stress management of public secondary teachers in selected high schools of aborlan

83
STRESS MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC SECONDARY TEACHERS IN SELECTED HIGH SCHOOLS OF ABORLAN ELIZA S. ANIETE–PANIS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL, WESTERN PHILIPPINES UNIVERSITY, ABORLAN, PALAWAN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT APRIL 2009

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Page 1: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

STRESS MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC SECONDARY TEACHERS

IN SELECTED HIGH SCHOOLS OF ABORLAN

ELIZA S. ANIETE–PANIS

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE

SCHOOL, WESTERN PHILIPPINES UNIVERSITY, ABORLAN,

PALAWAN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

DEGREE OF

MASTER IN EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT

APRIL 2009

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The thesis attached hereto, entitled “STRESS MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC

SECONDARY TEACHERS IN SELECTED HIGH SCHOOLS OF ABORLAN”,

prepared and submitted by ELIZA S. ANIETE–PANIS, in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of Master in Educational Management is hereby accepted.

EULENIA C. PIZAÑA NOEL L. GAURAN

Member, Advisory Committee Member, Advisory Committee

Date Signed Date Signed

JULIE HOPE TIMOTEA P. EVINA

Chair, Advisory Committee

Date Signed

Accepted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in

Educational Management.

JULIE HOPE TIMOTEA P. EVINA NOEL L. GAURAN Chair, Department of Educational Dean, Graduate School

Management

Date Signed Date Signed

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

The author was born in Lapu-lapu Street, Poblacion, Narra, Palawan on December

19, 1981. She is third among the six children of her loving parents, Mr. Leonides T. Aniete

and Mrs. Tessie Sotabinto Aniete. She was baptized Eliza S. Aniete at St. Joseph Parish

Church, Poblacion, Narra, Palawan.

She finished her elementary education at Antipuluan Elementary School at Brgy.

Antipuluan, Narra, Palawan in 1995. She obtained her secondary education at State

Polytechnic College of Palawan Vocational Agriculture Curriculum in 1999. She took her

college education at the State Polytechnic College of Palawan, Aborlan, Palawan, with the

Degree of Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) major in Science. In 2003, she

enrolled in Western Philippines University to take up Master in Educational Management

and earn the said degree in 2009.

At present, she is teaching at Inagawan National High School, Inagawan Puerto

Princesa City, handling Biology and Values subjects.

She is happily married to Engr. Romel B. Panis

She believes that life will be just meaningful if you accept failures, face challenges,

welcome changes and strive for progress.

ELIZA S. ANIETE–PANIS

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

With all sincerity, the author wishes to convey and express her gratitude to a

number of people who gave their immeasurable help and effort in the pursuit of this study.

Dr. Julie Hope P. Evina, Chair of the advisory Committee and English critic for

patiently checking her work, for sharing her ideas and sharing her valuable time to the

author;

Dr. Eulenia C. Pizaña, her advisory committee member, for sharing her knowledge

and suggestions for the completion of this study;

Dr. Noel L. Gauran, her advisory committee member and Statistician, for his

valuable assistance in the data analysis;

Mary Jane Dancil Gamoso for sharing her ideas and knowledge to the author;

To Analou and Tita Jean, for allowing her to use their internet connection for free;

Her co-teachers, Sir Rex, Sir Monserate, Ma’am Rena, Ma’am Che, Ma’am Fe and

Ma’am Regie for the laughter and joy they shared with the writer;

Her friends, Analou, Joy, Lhing, Elsie, Grace, Kuya Mads, Willyn, Kuya Albert,

Ate Eden, Ma’am Neth, Lhot, Kuya Barbs, Thelma, Cai , Jenny and Kuya Joel for sharing

their happy moments, and for their thoughtfulness which served as her inspiration;

Her brothers, Kuya Jo, Kuya Bebe, Toto, her sisters Che-Che, Lyn-Lyn and

“pamangkin” Kevin, Josh and Nash for their concern, and the joy of life, which they shared

to the author;

Her boardmates, Ate Eden, Ate Flor, Zinky, Bebe, Ann-Ann, Lorna, Ched, Wilma

for the companionship and laughter they shared with the author;

To Ma’am Beth Mallari, Ma’am Mariz Gensole, Sir Roy Gensole, Ma’am Hilario,

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Ma’am Lea Orlido, Ma’am Annabel Yap, Ma’am Arlene Manalo and ate Eden Demafelis

for helping her in the retrieval of the accomplished survey questionnaire from their co-

teachers.

To her parents, Mr. Leonides Aniete and Mrs.Tessie Aniete, for their prayers,

sacrifices, and encouragement;

Her beloved husband, Engr. Romel B. Panis, for the love, prayers, encouragement,

joy of life, moral support, understanding, and for patiently encoding this manuscript;

Above all, to the Almighty God for the guidance, love, wisdom, and enlightenment

that He had bestowed to the author.

E.A.P.

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ABSTRACT

PANIS, ELIZA S. ANIETE. Graduate School, Western Philippines University,

Aborlan, Palawan. April 2009. “STRESS MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC

SECONDARY TEACHERS IN SELECTED HIGH SCHOOLS OF ABORLAN”.

Adviser: Julie Hope Timotea P. Evina, PhD

This study was conducted from December, 2008 to January, 2009 to determine the

stress management of the secondary teachers in selected secondary schools of Aborlan.

The descriptive research design specifically survey method was used in this study. Data

were gathered through survey questionnaires.

A total of 66 permanent, substitute and contractual teachers were randomly selected

as the respondents of the study. Result showed that most of the respondents were married

females in their middle age. They had been in the service for a mean of 10.3 years and

more than one-half of them were Secondary School Teacher I with mean teaching load of

23.3 hours per week.

The perceived sources of stress such as work, family, personal, and environmental

were considered slightly part of the respondents’ lives.

The level of perceived stress of the respondents was noted to be “moderate”.

The activities engaged in very often to manage stress by majority of the

respondents were praying and talking with family members.

Work, personal, and environmental sources of stress have significant relationship to

the level of perceived stress of the respondents. Age, gender, civil status, number of years

in teaching, academic rank, teaching load, number of students, and attitude of the

respondents towards teaching did not have significant relationship with the level of

perceived stress.

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Civil status was found to be significantly related to family related sources of stress.

On the other hand, number of years in teaching and academic rank were found to be

significantly related to environment related sources of stress.

Other demographic characteristics, job related factors, and attitude towards

teaching had no significant relationship to the sources of stress of the respondents.

Page 8: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE i

APPROVAL SHEET ii

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT iv

ABSTRACT vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS viii

LIST OF TABLES x

LIST OF FIGURE xi

LIST OF APPENDICES xii

CHAPTER PAGE

I. INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study 1

Significance of the Study 2

Statement of the Problem 3

Objectives of the Study 3

Scope and Delimitation of the Study 4

Hypotheses of the Study 4

Operational Definition of Terms 5

II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Literature 6

On Stress and Stress Level 6

On Sources of Stress 9

On Coping with Stress 11

On Demographic Characteristics 14

Conceptual Framework 15

Conceptual Paradigm 16

III. METHODOLOGY

Locale of the Study 17

The Research Design 17

Sampling Procedure 17

Respondents of the Study 18

Instrumentation 18

Data Collection Procedure 19

Treatment of Data 19

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CHAPTER PAGE

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents 22

Job-related Characteristics of the Respondents 23

Attitude of the Respondents toward Teaching 25

Work-related Sources of Stress as Perceived by the Respondents 29

Family-related Sources of Stress as Perceived by the Respondents 34

Personal-related Sources of Stress as Perceived by the Respondents 36

Environment-related Sources of Stress as Perceived by the Respondents 38

Level of Perceived Stress of the Respondents 40

Relationship between Sources of Stress and Level of Perceived Stress 42

Relationship of Demographic Characteristics, Job-related Factors and

Attitude towards Teaching to the Level of Perceived Stress of the

Respondents 43

Relationship between Demographic Characteristics, Job-related Factors

and Attitude Towards Teaching to the Sources of Stress of the

Respondents 44

Activities Engaged in by the Respondents to Manage Stress 47

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary 52

Conclusions 54

Recommendations 54

BIBLIOGRAPHY 55

APPENDICES

Survey Questionnaire 59

Letter of Request to the Assistant Schools Division Superindent 70

Letter of Request to the Respondents 71

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LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE

1 Distribution of the respondents as to their demographic

characteristics 23

2 Distribution of the respondents as to their job-related

characteristics 24

3 Attitude of respondents toward teaching 27

4 Work-related sources of stress as perceived by the respondents 31

5 Family-related sources of stress as perceived by the

respondents 35

6 Personal-related sources of stress as perceived by the

respondents 37

7 Environment-related sources of stress as perceived by the

respondents 39

8 Level of perceived stress of the respondents 41

9 Relationship between sources of stress and level of

perceived stress 43

10 Relationship of demographic characteristics, job-related factors

and attitude towards teaching to the level of perceived stress

of the respondents 44

11 Relationship between demographic characteristics,

job-related factors and attitude towards teaching to

the sources of stress of the respondents 46

12 Activities engaged in by the respondents to manage stress 48

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LIST OF FIGURE

FIGURE PAGE

1 Conceptual Paradigm 16

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LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX PAGE

A Survey Questionnaire 59

B Letter of Request to the Division Superintendent, Division of Palawan 70

C Letter of Request to the Respondent 71

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Stress will always be a part of human life. Whether individually or corporate, at

work or at play, one is pressured to make decisions, take actions or even change one’s

behavior. It makes one’s life meaningful depending on the way it is being handled.

Scott (2007) defined stress as any type of change that causes physical, emotional or

psychological strain. However, she said that not all types of stress are harmful or even

negative. There are a few different types of stress that a person encounters: eustress, a type

of stress that is fun and exciting, and keeps one vital (e.g. racing to meet a deadline), acute

stress, a very short-term type of stress that can either be positive (eustress) or more

distressing (or what is normally thought of as ‘stress’); this is the type of stress one most

often encounters in day-to-day life; episodic acute stress, where acute stress seems to run

rampant and be a way of life, creating a life of relative chaos; chronic stress, the type of

stress that seems never-ending and inescapable, like the stress of a bad marriage or an

extremely taxing job which can lead to burnout.

Stress is inevitable and no one can escape it. With its tolerable existence, persons

learn how to be strong, responsible, and flexible. Presence of stress in one’s life and

learning how to deal with it develop a person into a mature individual. Without stress,

one’s life would be dull. However, stress should be in moderate amount because excessive

presence of it will create havoc to person’s life.

Teaching is a stressful career. As teachers, they are responsible for much more than

their students’ learning. They are also responsible for students’ emotional health and

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physical well-being. Teachers must make sure that students can get along with their fellow

human beings in the present, and teachers are expected to prepare them for their future

lives. Simultaneously, teachers must cope with the often competing demands of parents,

supervisors, colleagues, and students. At some point in their days, usually after school

hours and weekends, they are obligated to plan lessons and activities, purchase materials

and supplies, and often write curriculum (Fenton, 2008).

Kowalski said that, teaching is often exciting and challenging, and consequently

stressful. While every job has its stressors, stress in teachers often goes undiagnosed and

untreated due to several factors, including assumptions that teachers are self-sufficient; an

academic culture that discourages open, honest dialogue or interprets complaints of stress

as a sign of inadequacy; and the misconception, held by many outside the profession, of

teaching (particularly at the university level) as a “cushy” job.

Stress is a popular topic and everybody faces stress in his life since it is a normal

part of life and inevitable but not necessarily a completely bad part. Learning the ability to

handle it would be the challenging part of a person’s life.

This study was conducted to determine the stress level and sources of stress of

teachers in public secondary schools in Aborlan.

Significance of the Study

This study determined the stress management of the public secondary teachers in

selected schools of Aborlan.

The researcher hopes that the result of the study will benefit the school

administrators and the secondary teachers in terms of managing stress.

To the school administrators, the result of this study will serve as basis for

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designing a program of activities to help the secondary teachers to handle stress or prevent

stress in their respective work.

To the public secondary teachers, this study will give them insights on the causes of

stress and would enable them to manage or cope with their stress.

Statement of the Problem

This study determined the stress management of the public secondary teachers in

selected secondary schools of Aborlan.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

1. What are the sources of stress as perceived by the public secondary

teachers?

2. What is the level of perceived stress of the public secondary teachers?

3. Is there relationship between the sources of stress and the level of perceived

stress among the public secondary teachers?

