Intense Teaching Schedule in Israeli Teachers - Stress Sources and Differences by School Level

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet

Intense teaching schedules contribute to elevated stress among Israeli teachers, especially when breaks are insufficient. The study examines teachers’ perceptions of stress sources in the context of neoliberal education reforms, comparing elementary, middle, and high school staff. Data are drawn from 321 public school teachers in Israel’s Ministry of Education. Results show the highest stress level comes from an intense teaching schedule, with additional pressure linked to student composition and home demands conflicting with school demands.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Teaching profession stress and definitions

Stressors in teachers’ work

Neoliberal reforms and their effects

Rationale and study contribution

Intense Teaching Schedule in Israeli Teachers By Yaffa Buskila􀀍 & Tamar Chen-Levi† The teaching profession is highly stressful. Stress is a negative phenomenon that develops under conditions of uncontrollable, prolonged and increased pressure. In this study, our goal is (a) to investigate teachers' perception of the sources of stress in school in light of the neoliberal reforms and (b) to compare these sources of stress in primary school, middle school and high school teachers. We hypothesize that the demands and the workload to improve scores in standardized tests, increase the need of teachers to take work home. Therefore, home demands may conflict with school demands. Furthermore, the greatest pressure is on elementary and middle school teachers: Early efforts to improve student achievements in the lower grades would result in betterprepared students in high schools. Data about the sources of stress is based on a previous study of Buskila, Buskila, Giris and Ablin (2019) that investigated the connection between the effects of stress on teachers on somatic syndromes. Three hundred and twenty-one public school teachers working in the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Israel participated in the study. Findings of the mean of the entire samples revealed that the highest level of stress was caused by intense teaching schedule with insufficient breaks. The second cause was related to the composition of the students in the class, and the third was home demands conflicting with school demands. In the middle schools, the highest levels of stress are caused by school principals (M=5.98, SD=3.09) and second isin high school (M=5.00, SD=3.33). The highest level of stress caused by the superintendent is on primary school teachers (M=3.97, SD=3.33) and the second are the middle school teachers (M=3.79, SD = 2.95). The lowest stress level was in high school (M=2.68, SD=2.83). Three significance differences of stress were found among primary, middle, and high schools: The school principal is the highest source of pressure in the middle schools (P=.034), and the superintendent causes the highest level of stress in primary schools (P=.006). The third cause was in high school, related to physical school conditions (p=.002). These results are relevant to teachers, educators, and policy makers involved in planning and managing educational strategies and teachers’ schedules. Identifying and preventing the sources of stress can facilitate better teaching conditions, and a more effective and efficient atmosphere in school. Keywords: Stress at school, teachers' stress, causes of stress in school Introduction Recent research has shown that the teaching profession can be very stressful (Montgomery & Rupp, 2005; Jepson & Forrest, 2006). Stress is defined as a particular interaction between individuals and their environment, evaluated as being taxing or exceeding their personal resources, and, as a consequence, disrupting daily routines (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Many factors lead to stress in teachers. These factors may vary from time to time, from place to place and from person to person (Griffith, 2004) . Stress can result from conflicting incompatible or unclear expectations, from unsatisfied needs, lack of resources and equipment, and difficult work schedules such as working late or overtime (Eres & 􀀍Lecturer, Orot Israel College, Israel. †Lecturer, Bar-Ilan university, Israel. [https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.8-3-5](https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.8-3-5) doi=10.30958/aje.8-3-5 Atanasosk, 2011). Stressors might optionally be associated with learning capabilities of students and nonproductive learning environments (Griffith, 2004), organizational climate (Eres & Atanasosk, 2011) and student behavior (Montgomery & Rupp, 2005; Verma & Madhavi, 2017). Stress can be associated with teaching qualifications, parental demands (Kyriacou, 2001) or relationships with any of the stakeholders at schools: peers, principals, superintendents and ot

FAQs

What is the main stress source identified in the study?

The highest stress level is caused by an intense teaching schedule with insufficient breaks.

How do stress sources differ across elementary, middle, and high schools?

The greatest pressure differs by level: elementary stress is linked to the superintendent, middle school stress is most influenced by school principals, while high school shows the lowest overall stress level.

How do neoliberal reforms relate to teachers’ stress according to the study?

Neoliberal reforms increased teachers’ workload and daily stress by raising expectations for standardized test performance, adding administrative tasks, and creating sometimes conflicting demands between national and local authorities.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet