This study aimed to identify the work stress experienced by teachers of social studies in government schools in the State of Qatar and the problems caused by it. The study used a descriptive-analytical method. The study sample consisted of (391) male and female teachers of social studies in the State of Qatar out of the study population of (968) who were selected using the random sampling method In order to achieve the goals of the study, a questionnaire was designed as a tool to collect data from the study sample. The tool was checked for validity and reliability prior to its execution. The results of the study included that teachers of social studies at all academic levels in the State of Qatar faced an average level of work stress. The study showed a statistically significant difference at the level of significance (α≤0.05) between the opinions of the members of the study sample in favor of females; and in favor of teachers who held Qatari nationality. No statistically significant differences were found at the level of significance (α≤0.05) according to the variable of the educational qualification, and according to the variables (job experience, marital status, academic level). The study also showed the existence of a number of problems resulting from work stress and the most important and highest administrative burdens and the lowest were to distinguish between teachers by nationality. This study recommends that the school authority should be delegated to teachers, according to their abilities and aptitudes, and to reduce their workload in order to enhance their professional efficiency..
Keywords: Work stress, Social studies, Qatar, Government schools, Stress problems.
Received: 11 May 2020 / Revised: 15 June 2020 / Accepted: 17 July 2020/ Published: 24 July 2020
This study is one of the few studies that have investigated the stress faced by teachers of social studies in Qatar and identified factors that cause such stress. It is a pioneering study that also introduces practical solutions to reduce such work- related stress commensurate in the interest of the educational system and teachers.
The working environment today in all contemporary organizations, whether business organizations or educational organizations in general, is characterized by changing features and milestones imposed on individuals working in these organizations to produce more, work longer and compete vigorously to remain in the job. The presence of individuals in such organizations requires that they live in an environment that dictates their conditions and imposes on them a kind of anxiety and fear. While dealing with modern technology and adapting to the work environment and the nature of work assigned to them, they may feel a little stress due to the intensity of the speed of the work and also the pressure to complete it within deadline. Such stress varies from one individual to another and depends upon the position that those individuals are exposed to.
Stress is often accompanied with frustration, psychological struggle, hesitation, and doubts about the ability to do work, which may have negative effects on the levels of individual performance and their attitude towards their jobs and their organizations, especially if we take into account that workers spend a large part of their lives in these organizations and their environments (Hussain, 2013).The education profession is a source that never depletes from which society derives qualified human energies. It plays a pioneering role in building economic, scientific, cultural, political, and moral pillars. If the education profession is the source, the teacher is the basic building block of this process. It is the responsibility of the educational system to keep teachers free from stress ever since they enter the school in the morning until the end of the day.
The nature of a teacher’s work requires them to prepare daily for the educational process, including the daily preparation of lessons, and to support them through educational means and various teaching methods. They find multiple ways to stimulate themselves and feel the motivation to learn, which may include diversification of evaluation methods, preparing mid-term and final exams, correcting, reviewing and monitoring classes, and not to mention the revision and evaluation of textbooks and curriculum on regular basis in order to identify strengths and weaknesses in them.
In addition to participate in the professional development program for themselves and their colleagues, as well as help to manage and maintain the school system, and supervise extra-curricular and educational activities in the school as well as outside, individuals have to undergo high stress to complete these tasks which requires a high degree of competence to managing work stress (Al-Maamariya, 2014). The work stress has increased and diversified in terms of its sources, for workers, especially social studies teachers. This new dimension of work stress might come from tasks which were not known before, or tasks which teachers feel the pressure of. This kind of work stress surprises the teachers and affects them in various aspects, sometimes negatively on their job performance within their educational institutions (Hamayda, 2011).
This work stress may also arise from teacher's lack of alignment with the environment where s/he works. Shehata, Al-Najjar, and Ammar (2003) clarify that work stress poses a threat to the same teacher and have a high rate of psychological emotions that affect his performance inside a vocational school. This can be termed as good or bad compatibility with the environment of one’s school. A good compatibility determines the extent of harmony which an individual is capable of building with the external environment with his or her personal skills and with the demands presented. This also constitutes the extent of actual satisfaction of needs and expectations that an individual aspires for. Allam (2010) asserts that work stress represent such activities and interactions in teaching that lead to many aspirations for a teacher.