4. Is there relationship between level of stress, sources of stress and certain

demographic characteristics, job related factors and attitude towards of the

respondents?

5. What activities do public secondary teachers engage in to reduce stress?

Objectives of the Study

The general objective of this study was to determine the stress management of the

public secondary school teachers in selected secondary schools of Aborlan.

Specifically, it aimed to:

1. determine the sources of stress as perceived by the secondary teachers;

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2. find out the level of perceived stress of the secondary teachers;

3. identify if there is relationship between the sources of stress and the level of

perceived stress among the secondary teachers;

4. find out if there is relationship between level of stress, sources of stress and

certain demographic characteristics, job related factors, and attitude towards

teaching of the respondents; and

5. determine the activities that the secondary school teachers engage in to

reduce stress.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study focused on the level of perceived stress, sources of stress and activities

for reducing stress of the public secondary teachers in selected high schools in Aborlan.

There were 66 teachers randomly selected from the different secondary schools of Aborlan

except teachers from Isla Sombrero National High School, Culandanum National High

School, and Apurawan National High School.

Analysis of individual level of perceived stress, sources of stress and activities for

reducing stress was limited to the responses measured by the modified Perceived Stress

Scale (PSS), Inventory of Recent Life Experiences (IRLE) and Relaxation Inventory (RI).

Hypotheses of the Study

In line with the problem of this study, the following null hypotheses were tested:

1. There is no significant relationship between the sources of stress and the

level of perceived stress among the public secondary teachers.

2. There is no significant relationship between level of stress, sources of stress

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and certain demographic characteristics, job related factors and attitude

towards teaching of the respondents.

Operational Definition of Terms

For clearer understanding of the study, the following terms were operationally

defined:

Demographic Characteristics – refers to the characteristics of the respondents like age,

gender and civil status.

Public Secondary Teachers – refers to the Dep-ED personnel in selected secondary

schools in Aborlan who are formally engaged in actual teaching service.

Inventory of Recent Life Experiences – refers to the list of experiences which the

respondents may consider as sources of stress

Job-related Factors – refers to the number of years of teaching experience, highest

educational attainment and academic rank of the respondents.

Stress Level – refers to the amount of stress of the respondents. This is categorized as high

stress, moderate stress and low stress.

Perceived Stress Scale – refers to the different questions that will determine the level of

stress of the respondents.

Relaxation Inventory – refers to the list of activities that the respondents may use to

relax, unwind, or cope with stress while working.

Stress – general term applied to the pressure people feel in life.

Stress Management – refers to the methods on how to eliminate or reduce stress.

Page 18: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents various readings of literature and studies. The researcher

believes that these readings have bearing to the present study.

On Stress and Stress Level

Stress is subjective. Different people react differently to stressful experiences.

Although the events that cause stress are subjective, what happens inside one’s body when

he is under stress follows a fixed pattern which can be objectively measured. Some

symptoms that may indicate stress are headaches, muscle spasms, teeth grinding, aching

jaw, indigestion, nausea, ulcers, diarrhea, constipation, shortness of breath, heart

palpitations, cold hands and feet and various skin problems including acne, eczema, and

psoriasis. The common effect of stress on behavior may be easily discernible. Some

common features include pacing and fidgeting, talking too fast and rushing everywhere,

hyperventilation, nervous tics such are wringing hands, inability to relax, crying, constant

fatigue, increased fatigue, substance abuse, indecisiveness, insomnia and sleeping

problems, increased eating and weight gain, loss of effectiveness at work, over spending,

increased smoking and drinking (Kumar, 2008).

A person’s attitude can influence whether or not a situation or emotion is stressful.

A person with a negative attitude will often report more stress than would someone with a

positive attitude (Medical Encyclopedia, 2008).

According to Croasman as cited by Gamozo (2008) age is not a predictor of work-

related stress of workers.

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Moreover, emotional stress usually occurs when people consider situations difficult

or unable to manage. Different people consider different situations as stressful. On the

other hand, physical stress refers to a physical reaction of the body to various triggers.

Physical stress often leads to emotional stress, and emotional stress often occurs as

physical discomfort (e.g., stomach cramps) (Ballas, 2008).

Unfortunately, many people find that, when they’re under stress, their sex drive

suffers. In fact, a recent study showed that more than half the partners of people working

over 48 hours a week reported that it was damaging their sex life. Fortunately, the same

factors that can decrease the level of stress one feels can rev up his libido at the same time

(Scott, 2008).

On the other hand, stress can be both healthy and unhealthy. This is where stress

plays its part; either helping or hindering, depending on how one responds to it (Gamozo,

2008).

Meanwhile, some employers assume that stressful working conditions are a

necessary evil that companies must turn up the pressure on workers and set aside health

concerns to remain productive and profitable in today’s economy. But research findings

challenge this belief. Studies show that stressful working conditions are actually associated

with increased absenteeism, tardiness, and intentions by workers to quit their jobs all of

which have a negative effect on the bottom line. Recent studies of so-called healthy

organizations suggest that policies benefiting worker’s health also benefit the bottom line

(NIOSH, 2007).

Dubrin (2007) states that an optimum level of stress exceeds for most people at

most tasks. In general, performance tends to be best under moderate amount stress. If the

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stress is so great, progress tend to become temporarily effective; under too little stress,

people may become lethargic and ineffective.

According to Daft (2003) when the level of stress is low relative to person’s coping

resources, stress can be a positive force, stimulating desirable change and achievement. He

also said that almost all jobs have some level of stress associated with task demands.

Meditation is wonderful in that it’s free, is always available, and is amazingly

effective in short-term stress reduction and long-term health. Benefits can be felt in just

one session (http://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/p/profilemeditati.htm, 2007).

Newstrom (2007) stated that stress becomes too great it turns into a destructive

force. Performance begins to decline at some point because excess stress interferes with

performance. An employee loses the ability to cope; she or he becomes unable to make

decisions and exhibits erratic behavior. If stress increases to a breaking point, performance

becomes zero; the employee has a breakdown, becomes too ill to work, is fired, quits, or

refuses to come to work to face the stress.

Teachers are managers in the classroom. Along this line, Caplan as cited by Goh

(2003), established that managerial work is basically stressful the simple reason that its

nature requires the managers to work for and with people in order to accomplish and reach

organizational goals sometimes resulting in quantitative and qualitative work overload.

Feldman (1989) explained the benefits of stressful environment that, people are

motivated to understand better what is happening to them and this search for knowledge

leads to greater awareness – not only of the world, but of themselves.

Myers (1989) posited that the level of stress one experiences largely depends on

how he appraises the big and little traumas of his life.

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Kowalski concludes that excessive teacher stress, left undiagnosed and untreated,

can have long-term negative consequences not only for individual teachers, but ultimately

for the entire institution. A caring work environment, however, is highly effective in

reducing teacher stress and making it easier to treat.

Stoppler stated that both men and women are sensitive to psychological stress and

its effects. Since people vary widely in their perception of stress, it is not possible to

generalize and state that men or women are more sensitive to stress.

On Sources of Stress

Stress may be caused by work pressures, travel, home environment, mental trauma,

anxiety, depression, poor food habits, family problems, marriage related issues, the

physical environment and in many cases by factors out of one’s physical control (Kumar,

2008).

Gamozo (2008) found out that family related sources of stress are significantly

related to the level of perceived stress. Her study had shown that family related affairs are

associated with the level of perceived stress while work, personal and environmental

factors are not associated with the level of perceived stress.

Sleep deprivation is one of the leading causes of stress. And stress is one of the

leading causes of insomnia. It is important to maintain a regular sleep routine, avoiding

large meals just before sleeping and getting regular exercise. It is also important to avoid

exercise just before sleep time and extremely important to buy a comfortable bed

and pillows. Ensure you have the right blankets and comfortable room temperature which

makes you fall asleep naturally (http://www.janicehealth.com/stress.htm, 2008).

Classic high-risk stressors include the following: too much work with little balance,

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no help or supportive resources, too little social support, no time for hobbies, too little

sleep, if one doesn’t get adequate sleep, he is less able to handle stress, and also less

productive and suffer other consequences, and too little time off (Scott, 2008).

According to Feldren (2005), personal stressors include major life events such as

the death of a parent or spouse, the loss of one’s job, a major personal failure, or even

something positive such as getting married. However, background stressors, or more

informally, daily hassles, are the third major category of stressors exemplified by standing

in a long line at a bank and getting stuck in a traffic jam. Daily hassles are the minor

irritations of life that everybody faces time and time again.

According to Brown (2003) teaching is not only hard work; it can be full of stress.

Pressure due to school reform efforts, inadequate administrative support, poor working

conditions, lack of participation in school decision making, the burden of paperwork, and

lack of resources have all been identified as factors that can cause teacher stress.

Meanwhile, Brown, et al. as cited by Kowalski mentioned that teacher stress can be

caused by a number of factors, both external and internal. External causes may include

institutional conditions such as large, mixed-ability classes, lack of student discipline and

motivation, lack of resources, overwork or uneven distribution of workloads, poor

communication, unclear expectations, and inadequate rewards and recognition.

Matirez et al. (2000) delineated further that anything and everything could be a

source of stress. The individual is its biggest factor. While one person can’t live with

stress, another can live by it and use it to deal with the environment. Differences in

vulnerability to stress are due to perceptions, experiences, orientation and goals.

Atkinson et al. (1996) stated that the source of stress can be within the individual in

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the form of conflicting motives or desires.

DeLongis et al. as cited by Morgan (1986) said that not only changes, but many

ongoing situations are stressors. The hassles of everyday life centering around work,

family, social activities, health, and finances are important stressors which have been

found to be related to bodily illness.

On Coping With Stress

According to Kumar (2008) the philosophy of positivism can fight stress. By

changing the way one thinks, one can turn a negative experience into a positive one. This

new look at life can help fight stress and reduce its occurrence.

An individual stress management program can include making an effort to stop

negative thoughts, planning some fun, focusing the negative into the positive, taking a

break, and thinking positively

(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001942.htm, 2008).

Research has shown health benefits of laughter ranging from strengthening the

immune system to reducing food cravings to increasing one’s threshold for pain. There’s

even an emerging therapeutic field known as humor therapy to help people heal more

quickly, among other things. Humor also has several important stress relieving benefits

(Kumar, 2008).

According to one school of thought, differences in individual characteristics such

as personality and coping style are most important in predicting whether certain job

conditions will result in stress. In other words, what is stressful for one person may not be

a problem for someone else (www.cdc.gov/niosh/pdfs/stress.pdf, 2007).

Exercise can decrease ‘stress hormones’ like cortisol, and increase endorphins, the

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body’s ‘feel-good’ chemicals, giving one’s mood a natural boost, it usually involves a

change of scenery as well, either taking a person to a gym, a dojo, a boxing ring, a park, a

scenic mountain, a biking trail or a neighborhood sidewalk, all of which can be pleasant,

low-stress places. This can help prevent the stress response from wreaking havoc on the

body, and can help keep creativity and optimism levels higher; bringing many other

benefits (Scott, 2007).

Deep breathing is an easy stress reliever that has numerous benefits for the body,

including oxygenating the blood, which ‘wakes up’ the brain, relaxing muscles and

quieting the mind. Breathing exercises are especially helpful because you can do them

anywhere, and they work quickly so you can de-stress in a flash

(http://stress.about.com/od/generaltechniques/tp/toptensionacts.htm, 2007).

The physical benefits of sex are numerous, and most of them work very well

toward relieving stress. Sadly, many people have less sex when their stress levels are high.

Music therapy had also shown numerous health benefits for people with conditions ranging

from mild (like stress) to severe (like cancer). When dealing with stress, the right music

can actually lower one’s blood pressure, relax the body and calm the mind (Scott, 2007).

Lazarus and Folkman’s interpretation of stress focuses on the transaction between

people and their external environment (known as the Transactional Model). The model

conceptualizes stress as a result of how a stressor is appraised and how a person appraises

his/her resources to cope with the stressor. The model breaks the stressor-stress link by

proposing that if stressors are perceived as positive or challenging rather than a threat, and

if the stressed person is confident that he/she possesses adequate rather than deficient

coping strategies, stress may not necessarily follow the presence of a potential stressor.

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The health realization/innate health model of stress is also founded on the idea that stress

does not necessarily follow the presence of a potential stressor. Instead of focusing on the

individual's appraisal of so-called stressors in relation to his or her own coping skills (as

the transactional model does), the health realization model focuses on the nature of

thought, stating that it is ultimately a person’s thought processes that determine the

response to potentially stressful external circumstances

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_management, 2006).

