Administrative Task Workload and Teacher Coping Strategies in SMPK and SMAK

Sep 2, 2026

Upload by Eliana

Teacher accounts from SMPK and SMAK compare how administrative duties are experienced and managed, highlighting shared professionalism-based obligation alongside perceived burdens that produce physical and emotional exhaustion, motivation decline, and reduced self-efficacy. Differences center on facility limitations and the complexity of non-essential, time-consuming paperwork, plus how pressure and misalignment with professional values affect teachers. Coping practices converge on snacking, coffee, gaming, light exercise, phone use, and socializing, while SMAK shows broader adaptive and social coping through structured work pacing and collegial activities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Similarities in Teachers' Perceptions

Shared Sense of Professional Obligation

Common Effects on Workload and Motivation

Differences Between SMPK and SMAK

Administrative Tasks as Burden

Pressure, Misalignment, and Self-Efficacy

Coping Strategies and Adaptive Behaviors

Common Coping Approaches

SMAK Adaptive and Social Coping

SMPK Individual Coping

| Similarities | Differences | | --- | --- | | Teachers at SMPK and SMAK reported:
1) A sense of obligation to carry out administrative tasks as a form of professionalism · | The differences in how teachers from the two schools perceive administrative tasks are reflected in the following points:
1) SMPK teachers tend to view administrative tasks as | | 2) Describing administrative tasks as a | a significant burden due to a lack of facilities for | | burden or workload that causes physical | developing soft skills, particularly training or | | and emotional exhaustion, as well as a | workshops on completing paperwork. Meanwhile, | | decline in motivation. They highlighted | SMAK teachers regard administrative tasks as a | | the workload situation, noting that | burden because of the complexity of tasks that are | | administrative tasks tend to be assigned to | deemed non-essential, ineffective, and time- | | the same individuals. | consuming. | | 3) Indicating that the administrative burden | 2) Some SMAK teachers accept administrative tasks | | leads to a decline in self-efficacy. Fatigue | as a form of gratitude and a way of enjoying their | | resulting from completing administrative | work, with teachers stating that they “enjoy | | tasks leads to self-imposed limitations in their environment. · | working” and “learn to accept the work.” | | 4) Experiencing excessive pressure due to a | | | mismatch, where teachers’ work is not | | | aligned with their professional values and | | | there is excessive control by superiors. | | | 5) Feeling powerless, teachers cease trying to improve the situation because they | | | Similarities | Differences | | --- | --- | | Teachers at both schools tend to cope by eating snacks, drinking coffee, playing games or doing light exercise, using their mobile phones, going on trips to the beach, and chatting with fellow teachers. | 1) SMAK teachers appear better able to find adaptive coping strategies. This is demonstrated by the time teachers spend in challenging lessons so that they can complete administrative tasks, or by teachers tackling administrative tasks in instalments during the holidays, using a format based on that of the previous academic year.
2) Based on the observations, teachers at SMAK more frequently engaged in social coping by telling stories, playing music, singing together, or playing table tennis. Meanwhile, teachers at SMPK engaged in individual coping by eating snacks or playing on their mobile phones. Interactions with others whilst experiencing stress were limited to those closest to them. |

FAQs

What similarities do teachers at SMPK and SMAK report about administrative tasks?

Both groups associate administrative duties with a sense of obligation as part of professionalism. They also describe coping behaviors such as snacking, coffee drinking, phone use, light exercise, trips, and chatting with colleagues.

How do teachers’ perceptions of administrative tasks differ between SMPK and SMAK?

SMPK teachers tend to view administrative work as a significant burden linked to limited facilities and the need for soft-skill development, while SMAK teachers emphasize burden arising from complex, non-essential, time-consuming tasks.

What coping strategies do teachers use, and how does SMAK differ from SMPK?

Teachers in both schools cope by eating snacks, drinking coffee, playing games or light exercise, using mobile phones, and socializing. SMAK teachers more often use adaptive, including social coping and structured completion of paperwork during challenging lessons or holiday installments, whereas SMPK leans more toward individual coping.

Sep 2, 2026

Upload by Eliana