Hong Kong Teachers' Sources of Stress, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction.

N

22

Faculty Workload; Foreign Countries; High Schools; Job Satisfaction; Secondary School Teachers; Stress Variables; Student Behavior; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Burnout; Teacher Morale; Teacher Motivation; Teaching Conditions

This study investigated factors that affected stress, burnout, and job satisfaction among Hong Kong high school teachers. First, the researchers interviewed former Hong Kong teachers to determine possible teacher stress sources. On the basis of their suggested list of stress sources, the researchers created a questionnaire that included items specific to the Hong Kong situation. The six teacher stress sources were: students (misbehavior and undesirable attitudes); others (supervisors and inspectors); curriculum (exam demands); duty (nonteaching duties); teaching (time constraints and work output); and recognition (lack of recognition for teaching and administrative tasks). The three teacher burnout constructs were stress arousal, energy conservation, and exhaustion. A group of 259 high school teachers from Hong Kong responded to the survey, which examined sources of stress, burnout, and job satisfaction. Data analysis indicated that all six of the stress sources significantly related to all of the burnout outcomes. Among the six stressors, teacher workload was the strongest determinant of teacher burnout. The students and others factors had the strongest impacts on job satisfaction. (Contains 42 references.) (SM)

1999

ED429954