Moreover, Moskowitz as cited by Feldren (2005), enumerated some general

guidelines that can be followed in coping with stress. These guidelines are as follows: turn

threat into challenge, make a threatening situation less threatening, change one’s goals,

take physical action, and prepare for stress before it happens.

Stress can be reduced by making lifestyle changes, keep a positive attitude, accept

that stress is a part of life, clearly define home and work responsibilities, manage time, set

realistic goals, learn to relax, eat an adequate and nutritious breakfast each day

(ohioline.osu.edu/atts/PDF-English/Stress-Mgmt.pdf, 2005).

Stress experts frequently emphasize that stress can be good as well as bad and

advise their patients to make it work for them as source of energy. They suggest the

following ways to manage stress: (1) Have a code of life and live positively. (2) Set

priorities to avoid unnecessary time pressures. (3) Allow time for pleasurable activities

such as taking walks or talking with friends. (4) Exercise regularly as an outlet for stress.

(5) Eat a sensible diet to maintain the energy needed to cope with stress. (6) Learn self-

relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation, and meditation (Radcliffe,

1996).

Page 26: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

14

Feldman (1989) states that relationships with others may provide an important

means of coping with stress. In this, connection researchers have found that social support,

the knowledge that all are part of a mutual network of caring, interested others, enables

one’s to experience lower levels of stress and to be better able to cope with the stress they

do undergo.

On Demographic Characteristic

Research from the University of Arizona’s School of Family and Consumer

Resources found out that women reported a greater amount of “high distress” days and

fewer distress-free days than men. Interestingly, the differences in levels of stressful days

were due to women experiencing more onsets of “distress episodes” (having stress

response trigger), rather than being more likely to continue in a distressed state from one

day to the next. In other words, women didn’t hold onto their stress more; they just

experienced more episodes of being stressed (Scott, 2008).

On the other hand,

(http://www.lifepositive.com/mind/psychology/stress/depressionaspect) as cited by

Gamozo (2008) stated that causes of female and male depression and anxiety might be

quite different from each other. It is not known for sure if stress affects men and women

differently. Generally, as the two genders often operate in different social contexts both

tend to develop different emotional dispositions and personality traits accordingly, their

responses and coping mechanisms to stress situations vary.

The study by Gamozo (2008), on the stress management of faculty members of

Western Philippines University found out that age, number of years in teaching, highest

educational attainment, and teaching load had significant relationship with level of

Page 27: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

15

perceived stress which implies that the higher the rank and educational attainment, the

longer the length of service and the older the faculty member, regardless of age, the lower

is the perceived stress. However, the more teaching load is assigned to the faculty member

the higher is the level of perceived stress.

The findings of Goh (2003) showed that civil status influences the job related

stress. Likewise, length of service influences the job related stress.

Conceptual Framework

This study had three variables, the independent, intervening, and dependent

variables. The independent variables include the demographic characteristics, job-related

factors, attitude towards teaching and other factors. The intervening variables include

sources of stress and activities for managing stress. Meanwhile, the dependent variable

includes the level of stress.

This study tried to determine if there is relationship among the independent

variables, intervening variables and dependent variables.

Demographic characteristics of the respondents such as age, gender and civil status

may influence the stress management of the public secondary teachers.

Job-related factors which include number of years in teaching experience, academic

rank and teaching load may affect the level of stress of the respondent.

The level of stress of the public secondary teachers was categorized as high stress,

moderate stress and low stress.

Page 28: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

16

Conceptual Paradigm

Level of Stress

Low stress

Moderate stress

High stress

Sources of

Stress

Activities for

Managing

Stress

Demographic

Characteristics

Age

Gender

Civil Status

Job-related Factors

Number of years in teaching

Academic Rank

Teaching Load

Attitude towards teaching

INDEPENDENT

VARIABLE

INTERVENING

VARIABLE

DEPENDENT

VARIABLE

Figure 1. Conceptual paradigm showing the relationship of the variables.

Page 29: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the locale of the study, the research design, sampling

procedure, description of the respondents, instrumentation, collection of the data and

treatment of data gathered.

Locale of the Study

The study was conducted in selected secondary schools in Aborlan, namely:

Aborlan National High School, Iraan-Sagpangan National High School, Isaub National

High School, Jose Rizal – Apoc-Apoc National High School, Magbabadil National High

School and Plaridel National High School. The study was conducted from December, 2008

to January, 2009.

The Research Design

The research design used in this study was the descriptive research method,

specifically survey method. According to Gay and Sian as cited by Santiago (2005),

descriptive method is useful for investigating educational problems especially those

concerning assessment of attitudes, opinions, preferences, practices, and procedures. This

design is used to determine the perceived level of stress, attitude towards teaching, the

sources of stress and the activities for reducing stress among the respondents.

Sampling Procedure

The sample size was computed using Slovin’s Formula for determining sample size

with margin of error of ℮ = 0.05.

Page 30: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

18

The formula is given as:

2eN 1

N n

where: n = sample size

N = population size

℮ = desired margin of error

Only the public secondary teachers in selected secondary schools in Aborlan were

considered in this study. A master list of public secondary teachers in selected schools in

Aborlan district was taken from the Human Resources Management Office (HRMO), the

master list served as the basis for choosing the respondents.

Stratified random sampling was used in selecting the teachers who served as the

respondents of the study. The selected schools served as the strata and the proportional

allocation was employed.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the study were the public secondary teachers in public high

schools in Aborlan except those from Isla Sombrero National High School, Culandanum

National High School, and Apurawan National High School. They were chosen at random

from a master list of teachers requested from the Human Resource Management Office

(HRMO) of DepEd Aborlan. Teachers with permanent status, and contractual (Para

teachers) appointments were included. Forty eight permanent and eighteen contractual/para

teachers were the respondents of the study.

Instrumentation

The instrument of Gamozo (2008) in her masteral thesis served as the guide for the

Page 31: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

19

development of the survey questionnaire. The instrument was composed of four parts

which include: Part I – Demographic Characteristics and Job-Related Factors of the

Respondents; Part II – Teachers’ Attitude towards Teaching; Part III – the Perceived Stress

Scale to Determine the Perceived Stress Level of the Respondents; Part IV – Perceived

Sources of Stress; and Part V –the Activities that the Respondents Engage in to Reduce

Stress.

Data Collection Procedure

The researcher distributed the survey questionnaire to the public secondary school

teachers after permission and approval from the Division Superintendent of the Division of

Palawan was sought.

The respondents were given two weeks to answer the questionnaire.

The questionnaires were collected after the questions were answered by the

respondents.

Treatment of Data

The data gathered were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages and means.

There were ten (10) questions that determine the level of perceived stress of the

respondents. Each question was rated using the scale below:

4 – Very Often

3 – Fairly Often

2 – Sometimes

1 – Almost Never

0 – Never

Page 32: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

20

To determine the respondents’ attitude towards teaching, the rating scale below was

used:

1.00 – 1.49 = Very Negative

1.50 – 2.49 = Negative

2.50 – 3.49 = Positive

3.50 – 4.00 = Very Positive

With regards to identification of sources of stress and activities to reduce stress,

descriptive statistics were employed.

The extent of relationship between a given pair of nominal variables was

determined using the Cramer Correlation Coefficient, computed as:

n

x C

2

c

where: xc = computed value of chi-square statistic from a 2×2

contingency table,

n = number of observations.

The significance of C is determined based on the significance of x2 with 1 degree of

freedom at the 0.05 level of significance. If the computed value of x2 exceeds the tabular

value, the Cramer coefficient is declared significant (Siegel and Castellan, 1988).

Furthermore, the Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient was also employed

to assess whether given pair of variables is independent or whether they vary in the same

or opposite direction. The coefficient was used since the assumption of normality of the

variables cannot be assured. The coefficient, denoted as rs is computed as,

1 - nn

d6 - 1 r

2

2

s

where: d = x-y, the difference in ranked values of the two variables for a

Page 33: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

21

given case, and

n = number of cases (pairs of x and y).

The significance of rs was determined by computing the associated t-value given as,

2

s

sr - 1

2 -n r t

The correlation between the two variables is declared significant if tc is greater than

or equal to the tabular value of t with n - 2 degrees of freedom and 0.05 level of

significance (Snedecor and Cochran, 1980).

Page 34: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

CHAPTER IV

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter discusses the demographic characteristics and job-related factors of

the respondents, respondents’ attitude toward teaching, the level of perceived stress, the

perceived sources of stress, and the activities engaged in by the respondents to manage

stress. It also discusses the relationship between the sources of stress and level of perceived

stress, the relationship between the demographic and job-related characteristics and level

of perceived stress, and the relationship between demographic and job-related

characteristics and perceived sources of stress.

Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

Table 1 shows the demographic characteristics of the respondents.

Results revealed that 81.8 percent are females and 18.2 percent of the respondents

are males. This result implies that the public secondary schools of Aborlan are dominated

by female teachers. It conforms with the findings of Gamozo (2008) that faculty members

of WPU were dominated by female teachers. It implies that, nowadays most number in

teaching professionals are females.

Most of the respondents (43.9 %) were between 20 to 29 years old, 22.7 percent

were within 30 to 39 age range and 21.2 percent of them were 40 to 49 years old. Some

(10.6%) respondents belonged to the age bracket of 50 to 59 years old and only one (1.5%)

was between 60 to 69 years old. Their mean age was 34.7 years old. This implies that most

of the secondary teachers are in their productive years. It also implies that most of the

teachers do not extend their services beyond age 60.

Page 35: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

23

As to their civil status, majority (66.7%) were married, nineteen (28.8%) of them

were single, and three (4.5%) were widows(er).

Table 1. Distribution of the respondents as to their demographic characteristics.

Characteristics Frequency (n = 66) Percent

Age

20 – 29

30 – 39

40 – 49

50 – 59

60 and above

Mean = 34.7 years

29

15

14

7

1

43.9

22.7

21.2

10.6

1.5

Gender

Male

Female

12

54

18.2

81.8

Civil Status

Single

Married

Widow(er)

19

44

3

28.8

66.7

4.5

Job-related Characteristics of the Respondents

Table 2 shows the job related characteristics of the respondents.

Data revealed that majority (57.6%) of the respondents had been in the government

service for 1 to 10 years. More than one-fourth (27.3%) of them had been in the service for

11 to 20 years; 13.6 percent for 21 to 30 years; and only one (1.5%) of them had been in

the service for 31 to 40 years. Their mean number of years in teaching was 10.3 years. It

implies that the respondents have been teaching for quite a long time now.

As to academic rank, majority (54.5%) of the respondents were Secondary School

Teacher I; 27.3 percent with Contractual status, and some (10.6%) were Secondary School

Teacher II. Only five (7.6%) were Secondary School Teacher III. This implies that the

respondents hold lower academic rank.

Page 36: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

24

The table also shows that 51.5 percent of the respondents had a teaching load of 21

to 30 hours per week. About one-third of them (30.3%) had a teaching load of 11 to 20

hours per week. Few had a teaching load of 1 to 10 hours per week (9.1%) and 31 to 40

hours per week (9.1%). Their mean teaching load per week was 23.3 hours. This implies

that most of the respondents have complied with the regular prescribed number of hours in

teaching which is 30 hours per week.

As to the mean number of students per class, 39.4 percent had 41 to 50 students per

class, 34.8 percent had 31 to 40 students, 15.2 percent had 21 to 30 mean number of

students, and 9.1 percent had above 50 students per class. Only 1 (1.5%) had 11 to 20

students per class. This means that the respondents have complied with the prescribed

number of students per class which is 40 to 50 students per class.

Table 2. Distribution of the respondents as to their job-related characteristics.

Characteristics Frequency (n = 66) Percent

Number of Years in Teaching

1 – 10

11 – 20

21 – 30

31 – 40

Mean = 10.3 years

38

18

9

1

57.6

27.3

13.6

1.5

Highest Educational Attainment

Diploma Course

BS/AB

BS/AB with MA/MS units

MA/MS

MA/MS with PhD units

PhD

7

34

21

2

2

0

10.6

51.5

31.8

3.0

3.0

0

Academic Rank

Para Teacher

Secondary School Teacher – I

Secondary School Teacher – II

Secondary School Teacher – III

18

36

7

5

27.3

54.5

10.6

7.6

Page 37: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

25

Table 2. Continued.

