotional exhaustion, which predicted turnover. Bartoli (2002) found a significant relationship between emotional exhaustion (on the Maslach Burnout Inventory) and absenteeism among teachers and paraprofessionals.

Other factors associated with teacher attrition involve school organization. They include administrative support (Betancourt-Smith et al., 1994; Certo & Fox, 2002; Ingersoll, 2001), student discipline problems (NCES, 1997; Certo & Fox, 2002; Langdon, 1996), colleagues’ social and emotional support (Grant, 1988; Guarino et al., 2006; Kim & Loadman, 1994; Parsons, 1959; Rosenholtz, 1985; Shann, 1998), and professional development, participation in decision-making, and support for student discipline (Yee, 1990).

Experiential Avoidance (EA): A Core Process in Psychological Wellbeing

The problems occurring among teachers may relate to a newly identified core psychological process called experiential avoidance. EA is the tendency to try controlling the form or frequency of thoughts or feelings even when doing so causes behavioral or psychological difficulties. Growing evidence indicates that EA contributes to diverse problems.

In our research (Biglan et al., in preparation), we found EA associated with diverse measures of psychological wellbeing among both middle and preschool teachers. Among 127 teachers and administrators from 16 middle schools, we found EA significantly associated with teacher depression, stress ratings, satisfaction with living, and self-efficacy as teachers. We found similar results among 61 preschool teachers and home care providers.

Although related to measures of psychological wellbeing, EA is a distinct construct associated with varied psychological and behavioral difficulties. Bond et al. (in preparation) assessed psychometric properties of a 10-item measure of EA, the Acceptance & Action Questionnaire II. They collected data from 2,226 subjects. The measure did not correlate with a measure of social desirability and, despite strong relationships with other psychological functioning measures, a confirmatory factor analysis involving items from the AAQII, BDI (Beck et al., 1961), BAI (Beck et al., 1988), GHQ (Goldberg, 1978), Negative Affectivity, and Big Five factors (Goldberg, 1993) showed the AAQII measured a construct distinct from the others.

Two ideas may explain how EA can relate to so many problems (Biglan et al., in press). People try to avoid stressors and reactions to them; thus, stress of any sort is likely to increase people’s tendency toward EA. Efforts to control thoughts and feelings instead exacerbate them (Marcks & Woods, 2005; Wegner & Erber, 1992). Thus, diverse stressors increase EA, which, in turn, locks people into struggles with whatever distress their situation and their history bring them.

The Value of a Collegial School Culture

Studies of correlates of teacher wellbeing consistently stress the benefits of a positive school culture. The primary dimensions of these cultures include (a) colleague supportiveness (Brouwers et al., 2001; Burke & Greenglass, 1995; Burke et al., 1996; Chan & Hui, 1998; Dussault et al., 1999; Gersten et al., 2001; Griffith et al., 1999; Newmann et al., 1989; Talmor et al., 2005a; 2005b); (b) principal (Burke & Greenglass, 1995; Brouwers et al., 2001; Davis & Wilson, 2000; Gersten et al., 2001) and other administrative support (Betoret, 2006; Burke & Greenglass, 1995; Newmann et al., 1989); (c) participatory decision-making (Ingersoll, 1996); (d) autonomy (Burke & Greenglass, 1995; Ingersoll, 1996); and (e) shared values and goals (Burke & Greenglass, 1995; Chubb, 1988; Dorman, 2003). Support is particularly important for new teachers. Smith and Ingersoll (2004) found that new teachers with mentors (particularly related to collegial support) in their first year were less likely to leave or transfer. On average, 29% of new teachers changed schools (15%) or left teaching (14%). Without mentoring, the probability of leaving rose to 40% (Smith & Ingersoll, 2004).

Evidence suggests that building cooperative relations and having a shared commitment to common purpose among staff are critical to a school’s success. Besides supporting teacher wellbeing, collegiality benefits school effectiveness. Bryk and Driscoll (1988) identified features of the school community associated with effectiveness: (a) shared values about the school’s purpose, (b) clear expectations for students and staff, (c) high expectations for learning, (d) an agenda of activities designed to foster meaningful interactions among school members, and (e) caring social relations. Other studies show greater gains in academic achievement in schools with faculty, student, and parent participation in determining a school’s goals and practices (e.g., Cook et al., 2000; Hallinger & Heck, 1998). Battistich and colleagues found that improving a sense of community is associated with various positive outcomes (e.g., lower levels of student drug use, delinquency, and other problem behaviors; Solomon et al., 2000). Rowan et al. (1997) found that teacher control of decision-making led to higher student achievement, when controlling for other correlates of achievement.

The Value of ACT for Teachers and School Organizations

An acceptance-focused intervention to reduce EA can ameliorate teacher burnout and depression while increasing teachers’ work commitment and openness to evidence-based practices. Our recent work indicates that such an intervention can foster a more socially supportive, caring, and dedicated school culture to benefit staff and students. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or Training (ACT; Biglan et al., in press; Hayes et al., 2006; Hayes et al., 1999) applies acceptance, mindfulness, commitment, and behavior change processes to reducing EA.

In a pilot, we evaluated the impact of workshops with 61 people in a randomized wait-list control group design. We implemented the study in a preschool for children with developmental disabilities and with a group of consultants to families of children with developmental disabilities. We replicated it with home childcare providers. The preschool (Early Education Program) is a large countywide provider of preschool services to children with developmental disabilities and typically developing youngsters. For the preschool, teams (consisting of lead teachers and assistants) by random assignment took the workshop immediately or three months after the first group did. We randomized consultants individually to the two conditions. Participants completed assessments four times—five weeks, four months, and six months after the pretest. In the replication with home care providers, only three assessments occurred.

The intervention consisted of two 3.5-hour workshops given two weeks apart for the Immediate group and three weeks apart for Delayed. We based the workshops on descriptions of other ACT workshops provided to work organizations (Bond & Bunce, 2000; Hayes et al., 2004) and on Dr. Biglan’s training and experience in providing ACT clinically. The intervention included experiential exercises and metaphors designed to promote acceptance of unpleasant thoughts and feelings and the pursuit of valued actions even in the context of such thoughts and feelings.

Our analysis showed that the workshops affected three subscales measuring aspects of EA. There was evidence that the workshops increased people’s ability to attend to their inner experience as indicated by the Observing/Noticing/Attending to Inner Experience Subscale. Workshop participation led to significant improvements on stress ratings and on ratings of efficacy in teaching or working with children. The analyses showed no effect on participants’ depression, but the proportion of participants in Immediate who were depressed declined significantly after the intervention and remained significantly lower at T3 and T4.

Besides benefitting individuals, the intervention aided substantial change in the culture of the Early Education Program. Since a majority of EEP staff participated and the preschool Director was one of the workshop presenters, it was possible to use ACT principles in everyday preschool activities. In training, supervision, and collaboration, it became common for staff to acknowledge and accept their own and other’s feelings and thoughts. It became more common to take and give critical feedback because staff did not have to avoid the feelings that arose in such situations; they increasingly recognized their thoughts and feelings as what they were—not a frightening reality they had to avoid. Since implementing the ACT workshops, the preschool has implemented two major innovations. First, they put Positive Behavior Support (PBS) into service throughout the preschool. PBS for preschools creates routines for common daily activities and richly reinforces adherence to those routines. Second, they implemented the PATHS Preschool program (Domitrovich & Greenberg, 2000) in all 19 classrooms. It teaches young children about emotions and ways to handle them. The Director reports that the speed, acceptance, and success of these implementations were unprecedented in her 20 years in charge of the preschool.

References