Talafha (2010) believes that the teacher has many roles: s/he is directly responsible for achieving school goals in general; s/he can enrich the curricula and shape it according to the needs of students and their interests; s/he makes use of various resources in such a way that they are useful for students' education and like. One of the most influencing factors in a school is the behavior of students. A teacher is responsible to transmit such societal values to his students that shape their behavior conducive to a learning environment. Abu and Sadiq (2009) confirm that a teacher has roles that overlap and complement each other and often may conflict as well. These roles differ depending on the type of school, nature of the course taught, socio-cultural and environmental conditions, and individual differences in the personalities of teachers. There are typical roles that most teachers play and which help in shaping their and educational attitudes in teaching. These roles overlap between several things like curricula, course material, the school system, students 'problems and finding solutions, community contacts and so on.
Barham (2005) and Al-Naas (2008) indicate that there are many tasks assigned to a teacher, including providing an emotionally monitored and a learning oriented environment. In such an environment, a teacher is able to preserve the scholastic nature of the system, along with monitoring students and strengthening their knowledge and skills. However, due to technological advancements, knowledge explosion and fast pace of human life, teaching has become more stressful for the teacher. Often termed as a hidden disease, work stress arises from stressful situations that a teacher is exposed to because of his interaction with his work environment. This tress causes imbalance and imposes on him certain pressures which may be physiological, psychological, or social—which may affect the future and whole career of a teacher.
1.1. The Concept of Work Stress
Work stress is a response that an individual undertakes to adapt to external situations. This results in physical, psychological, and behavioral deviations and which also restricts his ability to achieve what he desires and what he is required to do (Ibrahim, 2014). It is a set of negative environmental factors such as role ambiguity, role conflict, working conditions, and an increased workload related to an individual's performance of a particular job (Ashour, 2015).
1.2. Theories of Work Stress
There are many theories that explain the work stress, out of which three theories have been taken in this study namely General Adaptation Associate Theory, Theory of Resistance, and Teacher Professional Stress Theory.
1. General Adaptation Associate Theory: This theory is attributed to Celie, which postulates that a repeated exposure of an individual to stress results in deep negative effects in his life. This stress may impose on the individual’s physiological, social, or psychological requirements or sometimes their combination. Although the response to these stress may seem successful in some cases when the individual is able to gather his energies and accomplish everything that he is capable of. He is able to face stress that may have resulted in the form of psychological and physiological symptoms. Celie distributes these symptoms into three stages (Khalfi & Greabi, 2017).
The first stage: the warning stage: in this stage, a reaction is seen as a warning in which the body shows changes in its properties preparing to face the threat or avoid it.
The second stage: the resistance stage: the resistance stage occurs when the body continues to face the stressful situation. In this stage, the physical changes disappear, as the body cannot cope up with external factors. The individual begins to develop a specific resistance to stress and uses a kind of defense mechanism. He also adapts to endurance and suffering, which leads to developing psychosomatic (physical, psychological) symptoms.
The third stage: the exhaustion stage: This stage occurs when there is a confrontation between the body and the situation of stress if it continues for a long time. The physical changes that occurred in the first stage may occur again, but more severely, and may lead to mental illness.
2. The theory of resistance or flight: The physiological scientist Canon’s theory is one of the first theories that adopted biological aspects in the interpretation and study of stress and psychological combustion. This theory confirms that human life brings with it many desirable and unwanted stressful events, which may threaten life, and which requires the individuals either to struggle and resist these events or escape away from them. This theory postulates that when people are exposed to stressful situations, many changes appear in them, such as high blood stress, increased breathing speed, and muscle tension. These changes prepare the body to resist or escape from danger. If the individual can overcome these threats, he resists it. When he encounters excessive dangers and cannot resist them, he escapes from them (Al-Baqshi, 2014).
3. Teacher Professional stress Model: The teacher professional stress model is attributed to Kyriacou & Sutcliffe. This model clearly distinguishes between different types of stress factors like stressful events in a work environment and various aspects of the stress response. These are the set of physiological responses issued by the teacher in stressful situations. Among the stressful situations faced by a teacher are the poor behavior of students, poor working conditions, and lack of capabilities in the teacher to perform his work in a satisfactory manner. There are also various physiological manifestations seen in the teacher such as increased heartbeat, increased sweating and headache, and acidity in the stomach. The psychological responses include anxiety, frustration, anger, depression, and tension, as well as behavioral responses (Kafafi, 2005).