Characteristics Frequency (n = 66) Percent

Teaching Load (hours/week)

1 – 10

11 – 20

21 – 30

31 – 40

Mean = 23.3 hours per week

6

20

34

6

9.1

30.3

51.5

9.1

Number of Students

11 – 20

21 – 30

31 – 40

41 – 50

above 50

Mean = 41.1 students

1

10

23

26

6

1.5

15.2

34.8

39.4

9.1

Attitude of Respondents towards Teaching

Table 3 shows the attitude of respondents towards teaching. The respondents

showed “very positive” attitude as evidenced by their rating in the statements: “I am not

ashamed to be a teacher” (3.62) and “I am proud to be a teacher” (3.52).

The respondents’ positive attitude was evident in the following aspects: “I love

teaching as my vocation” (3.32); “I enjoy working with students” (3.30); “Teaching is the

best profession” (3.26); “I feel blessed in teaching” (3.23); “Teaching is not boring” (3.23);

“I enjoy teaching” (3.21); “I am satisfied being a teacher” (3.15); “I always enjoy working

with students” (3.14); “I never regret being a teacher” (3.11) and “I am satisfied being a

teacher” (3.05). This shows that they really have positive attitude towards teaching. This

further showed that respondents are fulfilled as teachers.

However, respondents showed negative attitude to the following statements: “I find

teaching not stressful” (2.47); “Teaching is not demanding and taxing job” (2.38); “Given

the choice, I will not leave teaching for another job” (2.33) and “Teaching is an easy job”

Page 38: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

26

(1.85). This implies that the respondents considered teaching a stressful, taxing, and

demanding job.

The overall mean score of 2.96 described as “positive” is evident that respondents

were optimistic when it comes to teaching profession. It further implies that despite the

demands of the teaching job, still the respondents enjoy their work as teachers.

It is said that, a person’s attitude can influence whether or not a situation or

emotion is stressful. A person with a negative attitude would often report more stress than

would someone with a positive attitude

(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001942.htm, 2008).

Page 39: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

27

Tab

le 3

. A

ttit

ude

of

resp

onden

ts t

ow

ard t

each

ing.

Item

V

ery P

osi

tive

Posi

tive

Neg

ativ

e V

ery N

egat

ive

Mea

n

Sco

re

Des

crip

tion

f

%

f %

f

%

f %

I am

not

asham

ed t

o b

e a

teac

her

. 41

62.1

25

37.9

0

0

0

0

3.6

2

Ver

y P

osi

tive

I am

pro

ud t

o b

e a

teac

her

. 34

51.5

32

48.5

0

0

0

0

3.5

2

Ver

y P

osi

tive

I lo

ve

teac

hin

g a

s m

y v

oca

tion.

21

31.8

45

68.2

0

0

0

0

3.3

2

Posi

tive

I en

joy w

ork

ing w

ith s

tuden

ts.

22

33.3

43

65.2

0

0

1

1.5

3.3

0

Posi

tive

Tea

chin

g i

s th

e bes

t pro

fess

ion.

26

39.4

32

48.5

7

10.6

1

1.5

3.2

6

Posi

tiv

e

Tea

chin

g i

s not

bori

ng.

23

34.8

36

54.5

6

9.1

1

1.5

3.2

3

Posi

tive

I fe

el b

less

ed i

n t

each

ing.

23

34.8

38

57.6

2

3.0

3

4.5

3.2

3

Posi

tive

I en

joy t

each

ing.

15

22.7

50

75.8

1

1.5

0

0

3.2

1

Posi

tive

I am

sat

isfi

ed b

ein

g a

tea

cher

. 19

28.8

38

57.6

9

13.6

0

0

3.1

5

Posi

tive

I al

ways

enjo

y w

ork

ing w

ith s

tuden

ts.

14

21.2

48

72.7

3

4.5

1

1.5

3.1

4

Posi

tive

I n

ever

reg

ret

bei

ng a

tea

cher

. 16

24.2

42

63.6

7

10.6

1

1.5

3.1

1

Posi

tive

I am

sat

isfi

ed b

ein

g a

tea

cher

. 12

18.2

45

68.2

9

13.6

0

0

3.0

5

Posi

tive

I n

ever

reg

ret

that

I h

ave

chose

n t

each

ing a

s m

y

pro

fess

ion.

12

18.2

47

71.2

5

7.6

2

3.0

3.0

5

Posi

tive

Tea

chin

g g

ives

me

fulf

illm

ent.

11

16.7

48

72.7

5

7.6

2

3.0

3.0

3

Posi

tive

I h

ave

self

rea

liza

tion i

n t

each

ing.

12

18.2

37

56.1

17

25.8

0

0

2.9

2

Posi

tive

I h

ad d

ream

ed o

f b

eing a

tea

cher

. 7

10.6

37

56.1

14

21.2

8

12.1

2.6

5

Posi

tive

Even

if

I w

ill

hav

e oth

er o

pport

unit

y,

I w

ill

not

resi

gn f

rom

tea

chin

g.

11

16.7

25

37.9

24

36.4

6

9.1

2.6

2

Posi

tive

Page 40: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

28

Tab

le 3

. C

onti

nued

.

Item

V

ery P

osi

tive

Posi

tive

Neg

ativ

e V

ery N

egat

ive

Mea

n

Sco

re

Des

crip

tion

f

%

f %

f

%

f %

I w

ant

to t

each

til

l I

reac

h m

y r

etir

eable

age.

8

12.1

29

43.9

24

36.4

5

7.6

2.6

1

Posi

tive

I fi

nd t

each

ing n

ot

stre

ssfu

l.

8

12.1

21

31.8

31

47.0

6

9.1

2.4

7

Neg

ativ

e

Tea

chin

g i

s not

dem

andin

g a

nd t

axin

g j

ob.

3

4.5

23

34.8

36

54.5

4

6.1

2.3

8

Neg

ativ

e

Giv

en t

he

cho

ice,

I w

ill

not

leav

e te

achin

g f

or

anoth

er j

ob.

1

1.5

29

43.9

27

40.9

9

13.6

2.3

3

Neg

ativ

e

Tea

chin

g i

s an

eas

y j

ob.

0

0

13

19.7

30

45.5

23

34.8

1.8

5

Neg

ativ

e

All

Ite

ms

2.9

6

Posi

tive

Leg

end

:

1.0

0 –

1.4

9 =

Ver

y N

egat

ive

1.5

0 –

2.4

9 =

Neg

ativ

e

2.5

0 –

3.4

9 =

Posi

tive

3.5

0 –

4.0

0 =

Ver

y P

osi

tive

Page 41: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

29

Work-related Sources of Stress as Perceived by the Respondents

The work-related sources of stress as perceived by the respondents are shown in

Table 4.

Results revealed that of the thirty four work-related sources of stress identified,

fifteen (15) sources of stress were considered distinctly part of the respondents’ lives and

these included: lot of work responsibilities (1.98); preparing lesson plan (1.97); preparing

instructional materials (1.92); preparing for the school evaluation/school visitation (1.82);

handling very poor students (1.79); preparing for a contest (1.74); lot of examinations or

paper works to check (1.73); handling problems students (1.70); checking/editing student

laboratory report/journals (1.64); heavy demands on classroom structuring (1.64); lack of

textbooks or references (1.58); coaching a student contestant(s) (1.55); dissatisfaction with

the attitudes of the students (1.53); holding classes in poorly ventilated classrooms (1.53);

and dissatisfaction with the teaching materials provided by the school (1.50).

This shows that teaching entails a lot of responsibilities as those mentioned above.

And these are very much part of the respondents’ work.

On the other hand, eighteen (18) work-related sources of stress were rated by the

respondents to be only slightly part of their lives. These were the following: dissatisfaction

with the learning styles/abilities of the students (1.48); preparing rushed documents (1.44);

meeting deadlines (1.27); rendering service beyond official time (1.26); not receiving the

salary on time (1.24); handling big classes (1.23); change in responsibilities at work (1.21);

interruptions in the work (1.20); coaching an athletic team (1.18); heavy demands from the

supervisor (1.11); handling subjects which are not in line with specialization (1.00);

handling subjects more than the prescribed maximum number of hours (0.95); working in

Page 42: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

30

an over-crowded office (0.95); unexpected assignment/designation (0.91); dissatisfaction

with the class schedule (0.83); conflict with co-teachers (0.56); disliking fellow teacher(s)

(0.55) and conflict with principal (0.50).

This means that these situations are seldom encountered by the teachers.

Only one (1) work-related source of stress which is conflict with supervisor (0.44)

was considered not at all part of the respondents’ lives.

This implies that the teachers have good working relations with their supervisors.

The overall mean rating of 1.32 described as “only slightly part of my life”

indicates that the respondents generally perceive these work-related sources of stress to

have slightly caused them stress. This shows that respondents had minor irritations when it

comes to teaching related tasks. This also implies that respondents were already oriented

about their task and they have already embraced the teaching profession.

These sources of stress are common among teachers as these are roles expected of

them to perform. As Daft (2003) states, almost all jobs have some level of stress associated

with task demands.

Results negate what Brown (2003) stated that teaching is not only hard work; it can

be full of stress. However results conformed to his statement that poor working conditions,

the burden of paperwork, and lack of resources have all been identified as factors that can

cause teacher stress.

Page 43: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

31

Tab

le 4

. W

ork

-rel

ated

so

urc

es o

f st

ress

as

per

ceiv

ed b

y t

he

resp

ond

ents

.

Work

-Rel

ated

Sourc

es o

f S

tres

s V

ery M

uch

Par

t D

isti

nct

ly P

art

Only

Sli

gh

tly P

art

Not

At

All

Par

t M

ean

Sco

re

Des

crip

tion

f

%

f %

f

%

f %

Lot

of

wo

rk r

esponsi

bil

itie

s 22

33.3

26

39.4

13

19.7

5

7.6

1.9

8

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Pre

par

ing l

esso

n p

lan

23

34.8

23

34.8

15

22.7

5

7.6

1.9

7

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Pre

par

ing i

nst

ruct

ional

mat

eria

ls

19

28.8

26

39.4

18

27.3

3

4.5

1.9

2

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Pre

par

ing f

or

the

school

eval

uat

ion/s

chool

vis

itat

ion

17

25.8

23

34.8

23

34.8

3

4.5

1.8

2

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Han

dli

ng v

ery p

oor

studen

ts

16

24.2

22

33.3

26

39.4

2

3.0

1.7

9

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Pre

par

ing f

or

a co

nte

st

13

19.7

25

37.9

26

39.4

2

3.0

1.7

4

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Lot

of

exam

inat

ions

or

pap

er

work

s to

chec

k

15

22.7

23

34.8

23

34.8

5

7.6

1.7

3

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Han

dli

ng p

roble

ms

studen

ts

12

18.2

24

36.4

28

42.4

2

3.0

1.7

0

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Chec

kin

g/e

dit

ing s

tuden

t

labora

tory

rep

ort

/journ

als

16

24.2

18

27.3

24

36.4

8

12.1

1.6

4

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Hea

vy d

eman

ds

on c

lass

room

stru

cturi

ng

9

13.6

29

43.9

23

34.8

5

7.6

1.6

4

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Lac

k o

f te

xtb

ooks

or

refe

rence

s 11

16.7

22

33.3

27

40.9

6

9.1

1.5

8

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Coac

hin

g a

stu

den

t

conte

stan

t(s)

9

13.6

22

33.3

31

47.0

4

6.1

1.5

5

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Dis

sati

sfac

tion w

ith t

he

atti

tudes

of

the

studen

ts

9

13.6

22

33.3

30

45.5

5

7.6

1.5

3

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Page 44: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

32

Tab

le 4

. C

onti

nued

.

