Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of both the research literature on teacher stress as well as provide practical strategies on how to prevent and address it using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). First, a definition for stress is provided along with how it may present itself among teachers. Causes of teacher stress and consequences that arise from it are then discussed. Stress may arise from within the teacher or from factors in the school, and similarly, stress can have a detrimental effect on the teachers, students, and the school community. Next, looking through the lens of REBT, research on how teacher irrational beliefs relates to stress is discussed, and then practical examples of how to recognize these beliefs and attempt to modify them utilizing various consultative models are given. The final sections of this chapter explore how REBT can currently be used for professional development to modify teacher stress along with suggestions for future directions for how REBT can be employed in schools.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aloe, A. M., Shisler, S. M., Norris, B. D., Nickerson, A. B., & Rinker, T. W. (2014). A multivariate meta-analysis of student misbehavior and teacher burnout. Educational Research Review, 12, 30–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2014.05.003
Alter, P., Walker, J., & Landers, E. (2013). Teachers’ perceptions of students’ challenging behavior and the impact of teacher demographics. Education and Treatment of Children, 36(4), 51–69. https://doi.org/10.1353/etc.2013.0040
Bermejo-Toro, L., & Prieto-Ursúa, M. (2006). Teachers’ irrational beliefs and their relationship to distress in the profession. Psychology in Spain, 10, 88–96.
Bernard, M., & DiGuiseppe, R. (2000). Advances in the theory and practice of rational-emotive behavioral consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 11(3&4), 333–355. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532768XJEPC113&4_04
Bernard, M. E. (1990). Taking the stress out of teaching. Melbourne, VIC: Collins Dove.
Bernard, M. E. (2016). Teacher beliefs and stress. Journal of Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 34(1), 209–224. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-016-0238-y
Birch, S., & Ladd, G. (1997). The teacher–child relationship and children’s early school adjustment. Journal of School Psychology, 35(1), 61–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4405(96)00029-5
Bramlett, R., & Murphy, J. (1998). School psychology perspectives on consultation: Key contributions to the field. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 9(1), 29–55. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532768xjepc0901_2
Brunsting, N. C., Sreckovic, M. A., & Lane, K. L. (2014). Special education teacher burnout: A synthesis of research from 1979 to 2013. Education and Treatment of Children, 37(4), 681–711. https://doi.org/10.1353/etc.2014.0032
Buckley, D., Abbott, D., & Franey, J. (2017). An exploration of Irish teachers’ experiences of stress. Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies, 17(1), 28–47. https://doi.org/10.21427/D7M71K
Cancio, E. J., Albrecht, S. F., & Johns, B. H. (2013). Defining administrative support and its relationship to the attrition of teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Education and Treatment of Children, 36(4), 71–94.
Castro, A., Quinn, D. J., Fuller, E., & Barnes, M. (2018). Policy brief 2018-1: Addressing the importance and scale of the U.S. teacher shortage. Retrieved July 5, 2019 from the University Council of Education Administration Website: http://www.ucea.org
Clipa, O. (2017). Teacher stress and coping strategies. In O. Clipa (Ed.), Studies and current trends in science of education (pp. 120–128). Suceava, Romania: LUMEN Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.18662/lumproc.icsed2017.14
Clunies-Ross, P., Little, E., & Kienhuis, M. (2008). Self-reported and actual use of proactive and reactive classroom management strategies and their relationship with teacher stress and student behaviour. Educational Psychology, 28(6), 693–710. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410802206700
Collie, R., Shapka, J. D., & Perry, N. E. (2012). School climate and social-emotional learning: Predicting teacher stress, job satisfaction, and teaching efficacy. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(4), 1189–1204. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029356
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499–512.
DiGiuseppe, R., Doyle, K., Dryden, W., & Backx, W. (2013). A practitioner’s guide to rational-emotive therapy (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Erchul, W. P., & Sheridan, S. M. (2014). Overview: The state of scientific research in school consultation. In W. P. Erchul & S. M. Sheridan (Eds.), Handbook of research in school consultation (2nd ed., pp. 3–17). New York: Routledge.
Greenberg, M. T., Brown, J. L., & Abenavoli, R. M. (2016). Teacher stress and health effects on teachers, students, and schools (Social and Emotional Learning). University Park, PA: Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, Pennsylvania State University.
Haberman, M. (2005). Teacher burnout in black and white. The New Educator, 1, 153–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/15476880590966303
Hansen, J., & Sullivan, B. A. (2003). Assessment of workplace stress: Occupational stress, its consequences, and common causes of teacher stress. In J. Wall & G. R. Walz (Eds.), Measuring up: Assessment issues for teachers, counselors, and administrators (pp. 611–622). Greensboro, NC: ERIC Counseling and Student Services Clearinghouse.