1.3. Problem Statement and Research Questions
The current study discussed the work stress experienced by teachers of social studies in the State of Qatar and revealed the problems associated with such stress. There are both physiological and psychological sources of stress that often get multiplied by students' behavior and teacher's inability to cope with stress. Among other factors that increase the stress are teacher’s relationship with his colleagues, the ambiguity of his professional role, the burden of work and the absence of understanding between the teacher and school administration.
Such stress that a teacher is exposed to in his profession leads to depletion of his body resources and his emotions. The most critical manifestation of this situation is loss of interest in students’ growth, lack of motivation and stereotypical performance of work, resistance to change and loss of innovation. This directly affects the teacher’s productivity in particular and the education outcomes in general.
The study framed the following questions:
1.4. Significance of the Study
There is no dearth of Arab and foreign research studies that have addressed the topic of professional stress for workers in various educational and non-educational organizations. However, after reviewing the literary databases and previous literature, the researcher noticed a scarcity of studies that dealt with the topic of work stress in the workers in the field of education, particularly those working as teachers of social studies in the State of Qatar. This study aimed at identifying the sources of work stress faced by social studies teachers in the State of Qatar. It directs the attention of educational officials to factors that contribute to the occurrence of this phenomenon among teachers of social studies. It emphasized the need to develop appropriate solution to this dangerous phenomenon of work stress which commensurate with the interest of the educational system and its employees. This study will contribute to strengthening the field of Arab and Qatari studies and research in this field and shall also open new avenues for more studies in the field of social studies.
1.5. Objectives of the Study
This study aimed to identify:
1.6. Limitations of the Study
Spatial limits: This study was confined to teachers of social studies working in government schools in the State of Qatar.
Time limits: This study was limited only to the academic year 2018/2019.
Human limits: This study was confined to male and female teachers of social studies in government schools in the State of Qatar.
1.7. Procedural Definitions
Work stress: Any physical or psychological deviations from behavior that limits a teacher's ability to achieve what he or she desires or is required to achieve.
Teacher of social studies: Any male or female teacher who teaches even one class for each subject in history, geography, or national education in Qatar government schools.
Nader (2018) conducted a study aimed at identifying the level of work stress on primary school teachers in Mostaganem, Algeria, and aimed at identifying whether there are statistically significant differences in work stress and some of their variables. The study sample consisted of (340) teachers and the questionnaire was used as a tool to collect data from the members of the study sample with a descriptive analysis approach. The study results showed that teachers suffered from average level of stress and that work conditions, poor relationship with students, workload, progress, and professional growth, and role struggles were major sources of stress for them. The results also revealed statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α = 0.05) due to the variable of years of service in the field of education in favor of the middle class of years of service, followed by the category of most years of service, and the category of least years of service. There was also absence of statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α = 0.05) attributed to the variable’s civil status and educational qualification.
Badran (2017) conducted a study aimed at identifying the sources of professional stress among teachers of vocational education in Jordan and the strategies for dealing with them. The study sample comprised (250) vocational teachers from various educational authorities, including the Ministry of Education, UNRWA, and the private sector. To achieve the goals of the study, the study used the descriptive analytical approach, and the questionnaire was used as a tool to collect data from the members of the study sample and the results showed that the most important sources of professional stress arranged between students' poor performance on exams, daily planning, correcting tests and noise during teaching, lack of financial support, and lack of Career development opportunities. The results also showed that the most important strategies that teachers used to reduce stress were positive thinking and the conviction of obtaining the best. These strategies did not differ according to the authority supervising the teachers.
Abu (2015) also conducted a study aimed at identifying the degree of sources of work stress to which high school teachers in Gaza governorate were exposed to. The study assessed their level of achievement, and the effect of variables like gender, educational qualification, years of service, and like on the mean averages of the sample population of male and female teachers. The researcher used the descriptive analytical method and the study sample consisted of (485) male and female secondary school teachers in Gaza governorates chosen in a stratified random manner. The questionnaire was used as a tool to collect data from the study sample. After conducting the statistical treatment, the study showed that the degree of sources of work stress among secondary school teachers in the governorates of Gaza had a very relative weight (56.1%) and with an average degree of appreciation in the five fields of study. The study also assessed the degree of sources of work stress among secondary school teachers. It was revealed that the stress was attributed more to the gender variable in favor of female teachers. It was also evident that the work stress resulted from the nature of the physical work, and showed that there were no statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α=0.05) between the averages of the sample individuals’ estimates about the degree of sources of work stress among secondary school teachers from their point of view attributed to the variables (Educational qualification, years of service, period of time, province). The study also showed that the level of achievement of teachers in secondary schools in Gaza was a significant degree of appreciation. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α=0.05) between the mean of the estimates of the sample individuals about the degree of sources of work stress for secondary school teachers, from their point of view, they are attributed to the study variables (academic qualification, years of experience, permanence, permanence), and showed an average negative correlation between the degree of sources of work stress for secondary school teachers and the level of achievement they have.