Work

-Rel

ated

Sourc

es o

f S

tres

s V

ery M

uch

Par

t D

isti

nct

ly P

art

Only

Sli

gh

tly P

art

Not

At

All

Par

t M

ean

Sco

re

Des

crip

tion

f

%

f %

f

%

f %

Hold

ing c

lass

es i

n p

oorl

y

ven

tila

ted c

lass

room

s 12

18.2

20

30.3

25

37.9

9

13.6

1.5

3

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Dis

sati

sfac

tion w

ith t

he

teac

hin

g m

ater

ials

pro

vid

ed

by t

he

school

8

12.1

20

30.3

35

53.0

3

4.5

1.5

0

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Dis

sati

sfac

tion w

ith t

he

lear

nin

g

style

s/ab

ilit

ies

of

the

stu

den

ts

6

9.1

23

34.8

34

51.5

3

4.5

1.4

8

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Pre

par

ing r

ush

ed d

ocu

men

ts

4

6.1

26

39.4

31

47.0

5

7.6

1.4

4

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Mee

ting d

eadli

nes

7

10.6

14

21.2

35

53.0

10

15.2

1.2

7

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Ren

der

ing s

ervic

e beyon

d

off

icia

l ti

me

9

13.6

14

21.2

28

42.4

15

22.7

1.2

6

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Not

rece

ivin

g t

he

sala

ry o

n t

ime

7

10.6

15

22.7

31

47.0

13

19.7

1.2

4

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Han

dli

ng b

ig c

lass

es

7

10.6

15

22.7

30

45.5

14

21.2

1.2

3

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Chan

ge

in r

esponsi

bil

itie

s at

work

1

1.5

23

34.8

31

47.0

11

16.7

1.2

1

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Inte

rrupti

ons

in t

he

work

2

3.0

15

22.7

43

65.2

6

9.1

1.2

0

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Coac

hin

g a

n a

thle

tic

team

8

12.1

12

18.2

30

45.5

16

24.2

1.1

8

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Hea

vy d

eman

ds

from

the

super

vis

or

3

4.5

10

15.2

44

66.7

9

13.6

1.1

1

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Han

dli

ng s

ubje

cts

whic

h a

re n

ot

in l

ine

wit

h s

pec

iali

zati

on

3

4.5

14

21.2

29

43.9

20

30.3

1.0

0

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Page 45: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

33

Tab

le 4

. C

onti

nued

.

Work

-Rel

ated

Sourc

es o

f S

tres

s V

ery M

uch

Par

t D

isti

nct

ly P

art

Only

Sli

gh

tly P

art

Not

At

All

Par

t M

ean

Sco

re

Des

crip

tion

f

%

f %

f

%

f %

Han

dli

ng s

ubje

cts

more

than

the

pre

scri

bed

max

imum

num

ber

of

hours

3

4.5

12

19.7

28

42.4

22

33.3

3

0.9

5

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Work

ing i

n a

n o

ver

-cro

wded

off

ice

1

1.5

16

24.2

28

42.4

21

31.8

0.9

5

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Unex

pec

ted

assi

gnm

ent/

des

ignat

ion

0

0

10

15.2

40

60.6

16

24.2

0.9

1

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Dis

sati

sfac

tion w

ith t

he

clas

s

sched

ule

1

1.5

10

15.2

32

48.5

23

34.8

0.8

3

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Confl

ict

wit

h c

o-t

each

ers

1

1.5

1

1.5

32

48.5

32

48.5

0.5

6

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Dis

likin

g f

ello

w t

each

er(s

) 1

1.5

3

4.5

27

40.9

35

53.0

0.5

5

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Confl

ict

wit

h p

rinci

pal

0

0

3

4.5

27

40.9

36

54.5

0.5

0

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Confl

ict

wit

h s

uper

vis

or

0

0

3

4.5

23

34.8

40

60.6

0.4

4

Not

At

All

All

Sourc

es o

f S

tres

s

1.3

2

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Leg

end

:

0.0

0 –

0.4

9 =

No

t at

all

par

t of

my l

ife

0.5

0 –

1.4

9 =

On

ly s

lightl

y p

art

of

my l

ife

1.5

0 –

2.4

9 =

Dis

tinct

ly p

art

of

my l

ife

2.5

0 –

3.0

0 =

Ver

y m

uch

par

t of

my l

ife

Page 46: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

34

Family-related Sources of Stress as Perceived by the Respondents

Table 5 shows the family-related sources of stress as perceived by the respondents.

Data revealed that among the nine (9) family-related sources of stress enumerated,

two sources were considered “distinctly part” of the respondents’ lives and these were:

“making important decisions about the family” (1.98) and “housekeeping standards”

(1.58).

This is so because most of the respondents are married so they often find

themselves in situations where they have to make important decisions concerning their

families. Besides, married female teachers are expected to live up to certain housekeeping

standards.

The other family-related sources of stress, namely: financial conflicts within the

family (1.36); behavior of a family member (1.23); distance of work station from the

family (1.14); spousal relationship (1.12); insufficient couple time (0.86); conflict with

spouse (0.65); and conflict with spouse’s family (0.50) were noted as only slightly part of

the respondents’ lives.

The overall perceived family-related sources of stress had a mean rating of 1.16:

described as “only slightly part of my life”. It implies that the respondents experienced

minimal stress when it comes to family related matters. This further implies that the

respondents had good family relationship and are family oriented.

Page 47: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

35

Tab

le 5

. F

amil

y-r

elat

ed s

ourc

es o

f st

ress

as

per

ceiv

ed b

y t

he

resp

ond

ents

.

Fam

ily –

rel

ated

Sou

rces

of

Str

ess

Ver

y M

uch

Par

t D

isti

nct

ly P

art

Only

Sli

gh

tly P

art

Not

At

All

Par

t M

ean

Sco

re

Des

crip

tion

f

%

f %

f

%

f %

Mak

ing i

mport

ant

dec

isio

ns

about

the

fam

ily

25

37.9

21

31.8

14

21.2

6

9.1

1.9

8

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

House

kee

pin

g s

tand

ards

15

22.7

18

27.3

23

34.8

10

15.2

1.5

8

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Fin

anci

al c

onfl

icts

wit

hin

the

fam

ily

9

13.6

16

24.2

33

47.0

10

15.2

1.3

6

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Beh

avio

r of

a fa

mil

y m

ember

8

12.1

14

21.2

29

43.9

15

22.7

1.2

3

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Dis

tance

of

wo

rk s

tati

on f

rom

the

fam

ily

11

16.7

10

15.2

22

33.3

23

34.8

1.1

4

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Spo

usa

l re

lati

onsh

ip

13

19.7

9

13.6

17

25.8

27

40.9

1.1

2

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Insu

ffic

ient

couple

tim

e 4

6.1

10

15.2

27

40.9

25

37.9

0.8

6

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Confl

ict

wit

h s

pouse

0

0

10

15.2

23

34.8

33

50.0

0.6

5

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Confl

ict

wit

h s

pouse

’s f

amil

y

1

1.5

6

9.1

18

27.3

41

62.1

0.5

0

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

All

Sourc

es o

f S

tres

s

1.1

6

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Leg

end

:

0.0

0 –

0.4

9 =

No

t at

all

par

t of

my l

ife

0.5

0 –

1.4

9 =

On

ly s

lightl

y p

art

of

my l

ife

1.5

0 –

2.4

9 =

Dis

tinct

ly p

art

of

my

lif

e

2.5

0 –

3.0

0 =

Ver

y m

uch

par

t of

my l

ife

Page 48: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

36

Personal-related Sources of Stress as Perceived by the Respondents

Table 6 shows the personal-related sources of stress as perceived by the

respondents.

Of the seven (7) personal-related sources of stress identified, three (3) sources

namely: financial burdens (1.68); important decisions about future career for upgrading

teaching competence (1.58); and too many things to do at once (1.55) were noted as

distinctly part of the respondents’ lives.

This implies that the teachers often experience financial difficulties that affect their

decisions regarding professional upliftment. They are also often saddled with work as

teachers, spouse, and parents. It conforms to the statement of DeLongis et al. as cited by

Morgan (1986) that finances and work are some of the important stressors.

Four (4) sources were considered by the respondents as only slightly part of their

lives and these were: not enough leisure time (1.38); time management worries (1.21); not

enough time to sleep (1.18); and poor health including allergies (0.89).

The mean score of 1.35 described as “only slightly part” of the respondents’ lives

indicates slight contribution of these personal-related sources of stress to the level of

perceived stress of the respondents.

This implies that the teachers have learned to manage their time and they are able

to balance their work and personal lives.

Atkinson et al. (1996) stated that countless events create stress. Everyday hassles

can also be experienced as stressors. Finally, the source of stress can be within the

individual in the form of conflicting motives or desires.

Page 49: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

37

Tab

le 6

. P

erso

nal

-rel

ated

sourc

es o

f st

ress

as

per

ceiv

ed b

y t

he

resp

ond

ents

.

Per

sonal

– r

elat

ed S

ourc

es o

f S

tres

s V

ery M

uch

Par

t D

isti

nct

ly P

art

Only

Sli

gh

tly P

art

Not

At

All

Par

t M

ean

Sco

re

Des

crip

tion

f

%

f %

f

%

f %

Fin

anci

al b

urd

ens

1

2

18.2

26

39.4

23

34.8

5

7.6

1.6

8

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Import

ant

dec

isio

ns

abou

t

futu

re c

aree

r fo

r up

gra

din

g

teac

hin

g c

om

pet

ence

12

18.2

17

25.8

34

51.5

3

4.5

1.5

8

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Too m

any t

hin

gs

to d

o a

t once

8

12.1

23

34.8

32

48.5

3

4.5

1.5

5

Dis

tinct

ly P

art

Not

enough l

eisu

re t

ime

7

10.6

17

25.8

36

54.5

6

9.1

1.3

8

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Tim

e m

anag

emen

t w

orr

ies

2

3.0

16

24.2

42

63.6

6

9.1

1.2

1

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Not

enough t

ime

to s

leep

0

0

22

33.3

34

51.5

10

15.2

1.1

8

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Poo

r h

ealt

h i

ncl

udin

g a

ller

gie

s 1

1.5

13

19.7

30

45.5

22

33.3

0.8

9

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

All

Sourc

es o

f S

tres

s

1.3

5

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Leg

end

:

0.0

0 –

0.4

9 =

No

t at

all

par

t of

my l

ife

0.5

0 –

1.4

9 =

On

ly s

lightl

y p

art

of

my l

ife

1.5

0 –

2.4

9 =

Dis

tinct

ly p

art

of

my l

ife

2.5

0 –

3.0

0 =

Ver

y m

uch

par

t of

my l

ife

Page 50: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

38

Environment-related Sources of Stress as Perceived by the Respondents

Table 7 shows the environment-related sources of stress as perceived by the

respondents.

The respondents considered the three (3) enumerated environment-related sources

of stress to be slightly part of their lives and these were: neighbors (1.06); difficulties with

transportation (0.97); and weather conditions (1.35).

The obtained mean score of 1.13 for environment-related sources of stress

described as “only slightly part” implies that these sources of stress were perceived by the

respondents to have slightly contributed to their level of stress. This result further implies

that respondents were comfortable with their environment, since they experience minimal

stress when it comes to it.

Generally, the four sources of stress namely work, family, personal, and

environment were perceived by the respondents to have contributed “moderate stress” to

them.

This result conforms to what Kumar (2008) stated that stress may be caused by

work pressures, travel, home environment, poor food habits, family problems, marriage

related issues, the physical environment and in many cases by factors out of one’s physical

control.

DeLongis et al. as cited by Morgan (1986) said that the hassles of everyday life

centering around work, family, social activities, health, and finances are important

stressors which have been found to be related to bodily illness.

Page 51: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

39

Tab

le 7

. E

nvir

onm

ent-

rela

ted s

ourc

es o

f st

ress

as

per

ceiv

ed b

y t

he

resp

onden

ts.

Envir

onm

ent

– r

elat

ed S

ou

rces

of

Str

ess

Ver

y M

uch

Par

t D

isti

nct

ly P

art

Only

Sli

gh

tly P

art

Not

At

All

Par

t M

ean

Sco

re

Des

crip

tion

f

%

f %

f

%

f %

Wea

ther

condit

ions

4

6.1

22

33.3

33

50.0

7

10.6

1.3

5

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Nei

ghbo

rs

5

7.6

11

16.7

33

50.0

17

25.8

1.0

6

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Dif

ficu

ltie

s w

ith t

ransp

ort

atio

n

4

6.1

10

15.2

32

48.5

20

30.3

0.9

7

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

All

Sourc

es o

f S

tres

s

1.1

3

On

ly S

lig

htl

y P

art

Leg

end

:

0.0

0 –

0.4

9 =

No

t at

all

par

t of

my l

ife

0.5

0 –

1.4

9 =

On

ly s

lightl

y p

art

of

my l

ife

1.5

0 –

2.4

9 =

Dis

tinct

ly p

art

of

my l

ife

2.5

0 –

3.0

0 =

Ver

y m

uch

par

t of

my l

ife

Page 52: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

40

Level of Perceived Stress of the Respondents

Table 8 shows the level of perceived stress of the respondents. It can be noted that

the respondents rated following as giving them “moderate stress”: “they were nervous that

makes them stressed” (2.05); “something happened unexpectedly that caused them to be

upset” (1.97); “they had irritations in life that were beyond their control” (1.95); “they felt

that they were not on top of things” (1.91); “they had a lot of things to do and found that

they could not cope with” (1.86); “they felt that things were not going their way”(1.83);

“important things in their life were beyond their control” (1.83); and “things happened

were outside of their control that caused them to be angered” (1.83); “they had doubt about

their ability to handle their personal problems” (1.73); and “they felt difficulties were

piling up so high that they could not overcome them” (1.71).

The overall mean score of 1.87 described as “moderate stress” indicates that the

secondary school teachers of Aborlan are partly affected by stress.

This implies further that the respondents experience tolerable amount of stress.

These findings conform with Gamozo’s (2008) findings that WPU teachers are

moderately stressed.

According to Daft (2003), when the level of stress is low relative to person’s

coping resources, stress can be a positive force, stimulating desirable change and

achievement.

Kowalski said that a caring work environment, however, is highly effective in

reducing teacher stress and making it easier to treat.

This result also implies that the respondents had best performance in teaching, as

Dubrin (2007) said that performance tends to be best under moderate amount of stress.

Page 53: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

41

Tab

le 8

. L

evel

of

per

ceiv

ed s

tres

s of

the

resp

onden

ts.

Item

V

ery H

igh

Hig

h

Moder

ate

Low

V

ery L

ow

M

ean

Sco

re

Des

crip

tion

f

%

f %

f

%

f %

f

%

Fel

t ner

vous

and s

tres

sed

2

3.0

7

10.6

50

75.8

6

9.1

1

1.5

2.0

5

Moder

ate

Bee

n u

pse

t bec

ause

of

som

ethin

g t

hat

hap

pen

ed u

nex

pec

tedly

1

1.5

1

1.5

60

90.9

3

4.5

1

1.5

1.9

7

Moder

ate

Not

bee

n a

ble

to c

ontr

ol

irri

tati

ons

in t

hei

r

life

1

1.5

8

12.1

47

71.2

7

10.6

3

4.5

1.9

5

Moder

ate

Fel

t th

at t

hey w

ere

not

on

top o

f th

ings

2

3.0

5

7.6

48

72.7

7

10.6

4

6.1

1.9

1

Moder

ate

Found t

hat

they c

ould

no

t co

pe

wit

h a

ll t

he

thin

gs

that

they h

ad t

o d

o

0

0

7

10.6

47

71.2

8

12.1

4

6.1

1.8

6

Moder

ate

Fel

t th

at t

hey w

ere

unab

le t

o c

ontr

ol

the

import

ant

thin

gs

in t

hei

r li

fe

0

0

7

10.6

46

69.7

8

12.1

5

7.6

1.8

3

Moder

ate

Fel

t th

at t

hin

gs

wer

e not

goin

g t

hei

r w

ay

0

0

4

6.1

50

75.8

9

13.6

3

4.5

1.8

3

Moder

ate

Bee

n a

nger

ed b

ecau

se o

f th

ings

that

hap

pen

ed t

hat

wer

e outs

ide

of

thei

r co

ntr

ol

1

1.5

3

4.5

50

75.8

8

12.1

4

6.1

1.8

3

Moder

ate

Fel

t not

confi

den

t ab

out

thei

r ab

ilit

y t

o

han

dle

your

per

sonal

pro

ble

m

0

0

6

9.1

42

63.6

12

18.2

6

9.1

1.7

3

Moder

ate

Fel

t dif

ficu

ltie

s w

ere

pil

ing u

p s

o h

igh t

hat

yo

u c

ould

not

over

com

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em

0

0

4

6.1

44

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13

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5

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1.7

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Moder

ate

All

Ite

ms

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Moder

ate

Leg

end

:

0

.00

– 0

.49 =

Ver

y L

ow

Str

ess

0.5

0 –

1.4

9 =

Lo

w S

tres

s

1.5

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2.4

9 =

Moder

ate S

tres

s

2.5

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9 =

Hig

h S

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s

3.5

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4.0

0 =

Ver

y H

igh S

tres

s

Page 54: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

42

Relationship between Sources of Stress and the Level of Perceived Stress

Table 9 shows the relationship between the sources of stress and the level of

perceived stress of the respondents.

The sources of stress considered were the work, family, personal, and environment.

Sources of stress such as work, personal, and environment had significant

relationship to the level of perceived stress of the respondents. This implies that these

sources of stress are related to the perceived level of stress of the respondents. It further

implies that the respondents experience considerable level of stress when it comes to work,

personal affairs, and environmental disturbances.

This result further implies that the teachers are more particular with matters related

to work, personal, and environmental rather than those affecting their family.

On the other hand, family-related sources of stress showed no significant

relationship to the perceived level of stress of the respondents. This means that family

related affairs are not associated with the level of perceived stress of the respondents. This

implies that respondents have maximum tolerance to stress when it comes to family

matters.

The result contradicts the findings of Gamozo (2008) that family related affairs are

associated with the level of perceived stress while work, personal and environmental

factors are not associated with the level of perceived stress. This may be caused by the

differences in priorities and orientation of WPU faculty members and the Dep Ed teachers.

Feldman (1989) explained the benefits of stressful environment that, people are

motivated to understand better what is happening to them and this search for knowledge

leads to greater awareness of themselves.

Page 55: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

43

Table 9. Relationship between sources of stress and level of perceived stress.

Source of Stress Mean Rating Spearman Correlation

Coefficient

Significance

Personal

1.35

0.285

*

Work

1.32

0.277

*

Family

1.16

0.223

ns

Environmental

1.13

0.245

*

All Sources

1.21

0.319

**

Note: ns – not significant

* – significant at 0.05 level

** – significant at 0.01 level

Relationship of Demographic Characteristics, Job-related Factors and Attitudes

towards Teaching to the Level of Perceived Stress of the Respondents

The relationship of demographic characteristics, job-related factors, attitude toward

teaching and level of perceived stress is shown in Table 10.

Age, gender, civil status, number of years in teaching, academic rank, teaching

load, number of students and attitude of the respondents towards teaching were tested to

determine the relationship between demographic characteristics, job-related factors,

attitude towards teaching and level of perceived stress.

Results showed that age, gender, civil status, number of years in teaching, teaching

load, number of students, and attitude towards teaching had no significant relationship with

the level of perceived stress.

This implies that demographic characteristics, job-related factors and attitude

towards teaching are not associated with the level of perceived stress of the respondents.

The result conforms to the findings of Croasman as cited by Gamozo (2008) that

age is not a predictor of work-related stress of workers.

Page 56: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

44

Result also conforms what Stoppler stated that both men and women are sensitive

to psychological stress and its effects. Since people vary widely in their perception of

stress, it is not possible to generalize and state that men or women are more sensitive to

stress.

However, the result contradicts the findings of Gamozo (2008) that age, number of

years in teaching and academic rank are related to the level of perceived stress.

Table 10. Relationship of demographic characteristics, job-related factors and attitude

towards teaching to the level of perceived stress of the respondents.

Characteristics Correlation Coefficient Significance

Demographic Characteristics

Age

rs = - 0.070

ns

Gender

C = 0.102

ns

Civil Status C = - 0.022 ns

Job-related Factors

Number of Years in Teaching

rs = 0.000

ns

Academic Rank C = - 0.146 ns

Teaching Load

rs = 0.156

ns

Number of Students rs = - 0.106 ns

Attitude Toward Teaching

rs = - 0.082 ns

Note: ns – not significant

rs – Spearman Correlation Coefficient

C – Cramer Coefficient

Relationship of Demographic Characteristics, Job-related Factors and Attitude

towards Teaching to the Sources of Stress of the Respondents.

Table 11 shows the relationship of demographic characteristics, job-related factors

and attitude towards teaching to the sources of stress of the respondents.

Civil status was found to be significantly related to the family-related sources of

stress. Married teachers could be affected by family related sources of stress such as

household chores and responsibilities at home.

Numbers of years in teaching and academic rank were found to be significantly

Page 57: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

45

related to the environment related sources of stress. This is so because newly hired teachers

and young teachers are likely assigned in distant schools where transportation and

unfavorable weather conditions can cause stress to them.

Other demographic characteristics and job related factors including attitude towards

teaching were found to be not related to sources of stress.

The result negates the findings of Goh (2003) that civil status influence the job

related stress. However, result on length of service conforms to her findings that it

influences job related stress. This may be caused by differences in perception, experience

and orientation as stated by Matirez et al. (2000) that individual is biggest factor of stress.

While one person can’t live with stress, another can live by it and use it to deal with the

environment. Difference in vulnerability to stress is due to perceptions, experiences,

orientation and goals.

Page 58: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

46

Tab

le 11.

Rel

atio

nsh

ip bet

wee

n dem

ogra

phic

ch

arac

teri

stic

s, jo

b-r

elat

ed fa

ctors

an

d at

titu

de

tow

ards

teac

hin

g to

th

e so

urc

es of

per

ceiv

ed s

tres

s of

the

resp

onden

ts.

Char

acte

rist

ics

Sourc

es o

f S

tres

s A

ll S

ourc

es

Work

F

amil

y

Per

sonal

E

nvir

onm

ent

Dem

ogra

phic

Char

acte

rist

ics

Age

r s =

- 0

.019

ns

r s =

0.0

00

ns

r s =

0.0

44

ns

r s =

- 0

.244

ns

r s =

- 0

.117

ns

Gen

der

C

= 0

.029

ns

C =

0.1

52

ns

C =

0.0

50

ns

C =

- 0

.167

ns

C =

0.0

14

ns

Civ

il S

tatu

s C

= 0

.086

ns

C =

- 0

.303

*

C =

- 0

.08

6n

s C

= 0

.065

ns

C =

- 0

.086

ns

Job-r

elat

ed F

acto

rs

Num

ber

of

Yea

rs i

n T

each

ing

r s =

- 0

.043

ns

r s =

0.0

32

ns

r s =

0.0

63

ns

r s =

- 0

.253

*

r s =

- 0

.108

ns

Aca

dem

ic R

ank

C =

0.0

37

ns

C =

0.0

25

ns

C =

0.0

99

ns

C =

- 0

.252

*

C =

- 0

.118

ns

Tea

chin

g L

oad

r s

= 0

.115

ns

r s =

0.1

55

ns

r s =

- 0

.01

1n

s r s

= 0

.147

ns

r s =

0.1

35

ns

Num

ber

of

Stu

den

ts

r s =

- 0

.049

ns

r s =

- 0

.171

ns

r s =

- 0

.05

3n

s r s

= -

0.2

36

ns

r s =

- 0

.206

ns

Att

itude

Tow

ard T

each

ing

r s =

0.0

52

ns

r s =

0.1

64

ns

r s =

0.0

97

ns

r s =

- 0

.040

ns

r s =

0.0

72

ns

No

te:

n

s –

no

t si

gn

ific

ant

* –

sig

nif

ican

t at

0.0

5 l

evel

Page 59: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

47

Activities Engaged in by the Respondents to Manage Stress

The activities engaged in by the respondents to manage stress are shown in Table

12.

Of the activities considered in this study, two were very often done by the

respondents to manage stress and these were talking with family member and praying. This

is so because talking with family members and airing to them one’s problems can relieve a

person of stress. Most often, casual talks with family members can be relaxing.

On the other hand, praying can relieve stress especially if a person learns to lift up

to God all his worries.

Meanwhile, eight of the 24 activities considered in the study were found to be fairly

often done by the respondents to handle their stress and these were: talking with family and

others, watching television programs, engaging in spiritual or religious activities, texting,

doing time management activities, eating, listening to music, and engaging in

hobbies/leisure activities.

The rest of the activities were sometimes done by the respondents to relieve them

of stress and these were: shopping, massage, scanning/ browsing product catalogue,

exercise, ballroom dancing, meditation, nap/sleeping, sex, mental activities, attending,

gatherings, taking over the counter drugs, engaging in sports, window shopping/malling,

going to internet, smoking, and drinking beverages.

Page 60: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

48

Table 12. Activities engaged in by the respondents to manage stress.