Herman, K. C., Hickmon-Rosa, J., & Reinke, W. (2018). Empirically derived profiles of teacher stress, self-efficacy, and coping and associated student outcomes. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 20(2), 90–100. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098300717732066
Huk, O., Terjesen, M. D., & Cherkasova, L. (2019). Predicting teacher burnout as a function of school characteristics and irrational beliefs. Psychology in the Schools, 56(5), 792–808. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22233
Johnson, S., Cooper, C., Cartwright, S., Donald, I., Taylor, P., & Millet, C. (2005). The experience of work-related stress across occupations. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 20(2), 178–187. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940510579803
Jones, B. D., & Egley, R. J. (2004). Voices from the frontlines: Teachers’ perceptions of high-stakes testing. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 12(39). Retrieved July 25, 2019 from: http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n39/
Kyriacou, C. (2011). Teacher stress: From prevalence to resilience. In J. Langan-Fox & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Handbook of stress in the occupations (pp. 161–173). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1987). Transactional theory and research on emotions and coping. European Journal of Personality, 1(3), 141–169. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2410010304
Mack, J. C., Johnson, A., Jones-Rincon, A., Tsatenawa, V., & Howard, K. (2019). Why do teachers leave? A comprehensive occupational health study evaluating intent-to-quit in public school teachers. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 24(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/jabr.12160
McCormick, J., & Barnett, K. (2011). Teachers’ attributions for stress and their relationships with burnout. International Journal of Educational Management, 25, 278–293.
McEwen, B., & Sapolsky, R. (2006). Stress and your health. The Journal of Endocrinology & Metabolism, 91(2), E2. Retrieved from: https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/91/2/E2/2843213#
Miller, R. (2012). Teacher absence as a leading indicator of student achievement: New national data offer opportunity to examiner cost of teacher absence relative to learning loss [PDF file]. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress. Retrieved from: https://www.scribd.com/document/108763845/Teacher-Absence-as-a-Leading-Indicator-of-Student-Achievement
Mohamed, T. (2018). Sources of occupational stress among teachers: A field of study for teachers working in Libyan schools in Turkey. International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 7(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJAREMS/v7-i1/3856
National Education Association. (2018). Teacher compensation: Fact vs. fiction. Retrieved July 4, 2019, from the National Education Association website: www.nea.org/home/12661.htm
Pepe, A., & Addimando, L. (2013). Comparison of occupational stress in response to challenging behaviours between general and special education primary teachers in northern Italy. International Journal of Special Education, 13, 11–23.
Popov, S., Popov, B., & Damjanovic, R. (2015). The role of stressors at work and irrational beliefs in the prediction of teacher stress. Primjena Psihologija, 8(1), 5–23.
Ronfelt, M., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2012). How teacher turnover harms student achievement (CALDER No. 70). Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research.
Roorda, D. L., Koomen, H. M. Y., Split, J. L., & Oort, F. J. (2011). The influence of affective teacher-student relationships on students’ school engagement and achievement: A meta-analytic approach. Review of Educational Research, 81(4), 493–529. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654311421793
Rudow, B. (1999). Stress and burnout in the teaching profession: European studies, issues, and research perspectives. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and preventing teacher burnout (pp. 38–58). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ryan, S. V., von der Embse, N. P., Pendergast, L. L., Saeki, E., Segool, N., & Schwing, S. (2017). Leaving the teaching profession: The role of teacher stress and educational accountability policies on turnover intent. Teaching and Teacher Education, 66, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.03.016
Sheridan, S. M., & Cowan, R. J. (2004). Consultation with school personnel. In R. T. Brown (Ed.), Handbook of pediatric psychology in school settings (pp. 599–616). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Shkëmbi, F., Melonashi, E., & Fanaj, N. (2015). Workplace stress among teachers in Kosovo. SAGE Open, 5(4), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015614610
Simonsen, B., Fairbanks, S., Briesch, A., Myers, D., & Sugai, G. (2008). Evidence-based practices in classroom management: Considerations for research to practice. Education and Treatment of Children, 31(3), 351–380. https://doi.org/10.1353/etc.0.0007
Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2011). Teachers’ feeling of belonging, exhaustion, and job satisfaction: The role of school goal structure and value consonance. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 24(4), 369–385. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2010.544300
Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2016). Teacher stress and teacher self-efficacy as predictors of engagement, emotional exhaustion, and motivation to leave the teaching profession. Creative Education, 7(13), 1785–1799. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2016.713182
Souza, J. C. D., Sousa, I. C. D., BelÃsio, A. S., & Azevedo, C. V. M. D. (2012). Sleep habits, daytime sleepiness and sleep quality of high school teachers. Psychology & Neuroscience, 5(2), 257–263. https://doi.org/10.3922/j.psns.2012.2.17
Tschannen-Moran, M., & Hoy, W. K. (2000). A multidisciplinary analysis of the nature, meaning, and measurement of trust. Review of Educational Research, 70(4), 547–593. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543070004547
Warren, J., & Baker, S. (2013). School counselor-consultation: Enhancing teacher performance through rational emotive-social behavioral consultation. In Ideas and research you can use: VISTAS 2013. Retrieved from: https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/vistas/by-year2/vistas-2013/docs/default-source/vistas/school-counselor-consultation-enhancing-teacher-performance
West, K., Hoessler, C., Bennetch, R., Ewert-Bauer, T., Wilson, M., Beaudoin, J.-P., et al. (2017). Educational development guide series: No. 2. Rapport-building for educational developers. Ottawa, ON: Educational Developers Caucus.
Yoon, J. (2002). Teacher characteristics as predictors of teacher-student relationships: Stress, negative affect, and self-efficacy. Social Behavior and Personality, 30(5), 485–494. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2002.30.5.485
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Huk, O., Bernstein, C. (2020). Teacher Stress Management Using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. In: Bernard, M., Terjesen, M.D. (eds) Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches to Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Theory, Practice, Research, Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53901-6_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53901-6_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-53900-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-53901-6
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)