A study of work stress and coping among primary school teachers in New Zealand - Research study

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aditya

This article reports on a qualitative research study of work stress among twelve primary school teachers in the Wellington region of New Zealand, examining how participants perceive stress, its contributing factors, and the coping strategies they employ. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse semistructured interview data. Five themes emerged, ranging from teaching as relentless work to emotional demands and limited desirability of the teaching role. Participants reported moderate-to-high perceived stress yet also described joy and positive coping such as teaching experience, cognitive reframing, and seeking social support.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Literature Review

A study of work stress and coping among primary schoolteachers in New Zealand New Zealand Journal of Teachers’Work, Volume 18, Issue 1, 18-35, 2021 SHILPA JAIN The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand Limited ABSTRACT This article reports on a research study of the perception of work stress among twelve participant primary school teachers in the Wellington region in New Zealand. Specifically, it focuses on the way the participants ’ perceive work stress and its contributing factors, and the coping strategies they employ. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was chosen to analyse semistructured interview data. The interviews examined the way teachers make sense of their stress experiences and five overarching themes emerged: (i) teaching as relentless work, (ii) intrinsic motivation as sustaining factor, (iii) reality of high stress levels, (iv) emotional elements of teaching, and (v) lack of desirability of teaching role. This study shows that the participant teachers’perceived stress ranged from moderate to high levels due to high workload, multiple sources of stress, the emotional demands of the role and the frustration and constraints they face in role performance. In contrast, however, the participants also derived joy from their role and used positive coping mechanisms to cope with work demands. This study found that certain positive coping strategies, such as teaching experience, cognitive reframing, and seeking social support, are learned over time and come with experience. This article contributes to the literature on teacher stress in the New Zealand context and offers recommendations for mitigating stress and supporting the well-being of primary school teachers. INTRODUCTION There is an almost universal agreement that the education environment today is more dynamic and the role of teachers more complex than at any time in history: It’s vital that we all realise teachers do far more than teach: they are the most critical contributors to our civic society … we need to recognise that the skills, efforts and selflessness it takes to run a classroom are just as valuable (and rare) as those needed to run aboardroom. (Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, 2019, p. 1) . Teaching is considered a highly stressful profession (Johnson et al. , 2005; Newberry & Allsop, 2017) , and various media reports have noted the high A study of work stress and coping among primary school teachers in New Zealand 19 levels of stress among New Zealand teachers (Clements, 2016; Franks, 2019; Walters, 2019) . In 2018, primary school teachers participated in two strikes inan attempt to force action with regard to concerns they had held for a number of years. “They’re asking for support for children with additional needs, a career framework, time to teach and time to lead; and a pay jolt across the board”(Writes, 2018, p. 1) . These demands point towards increased workload and stress of teaching along with reduced pay and value given to the profession. While research on teacher stress in New Zealand before and after the major 1989 reforms has been conducted (Galloway et al. , 1984; Manthei & Gilmore, 1994; Manthei & Solman, 1988; Whitehead, 2001; Whitehead & Ryba, 1995), little recent qualitative research has been undertaken to examine work stress in New Zealand primary school teachers today. This study aimed to address this research gap and provide insights into teachers’ perceptions of stress, the contributing factors and teachers’ coping mechanisms. The findings from this study can help decision makers and society to understand the stressors of the teaching role and support improved teacher well-being. LITERATURE REVIEW The term ‘teacher stress’ has been coined and may be defined as “the experience by a teacher of unpleasant, negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety, tension, frustration or depression, resulting from some aspect of their work as a teacher” (Kyriacou, 2001, pp. 28) . Burnout, as defined by M

FAQs

What research method was used to analyze teachers’ accounts of work stress?

Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyse semistructured interview data.

What five overarching themes emerged from the interviews?

The themes were teaching as relentless work, intrinsic motivation as a sustaining factor, the reality of high stress levels, emotional elements of teaching, and the lack of desirability of the teaching role.

Which stress-related factors contributed most to teachers’ perceived stress levels?

Perceived stress ranged from moderate to high due to high workload, multiple sources of stress, the emotional demands of the role, and frustration and constraints in role performance.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aditya