Activity Frequency

(n = 66) Percent

Mean

Rating

Descriptive

Rating

1. Talking with family and others 66 100 3.15 Fairly often

Family members 66 100 3.61 Very often

Friends 66 100 3.33 Fairly often

Family friends 66 100 2.98 Fairly often

Neighbors 65 98.5 2.69 Fairly often

Enemy 2 3.0 1.50 Sometimes

2. Watching TV programs 66 100 2.99 Fairly often

News 66 100 3.30 Fairly often

Entertainment 66 100 3.02 Fairly often

Teledrama/telenovelas 64 97.0 2.66 Fairly often

3. Spiritual or Religious Activities 66 100 2.85 Fairly often

Praying 66 100 3.67 Very often

Attending church/service 66 100 3.09 Fairly often

Singing Christian Songs 65 98.5 2.78 Fairly often

Reading the Bible 66 100 2.64 Fairly often

Prayer meetings/bible studies 58 87.9 2.62 Fairly often

Mission work 44 66.7 2.18 Sometimes

Youth camp/fellowship 2 3.0 2.00 Sometimes

4. Texting 65 98.5 2.70 Fairly often

Family members 65 98.5 3.02 Fairly often

Friends 65 98.5 2.68 Fairly often

Family friends 62 93.9 2.44 Sometimes

Text mates 2 3.0 2.00 Sometimes

5. Time Management Activities 66 100 2.69 Fairly often

Planning ahead 66 100 2.74 Fairly often

Scheduling future activities 66 100 2.74 Fairly often

Evaluating oneself 66 100 2.58 Fairly often

Putting on the alarm clock 2 3.0 2.00 Sometimes

6. Eating 65 98.5 2.65 Fairly often

Rice and viand 65 98.5 3.43 Fairly often

Pastries, bread and cookies 64 97.0 2.89 Fairly often

Pasta/noodles 64 97.0 2.33 Sometimes

Junk foods 64 97.0 2.00 Sometimes

Balut and barbeque 2 3.0 1.50 Sometimes

Page 61: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

49

Table 12. Continued.

Activity Frequency

(n = 66) Percent

Mean

Rating

Descriptive

Rating

7. Listening to music 66 100 2.57 Fairly often

Classical 66 100 2.74 Fairly often

Pop 62 93.9 2.63 Fairly often

Jazz 63 95.5 2.44 Sometimes

Christian music 5 7.6 2.00 Sometimes

8. Hobbies/Leisure Activities 66 100 2.56 Fairly often

Cleaning the surroundings 65 98.5 3.02 Fairly often

Cooking/baking 65 98.5 2.72 Fairly often

Watering/tending plants 64 97.0 2.59 Fairly often

Washing clothes 60 90.9 2.57 Fairly often

Reading magazines 66 100 2.48 Sometimes

Reading newspapers 66 100 2.42 Sometimes

Reading pocket books 54 81.8 2.07 Sometimes

Playing keyboard 2 3.0 2.00 Sometimes

9. Shopping 65 98.5 2.37 Sometimes

Groceries 65 98.5 2.80 Fairly often

Clothes 64 97.0 2.31 Sometimes

Make up accessories 49 74.2 2.00 Sometimes

Shoes and slippers 2 3.0 1.50 Sometimes

10. Massage 57 86.4 2.26 Sometimes

11. Scanning/browsing product

catalogue 64 97.0 2.26

Sometimes

Sophie 2 3.0 2.50 Fairly often

Avon 64 97.0 2.31 Sometimes

Natasha 63 95.5 2.29 Sometimes

MSE 63 95.5 2.22 Sometimes

Sara Lee 1 1.5 2.00 Sometimes

12. Exercise 64 97.0 2.25 Sometimes

Stretching 64 97.0 3.20 Fairly Often

Jogging 55 83.3 2.22 Sometimes

Bicycling 52 78.8 2.08 Sometimes

Running 48 72.7 1.92 Sometimes

Swimming 35 53.0 1.77 Sometimes

Roller blading 42 63.6 1.76 Sometimes

Walking 32 48.5 1.69 Sometimes

Weight lifting 7 10.6 1.43 Almost Never

Skating 6 9.1 1.17 Almost Never

Page 62: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

50

Table 12. Continued.

Activity Frequency

(n = 66) Percent

Mean

Rating

Descriptive

Rating

12. Exercise 64 97.0 2.25 Sometimes

Stretching 64 97.0 3.20 Fairly Often

Jogging 55 83.3 2.22 Sometimes

Bicycling 52 78.8 2.08 Sometimes

Running 48 72.7 1.92 Sometimes

Swimming 35 53.0 1.77 Sometimes

Roller blading 42 63.6 1.76 Sometimes

Walking 32 48.5 1.69 Sometimes

Weight lifting 7 10.6 1.43 Almost Never

Skating 6 9.1 1.17 Almost Never

13. Ballroom Dancing 48 72.7 2.25 Sometimes

Waltz 44 66.7 2.52 Fairly often

Boogie 26 39.4 2.04 Sometimes

Cha-cha 34 51.5 1.97 Sometimes

Disco 26 39.4 1.73 Sometimes

14. Meditation 54 81.8 2.19 Sometimes

Mindful Meditation 54 81.8 2.28 Sometimes

Transcendental Meditation 48 72.7 2.13 Sometimes

15. Nap/sleeping 64 97.0 2.14 Sometimes

16. Sex 47 71.2 2.07 Sometimes

Sexual intercourse 41 62.1 2.15 Sometimes

Masturbation 13 19.7 1.85 Sometimes

17. Mental Activities 63 95.5 2.06 Sometimes

Playing board games 61 92.4 2.15 Sometimes

Solving puzzles 61 92.4 2.13 Sometimes

Playing Rubik’s cube 43 65.2 1.86 Sometimes

Problem solving 3 4.5 1.67 Sometimes

18. Attending gatherings 66 100 2.01 Sometimes

Birthday party 65 98.5 2.17 Sometimes

Excursion /picnics 62 93.9 2.10 Sometimes

Reunions 58 87.9 2.02 Sometimes

Wedding 61 92.4 1.97 Sometimes

Anniversary party 53 80.3 1.91 Sometimes

Page 63: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

51

Table 12. Continued.

Activity Frequency

(n = 66) Percent

Mean

Rating

Descriptive

Rating

19. Taking over-the-counter drugs 52 78.8 1.98 Sometimes

Anti-cough/cold 6 9.1 2.50 Fairly often

Pain reliever 25 37.9 2.16 Sometimes

Vitamin/mineral/food

supplement 13 19.7 2.15 Sometimes

Antibiotic 2 3.0 2.00 Sometimes

Antihistamine 1 1.5 2.00 Sometimes

Antihypertensive 5 7.6 1.80 Sometimes

Not specified 17 25.8 1.59 Sometimes

20. Window shopping/malling 63 95.5 1.97 Sometimes

21. Engaging in sports 49 74.2 1.81 Sometimes

Table Tennis 29 43.9 2.07 Sometimes

Badminton 39 59.1 2.00 Sometimes

Volleyball 37 56.1 2.00 Sometimes

Basketball 29 43.9 1.90 Sometimes

Softball 14 21.2 1.79 Sometimes

Lawn Tennis 10 15.2 1.60 Sometimes

Football 11 16.7 1.45 Almost Never

Golf 5 7.6 1.00 Almost Never

Boxing 1 1.5 1.00 Almost Never

22. Going to internet 39 59.1 1.80 Sometimes

Surfing 21 31.8 1.86 Sometimes

Chatting 28 42.4 1.82 Sometimes

Playing on-line games 26 39.4 1.69 Sometimes

Blogging 16 24.2 1.56 Sometimes

23. Smoking 5 7.6 1.75 Sometimes

Cigarettes 4 6.1 1.75 Sometimes

Tobacco 1 1.5 1.00 Almost never

24. Drinking alcoholic beverages 26 39.4 1.66 Sometimes

Brandy 16 24.2 1.81 Sometimes

Beer 24 36.4 1.75 Sometimes

Rum 11 16.7 1.64 Sometimes

Whisky 11 16.7 1.64 Sometimes

Gin 11 16.7 1.45 Almost never

Legend: Note: Respondents had multiple responses

1.00 – 1.49 =Almost never

1.50 – 2.49 = Sometimes

2.50 – 3.49 = Fairly often

3.50 – 4.00 = Very often

Page 64: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

This study entitled “Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected

High Schools of Aborlan” was conducted to 1) find out the level of perceived stress of the

respondents; determine the sources of stress as perceived by the respondents; 2) identify if

there is relationship between the sources of stress and the level of perceived stress among

the respondents; 3) determine the activities that the respondents engage in to manage

stress; and 4) find out if there is relationship between the level of stress, and sources of

stress and certain demographic characteristics and job-related factors of the respondents

and attitudes towards teaching of the respondents.

Data were gathered through survey questionnaires. The study was conducted at

selected secondary schools of Aborlan, Palawan in December 2008.

A total of 66 secondary teachers were randomly selected as the respondents of the

study. After the questionnaires were collected, data were tabulated, and analyzed using

frequencies, percentages, means, and Cramer and Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient.

Result showed that most of the respondents were married females. They had been

in the service for mean of 10.3 years and more than half of them were Secondary School

Teacher I. Their mean teaching load was 23.3 hours per week and had mean of 41 students

per class.

The perceived sources of stress such as work, family, personal, and environment

were considered only slightly part of the respondents’ lives.

The level of perceived stress of the respondents was found to be moderate.

Page 65: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

53

Of the activities considered in this study, two were very often done by the

respondents to manage stress and these were talking with family member and praying.

Meanwhile, eight of the 24 activities considered in the study were found to be fairly often

done by the respondents to handle their stress and these were: talking with family and

others, watching television programs, engaging in spiritual or religious activities, texting,

doing time management activities, eating, listening to music, and engaging in

hobbies/leisure activities. The rest of the activities were sometimes done by the

respondents to relieve them of stress and these were: shopping, massage, scanning/

browsing product catalogue, exercise, ballroom dancing, meditation, nap/sleeping, sex,

mental activities, attending, gatherings, taking over the counter drugs, engaging sports,

window shopping/malling, going to internet, smoking, and drinking beverages.

Based on Cramer and Spearman Rank Order Correlation coefficients, work,

personal and environment related sources of stress have significant relationship to the level

of perceived stress of the respondents.

Age, gender, civil status, number of years in teaching, academic rank, and teaching

load, number of students and attitude towards teaching have no significant relationship

with level of perceived stress.

As to the relationship of demographic characteristics, job-related factors, and

attitude towards teaching, to the sources of perceived stress, civil status was found to be

significantly related to family related sources of stress. Married teachers could experience

high level of stress when it comes to family matters. Numbers of years in teaching and

academic rank were significantly related to environment related sources of stress. New

teachers with lower academic rank experience stress related to distant work assignment and

Page 66: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

54

unfavorable weather conditions.

Other demographic characteristic, job related factors, and attitude towards teaching

had no significant relationship with the sources of stress of the respondents.

Conclusions

The secondary teachers in selected schools of Aborlan experience tolerable level of

stress when it comes to work, personal, and environment related issues.

The secondary teachers of Aborlan enjoy the teaching profession.

Younger and newly hired teachers consider teaching more stressful than older

teachers do.

Prayer and talking with family members can eliminate stress.

Recommendations

Based on the results of the study, the following recommendations were made:

1. The secondary teachers can engage in activities such as praying and talking

with family members to cope with their stress

2. The school administrators should come up with program of activities to

lessen the stress of teachers.

3. For future researcher, similar studies be conducted among public secondary

teachers in other districts. A similar study can be conducted in the public

elementary teachers in Palawan.

Page 67: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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SCOTT, ELIZABETH, M.S. 2007. Top 10 Stress Relievers: The Best Ways to Feel Better

Available at http://stress.about.com/od/generaltechniques/tp/toptensionacts.htm

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57

SCOTT, ELIZABETH M.S. 2008. Benefits of Meditation for Stress Management

Available at http://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/p/profilemeditati.htm

SCOTT, ELIZABETH M.S. 2008. Exercise and Stress Relief: Using Exercise as a Stress

Management Tool.