Kavita and Hassan (2018) aimed to compare the sources of stress between primary and secondary school teachers in the Selangor district, Malaysia. The study used a questionnaire on teacher stress as an instrument for the study. The study sample consisted of (268) male and female teachers, The findings revealed that mean stress level score for teachers in secondary school was higher than that of the primary school The study also revealed that secondary teachers perceived more stress than primary school teachers in all stress factors like parents, workload, loads of time, the attitude of the student, recognition, and support as well as lack of resources. It was also evident that both single and married teachers with a moderate difference had a significant difference in mean stress levels. The findings also suggested that teachers with the experience of between 11 and 15 years had more stress and teachers between 31 and 50 years were more stressful than those in other age groups.
Talafha (2013) also undertook a study aimed at revealing the level of work stress among teachers of social studies for the primary stage in government schools in the capital, Amman, and the resulting problems, and to know the impact of both gender and experience, and the educational qualification in their estimates of the level of those stress. The sample of the study consisted of (228) male and female teachers distributed in four directorates of education in Amman, and the descriptive analytical method was used. To achieve the goals of the study, the questionnaire was used as a tool to collect data from the members of the study sample, and the study showed that the work stress faced by teachers was at a high level and that there were statistically significant differences at the level of work stress due to the gender variable and in favor of males and at the experience level of teachers with medium experience (5-10 years). However, no statistical difference was attributed to the variable of educational qualification. The study also found out a most common problem of insomnia or inability to sleep due to stress.
Jeyaraj (2013) identified the level of occupational stress between government teachers and assistant (private school teachers) who lived in different economic, social and cultural environments. The variables of the study included gender, age, school location, number of working people, years of service, and salary. The study used the descriptive-analytical approach and applied a scale of occupational stress developed by the researcher. The study sample comprised (185) government teachers and (120) assistant teachers. After conducting the appropriate statistical methods, the study showed that assistant teachers were exposed to occupational stress more than government teachers. The study also showed that teachers who suffered from stress were professionally dissatisfied and tended to frequent absenteeism and had inclinations to leave the teaching profession.
3.1. Study Approach
The descriptive survey approach was used due to its relevance to the nature of this present study. Also most of the previous similar studies have used this approach.
3.2. Population Study Community
The study population consisted of all (968) male and female teachers of social studies in the State of Qatar.
3.3. Study Sample
The sample size of the study consisted of (391) teachers of social studies in government schools in the State of Qatar who were randomly chosen from the study community. Table1 and Table 2 show the distribution of the sample according to personal variables and nationality.
Table-1. Distribution of sample according to personal variables (n = 391).
| Variable | Level | Frequency |
Ratio |
| Gender | Male | 136 |
34.8 |
| Female | 255 |
65.2 |
|
| Total | 391 |
100.0 |
|
| Scientific qualification | Bachelor | 337 |
86.2 |
| Postgraduate | 54 |
13.8 |
|
| Total | 391 |
100.0 |
|
| Job experience | Less than 5 years | 82 |
21.0 |
| From 5-10 years | 92 |
23.5 |
|
| 10 years and more | 217 |
55.5 |
|
| Total | 391 |
100.0 |
|
| Social status | Married | 321 |
82.1 |
| Single | 57 |
14.6 |
|
| Divorced or widowed | 13 |
3.3 |
|
| Total | 391 |
100.0 |
|
| Nationality | Qatari | 184 |
47.1 |
| Not Qatari | 207 |
52.9 |
|
| Total | 391 |
100.0 |
|
| Academic level | Elementary | 199 |
50.9 |
| Preparatory | 97 |
24.8 |
|
| Secondary | 95 |
24.3 |
|
| Total | 391 |
100.0 |
The number of males in the sample was (136) with a percentage (34.8%), while the females reached (255) with a percentage (65.2%). For the educational qualification variable, the percentage in this sample was (Bachelor 86.2%) and (Post graduate 13.8%). For the period of job experience variable, the percentage 10 years or more was (55.5%), for five to ten years was (23.5%) and for less than five years it was (21.0%). The percentage of the distribution of the study sample in the social status variable was (82.1%), (14.6) and (3.3%) for married, single and divorced or widowed respectively. The highest percentage distribution according to the nationality variable was (52.9%) for non-Qatari nationalities while the lowest percentage (47.1%) was for Qatari nationality. The highest percentage in the academic variable was (50.9%) for the primary while the lowest percentage (24.3%) was for the secondary level.