Available at http://stress.about.com/od/programsandpractices/a/exercise.htm

SCOTT, ELIZABETH M.S. 2008. Stress in Women, How Women’s Stress Differs; How

Women can Relieve Stress

Available at http://stress.about.com/od/relationships/a/women_stress.htm

Page 70: Stress Management of Public Secondary Teachers in Selected High Schools of Aborlan

APPENDICES

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59

Appendix A. Survey Questionnaire

I. Demographic Characteristics

Name (optional): ___________________________________________________

Gender: _____ Male _____ Female

Age: _______

Civil Status: _____ Married _____ Separated

_____ Single _____ Widow/Widower

Job-related Factors

Number of years in teaching: _____________________

Highest Educational Attainment:

_____ Diploma Course

_____ BS/AB

_____ BS/AB with MA/MS Units

_____ MS/MA

_____ MS/MA with PhD Units

_____ PhD

_____ others (please specify)

Academic Rank (please specify): ___________________

Average number of teaching hours per week: ____________________

Average number of students per class: ___________________

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60

II. Teachers Attitudes towards Teaching

The following is a list of teachers’ attitudes towards teaching. You have to read

each statement carefully and decide how you feel about it. Then indicate your attitudes by

putting check on the space provided that corresponds to it.

SD – Strongly Disagree

D – Disagree

A – Agree

SA – Strongly Agree

SD D A SA

1. I love teaching as my vocation.

2. I enjoy teaching.

3. I never have self realization in teaching.

4. I never dreamed of being a teacher.

5. I am proud to be a teacher.

6. I never regret that I have chosen teaching as my

profession.

7. I am dissatisfied being a teacher.

8. If I will have other opportunity, I will resign from

teaching.

9. I regret being a teacher

10. Teaching is an easy job.

11. Teaching is boring.

12. Teaching gives me fulfillment.

13. I am ashamed to be a teacher.

14. I find teaching stressful.

15. I never feel blessed in teaching

16. I want to teach till I reach my retireable age.

17. Teaching is the best profession.

18. Teaching is a demanding and taxing job.

19. I do not enjoy working with students

20. I am satisfied being a teacher.

21. Given the choice, I will leave teaching for another

job.

22. I always enjoy working with students.

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III. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)

The questions below ask you about your feelings and thoughts during the last

month. In each case, please indicate how often you felt or thought a certain way by putting

a check on the appropriate column.

Questions Never Almost

Never Sometimes

Fairly

often

Very

often

1. How often have you been upset

because of something that

happened unexpectedly?

2. How often have you felt that

you were unable to control the

important things in your life?

3. How often have you felt

nervous and stressed?

4. How often have you felt not

confident about your ability to

handle your personal problem?

5. How often have you felt that

things were not going your

way?

6. How often have you found that

you could not cope with all the

things that you had to do?

7. How often have you not been

able to control irritations in

your life?

8. How often have you felt that

you were not on top of things?

9. How often have you been

angered because of things that

happened that were outside of

your control?

10. How often have you felt

difficulties were piling up so

high that you could not

overcome them?

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62

IV. Inventory of Recent Life Experiences (IRLE)

The following is a list of experiences which you may consider as sources of stress.

Please indicate for each experience how much it has been a part of your life over the past

month. Please put a check on the appropriate column.

Experiences

Not at

all part

of my

life

Only

slightly

part of

my life

Distinctly

part of

my life

Very

much

part of

my life

Work – related Sources of Stress

1. Conflict with co-teachers

2. Lot of work responsibilities

3. Dissatisfaction with the learning

styles/abilities of the students

4. Heavy demands from the supervisor

5. Dissatisfaction with the teaching materials

provided by the school

6. Handling subjects more than the

prescribed maximum number of hours

7. Dissatisfaction with the class schedule

8. Disliking fellow teacher(s)

9. Interruptions in the work

10. Lot of examinations or paper works to

check

11. Handling subjects which are not in line

with specialization

12. Dissatisfaction with the attitudes of the

students

13. Change in responsibilities at work

14. Lack of textbooks or references

15. Handling big classes

16. Rendering service beyond official time

17. Preparing lesson plan

18. Preparing rushed documents

19. Conflict with supervisor

20. Conflict with principal

21. Unexpected assignment/designation

22. Not receiving the salary on time

23. Meeting deadlines

24. Holding classes in poorly ventilated

classrooms

25. Working in an over-crowded office

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63

Experiences

Not at

all part

of my

life

Only

slightly

part of

my life

Distinctly

part of

my life

Very

much

part of

my life

Work – related Sources of Stress (cont.)

26. Checking/editing student laboratory

report/journals

27. Preparing instructional materials

28. Heavy demands on classroom structuring

29. Preparing for the school evaluation/school

visitation

30. Preparing for a contest

31. Coaching an athletic team

32. Coaching a student contestant (s)

33. Handling problems students

34. Handling very poor students

Family – related Sources of Stress

35. Conflict with spouse

36. Financial conflicts within the family

37. Making important decisions about the

family

38. Conflict with spouse’s family

39. Behavior of a family member

40. Housekeeping standards

41. Insufficient couple time

42. Spousal relationship

43. Distance of work station from the family

Personal – related Sources of Stress

44. Too many things to do at once

45. Not enough leisure time

46. Financial burdens

47. Not enough time to sleep

48. Poor health including allergies

49. Time management worries

50. Important decisions about future career for

upgrading teaching competence

Environment – related Sources of Stress

51. Neighbors

52. Difficulties with transportation

53. Weather conditions

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64

V. Relaxation Inventory (RI)

The following is a list of activities that you may use to relax, unwind, or cope with

stress while working. Please indicate how often you engage in each of the following

activities over the past month. Put a check on the appropriate column.

Activities Description Specific

Details Never

Almost

Never Sometimes

Fairly

often

Very

often

1. Exercise

Includes,

aerobic

activities such

as running,

stretching,

weight lifting,

skating,

jogging,

bicycling,

walking, roller

blading,

swimming, etc.

Running

Stretching

Weight lifting

Skating

Jogging

Bicycling

Walking

Roller blading

Swimming

others (pls. specify)

2. Engaging

in sports

Includes ball

games and

indoor games

such as

basketball,

volleyball,

softball, golf,

football, tennis,

badminton, etc.

Basketball

Volleyball

Softball

Football

Lawn tennis

Table tennis

Badminton

Golf others (pls. specify)

3. Meditation

Refers to

spending a quiet

moment with

oneself,

channeling

thought of

love, serenity,

focus and

optimism that

can reduce inner

stress.

Transcendental

Meditation

(repeating a

mantra silently

for a period

of time)

Mindful

Meditation

(consciously

focusing on the

present

moment)

others (pls. specify)

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65

Activities Description Specific Details Never Almost

Never Sometimes

Fairly

often

Very

often

4. Mental

activities

Refers to

imagery or

creative

visualization.

Visualizing

relaxing

images, colors

or scenarios in

the

imagination.

Solving puzzles

Playing board

games

Playing Rubik’s

cube

others (pls. specify)

5. Spiritual

or

Religions

Activities

Refers to

reading

uplifting

literature,

attending

church,

praying,

singing

Christian songs,

reading bible,

etc.

Reading bible

Singing

Christian songs

Attending

church/religious

service

Attending

prayer

meetings/bible

studies

Praying

Going on a

mission work

others (pls. specify)

6. Talking

with

family,

friends

or other

supportive

people

Communicating

with others so

that you feel

listened to and

supported in

what you say

and how you

feel.

Talking with

family

members

Talking with

friends

Talking with

family friends

Talking with

neighbors

others (pls. specify)

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66

Activities Description Specific

Details Never

Almost

Never Sometimes

Fairly

often

Very

often

7. Hobbies

or

Leisure

Activities

Refers to doing

things you truly

love to do or

doing things you

find highly

enjoyable.

Watering/

lending plants

Cleaning

the

surroundings

Reading

newspapers

Reading

magazines

Reading

pocketbooks

Washing

clothes

Cooking/

baking

others (pls.

specify)

8. Time

Management

Activities

Refers to

planning ahead,

scheduling

future activities,

taking time to

evaluate

effectiveness or

control over your

life.

Planning

ahead

Scheduling

future

activities

Evaluating

oneself

others (pls.

specify)

9. Drinking

alcoholic

beverages

Drinking

alcoholic

beverages to

make you feel

better and

relaxed.

Drinking Beer

Drinking Gin

Drinking

Brandy

Drinking Rum

Drinking

Whiskey

others (pls.

specify)

10. Smoking

Trying to make

yourself

feel better by

smoking.

Cigarettes

Tobacco

others (pls.

specify)

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67

Activities Description Specific

Details Never

Almost

Never Sometimes

Fairly

often

Very

often

11. Eating

Eating food to

just help you

cope with

pressures and

stresses.

Eating junk

foods

Eating rice

and viand

Eating

pastries,

bread,

cookies, etc.

Eating pasta

(noodles)

others (pls.

specify)

12. Shopping

Buying

anything just

to help you

feel better.

Buying

groceries

Buying

clothes

Buying

make-up

accessories

others (pls.

specify)

13. Watching television

Watching

different

programs,

entertainments,

news.

etc.

Watching

news

Watching

entertainment

programs

Watching

“teledramas”/

“telenovelas”

others (pls.

specify)

14. Listening

to music

Listening to

music like

classical, pop,

or jazz music

Listening to

classical

music

Listening to

pop music

Listening to

jazz music

others (pls.

specify)

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68

Activities Description Specific

Details Never

Almost

Never Sometimes

Fairly

often

Very

often

15. Texting Testing with

friends, text

mates or

relatives.

Texting

with family

members

Texting with

friends

Testing

with family

friends

others (pls.

specify)

16. Going to

Internet

Going to

internet to

chat and play

computer

games.

Chatting

Blogging

Surfing

Playing on-

line games

others (pls.

specify)

17. Attending

gatherings

Refers to

going out and

spending time

with friends

away from

stressful

environment.

Birthday

Party

Anniversary

Party

Wedding

Party

Reunions

Excursions/

Picnic

others (pls.

specify)

18. Ballroom

Dancing

Relaxing

yourself

through

dancing

Cha-cha

Boogie

Walk

Disco others (pls.

specify)

19. Taking

over-the-

counter

drugs

Taking

prescription

drugs to help

you feel

better, reduce

pain, reduce

discomfort, or

calm you

down.

Pls. specify

the medicine

that you are

taking.

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69

Activities Description Specific

Details Never

Almost

Never Sometimes

Fairly

often

Very

often

20. Massage

Using the hands

(yours or someone

else) to rub, stroke,

press, or touch

portions of the

body for

therapeutic/

relating purposes.

Pls. specify

the portions

of your

body that

undergo

massage.

21. Naps/

Sleeping Taking nap or

sleep during the

day.

Pls. specify

the no. of

minutes or

hours that

you devote

for sleeping.

22. Sex Using sexual

intercourse or

masturbation as a

way to relax and

unwind.

Sexual

intercourse

Masturbation

23. Window

shopping

/ Mailing

Going to

department stores

or any store just to

roam around.

24. Scanning/

browsing

product

catalogue

Scanning/browsing

product catalogues

such as Avon

catalogue, Natasha

Catalogue, etc.

Scanning/

browsing

Avon

catalogue

Scanning/

browsing

Natasha

catalogue

Scanning/

browsing

MSE

catalogue

others (pls.

specify)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

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70

Appendix B. Letter of Request to the Schools Division Superintendent

Republic of the Philippines

WESTERN PHILIPPINES UNIVERSITY

Aborlan, Palawan

December 2, 2008

TERESITA P. MARCIAL

Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

Officer in Charge

Division of Palawan

Madam:

Warm Greetings!

The undersigned is a master in Educational Management of Western Philippines

University undertaking her thesis entitled “STRESS MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC

SECONDARY TEACHERS IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF

ABORLAN”.

In this connection, the undersigned would like to request your permission to administer

the questionnaire to the public secondary teachers in selected secondary schools in Aborlan

District.

Your kind consideration and approval on the request will be highly appreciated.

Thank you very much and more power!

Truly yours,

(Sgd.) ELIZA S. ANIETE

Researcher

NOTED BY:

(Sgd.) JULIE HOPE TIMOTEA P. EVINA

Thesis Adviser

APPROVED:

(Sgd.) TERESITA P. MARCIAL

Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

Officer in Charge

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71

Appendix C. Letter of Request to the Respondents

Republic of the Philippines

WESTERN PHILIPPINES UNIVERSITY

Aborlan, Palawan

December 8, 2009

The Respondent

Sir/Madam:

The undersigned is conducting a research entitled “STRESS MANAGEMENT

OF PUBLIC SECONDARY TEACHERS IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS

OF ABORLAN”.

In line with this, the undersigned would like to request your cooperation by

answering the questionnaire as accurately as possible. Your answer will be treated with

utmost confidentiality.

Thank you very much.

Truly yours,

(Sgd.) ELIZA S. ANIETE

Researcher