Table-2. Distribution of the sample population according to nationality.
Total |
Ratio |
Not Qatari |
Ratio |
Qatari |
Gender |
School gender |
School stage |
58 |
0.047 |
46 |
0.012 |
12 |
Males |
Boys |
Elementary |
127 |
0.047 |
46 |
0.083 |
81 |
Females |
||
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Males |
Girls |
|
218 |
0.036 |
35 |
0.189 |
183 |
Females |
||
123 |
0.104 |
101 |
0.022 |
22 |
Males |
Boys |
Preparatory |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Females |
||
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Males |
Girls |
|
155 |
0.057 |
56 |
0.102 |
99 |
Females |
||
131 |
0.111 |
108 |
0.023 |
23 |
Males |
Boys |
Secondary |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Females |
||
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Males |
Girls |
|
156 |
0.079 |
77 |
0.081 |
79 |
Females |
||
968 |
0.484 |
469 |
0.515 |
499 |
Source: Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar.
Table 2 shows the distribution of the population based on nationality. The percentage of male and female teachers of Qatari nationality was 0.28% in primary schools, while among non-Qataris, it was 0.13%. This shows an increase in the percentage of Qatari teachers. Regarding the Qatari male and female teachers in the intermediate stage, it reached 0.12 % while the non-Qatari teachers reached 0.16%. It was noted that this increase was in favor of the non-Qataris. It was also noted that the percentage of male and female teachers at the secondary stage for Qataris reached 0.10% while that of the non-Qataris was 0.19% in favor of the non-Qataris.
3.4. Study Tool
The researcher used a questionnaire for the purpose of reaching the study objectives and answering questions as a means of collecting data from the study sample. The following procedures were adopted for building the study tool.
3.4.1. Building a Study Tool
After referring to theoretical literature and previous studies, the researcher built a study tool ( questionnaire) by borrowing the tools used in two studies: Hamayda (2011) and Talafha (2013). A few of their items were modified. The questionnaire included two parts: the first part dealt with the personal information of the respondents; the second part included (45) items to measure the work stress experienced by teachers of social studies in the State of Qatar and the problems resulting therefrom.
3.4.2. Validity of the Tool
To ensure the validity of the study tool, it was presented to six (6) arbitrators with experience and competence in education. The purpose was to examine the degree of suitability of the language formulation, and the extent of the item belonging to its field. They were also asked to add or delete and make necessary adjustments. On the consensus of the arbitrators a few changes were made in the questionnaire.
3.4.3 Reliability of the Tool
The reliability of the study tool was measured to ensure its ability to predict any extent of compatibility or consistency. The internal consistency test (Cronbach Alpha) was used, as it measures the extent of consistency in the respondents' answers to all the questions in the scale. Alpha can also be interpreted as the coefficient of internal reliability between the responses and indicates its high value on the degree of reliability if it ranges between (0-1) and its value is acceptable at (60%) and above. After extracting the Alpha Cronbach coefficient it turned out that the coefficient of the persistence of the study instrument of this study was (0.95), which is a statistically acceptable value.
The scale: To analyze the data and to answer the study questions, Likert scale quintet was used to answer the questions according to the following degrees: (1) Very Little, (2) Little, (3) Moderate, (4) High, (5) Very High. The arithmetic mean was calculated of the estimates of respondents for each of the questionnaire items and their fields. A limit was adopted for this study while commenting on the arithmetic mean of the variables. To determine this degree of approval, three levels were identified as (High, Medium, Low) based on the following equation:
Length of the period = (upper limit of the alternative - the minimum of the alternative) / number of levels
(5-1) / 3 = 4/3 = 1.33 Thus the levels are as follows:
Low approval score was determined as 1- Less than 2.33
Moderate approval score was 2.33 but less than 3.66
High approval score was between 3.66 and 5.00
Statistical processing: To answer the study questions, the following statistical treatments were used via the SPSS program:
The results of the study aimed to identify the stress of work suffered by teachers and teachers of social studies in the State of Qatar and the problems resulting from it. These results are arranged in the order of the study questions.
The first question: What are the problems arising from work stress among teachers of social studies in Qatar? To answer this question, frequencies were extracted, and the percentage of the respondents' answers to the open question in the questionnaire was measured. Table 3 illustrates the frequency of respondents answering the open questions which helped top determine the number of problems arising for the work stress.
Table-3. Repetitions and the percentage of respondents' answers to the open question in the questionnaire.
Ratio* |
Frequency |
Item | N |
15.0 |
30 |
Administrative burdens or the paper burdens, which requires teachers to document and provide evidence for each work performed. | 1 |
14.5 |
29 |
Failure to complete the work during the working hours, forcing them to work at home. | 2 |
9.5 |
19 |
Frequent office work and computer use lead to weak neck muscles and pain in the neck and shoulder areas. | 3 |
9.0 |
18 |
Frequent supervision visits, with consideration given by management, stands as an evaluation. | 4 |
8.5 |
17 |
Psychological symptoms such as stress, nervousness, and frustration. | 5 |
8.0 |
16 |
The length of the working hours in a school day. | 6 |
7.5 |
15 |
The poor level of students in reading and writing. | 7 |
7.0 |
14 |
Lack of recreational activities and physical education classes. | 8 |
5.0 |
10 |
Low salary for high living. | 9 |
4.5 |
9 |
Poor academic achievement of students. | 10 |
4.0 |
8 |
Lack of creativity at work. | 11 |
3.5 |
7 |
Poor self-development of the teacher. | 12 |
2.5 |
5 |
Lack of motivation among students. | 13 |
1.5 |
3 |
Discriminating teachers by nationality. | 14 |
100.0 |
200 |
Total | |
Note: * The percentage of the total iterations of answers to the open question.
The most prominent problems resulting from work stress among male and female teachers of social studies in the State of Qatar, based on responses and as listed in Table 6 include:
Results related to the second question: What is the level of work stress faced by teachers of social studies at all levels of education in the State of Qatar?
To answer this question, arithmetic averages and standard deviations were extracted from the responses of each item of the study tool. This aimed at identifying the level of work stress faced by social studies teachers in government schools at all educational levels in the State of Qatar. Table 4 illustrates this.
Table 4 reveals that two items get a high evaluation degree: item (6): Getting a lot of workload on me as a teacher, especially paper, is causing me discomfort. This item has an average of (3.86) which the researcher attributes to the fact that male and female teachers of social studies at all educational levels in the State of Qatar are tired of paperwork. The reason behind this result is also because the academic administration asks every teacher to provide evidence of the work done inside the school. This includes a record of systematic activities, a guide of teaching showing evidence of learning, and self-review guides for each teacher. The researcher interviewed some teachers to understand this finding. It was emphasized by teachers that the more the academic administration requires reports and evidence, the stricter is the control. This kind of strictness and academic control makes the academic administration strong, but it leaves the teacher stuck in the middle of performing the basic task of teaching students. Eventually, it puts the teacher in unnecessary stress and in some cases it pushes the teacher into a feeling of hatred for his profession. Some teachers work while they are at home but they are always vigilant to receive a call from the coordinator or the administrative deputy for any assignment of new work. It was also evident for the results that teachers do not receive appropriate care and attention by education directors and school administration in exchange for the burdens and tasks assigned to them. The number of students in schools affiliated to the directorates of education is high and so is the number of teachers. Hence the intensity of the issue is also big. These teachers suffer due to the heavy and close surveillance of their work performance. They are required to give evidence of every work they do, no matter how small it is. They are always preoccupied with paperwork which further adds to their stress. One of the respondents even described this situation as “swimming in a sea of paper”.
In the second rank is the item (19): I am confused if I am involved in activities that I do not want, with an average of (3.72). This shows that social studies teachers are well aware that their participation in activities that they do not want are the cause of the work stress and that such work stress can lead to a decline in their performance. Engaging the teacher in activities that he does not wish to is considered a waste of time and waste of effort. It is preferable that a teacher can be given an opportunity to express his or her interest in an assignment or activity. A work that a person does without his interest is not performed well because there is an absence of the desire to perform well. This desire to perform well is the first and primary factor for creativity and innovation. Hence, what he does without interest or desire also does not give him an opportunity to show his creations and innovation.
Table-4. Arithmetic averages and standard deviations of the responses to measure the level of work stress faced by social studies teachers in all academic stages in the State of Qatar (in a descending order of the arithmetic mean).
| Rank | N | Item | Mean |
Standard deviation |
Relative importance |
Degree of evaluation |
| 1 | 6 | Getting a lot of workload on me as a teacher, especially paper, is causing me discomfort | 3.86 |
1.21 |
77.2 |
High |
| 2 | 19 | I become confused if I am involved in activities I do not want | 3.72 |
1.26 |
74.4 |
High |
| 3 | 22 | I suffer from a lack of interest in students and a lack of motivation to learn. | 3.65 |
1.32 |
72.9 |
Moderate |
| 4 | 11 | The crowding of students in the classes affects negatively | 3.63 |
1.39 |
72.7 |
Moderate |
| 5 | 7 | The increase in the daily teaching load affects my productivity | 3.58 |
1.30 |
71.6 |
Moderate |
| 6 | 2 | My financial obligations are many and cause me tension | 3.57 |
1.26 |
71.3 |
Moderate |
| 7 | 9 | I suffer from the length of school hours | 3.52 |
1.39 |
70.5 |
Moderate |
| 8 | 44 | I am troubled by the students' inability to take responsibility. | 3.48 |
1.34 |
69.5 |
Moderate |
| 9 | 32 | I suffer from stress and fatigue due to the large amount of work assigned to me. | 3.46 |
1.40 |
69.2 |
Moderate |
| 10 | 10 | The lack of respect of students for me as a teacher affects my psyche | 3.44 |
1.45 |
68.8 |
Moderate |
| 10 | 16 | I suffer from a large number of obligations and family burdens | 3.44 |
1.31 |
68.8 |
Moderate |
| 12 | 28 | I suffer from a lack of cooperation between the teacher and the parents of students | 3.33 |
1.29 |
66.5 |
Moderate |
| 13 | 15 | Failure of students to do homework disturbs me | 3.28 |
1.37 |
65.5 |
Moderate |
| 14 | 23 | I think the criteria used to upgrade teachers are not fair | 3.28 |
1.28 |
65.7 |
Moderate |
| 15 | 18 | The poor academic achievement of students causes me stress | 3.16 |
1.33 |
63.2 |
Moderate |
| 15 | 27 | I do not feel independent in my work | 3.16 |
1.29 |
63.2 |
Moderate |
| 17 | 26 | I think teacher evaluations are inappropriate and unfair | 3.13 |
1.32 |
62.6 |
Moderate |
| 18 | 1 | I feel that there is no match for my salary and my efforts at work | 3.05 |
1.35 |
61.0 |
Moderate |
| 19 | 17 | Poor scheduling of training sessions worries me | 2.99 |
1.33 |
59.8 |
Moderate |
| 19 | 21 | I feel stress and tired from a lot of social obligations | 2.99 |
1.30 |
59.8 |
Moderate |
| 21 | 37 | I do not have authority over my work as a teacher | 2.93 |
1.30 |
58.5 |
Moderate |
| 22 | 14 | The administration's lack of consideration for the teachers' psychological state makes me sad | 2.92 |
1.39 |
58.3 |
Moderate |
| 23 | 36 | The inability to accomplish more than one task at one time worries me | 2.88 |
1.35 |
57.7 |
Moderate |
| 24 | 42 | I feel that society’s view of the teacher’s profession is negative. | 2.88 |
1.34 |
57.7 |
Moderate |
| 25 | 33 | The lack of educational facilities and capabilities affect my productivity | 2.87 |
1.37 |
57.4 |
Moderate |
| 26 | 45 | Not including me in making decisions makes me feel deficient | 2.86 |
1.31 |
57.1 |
Moderate |
| 27 | 12 | I feel tired of attending school and ministry courses. | 2.84 |
1.31 |
56.8 |
Moderate |
| 28 | 8 | Management's lack of appreciation for our accomplishments as educators negatively affects me | 2.82 |
1.29 |
56.4 |
Moderate |
| 29 | 34 | I suffer from not providing the educational needs and requirements of the teacher | 2.78 |
1.36 |
55.7 |
Moderate |
| 30 | 20 | Too many problems among students inside the school make me stress | 2.72 |
1.28 |
54.5 |
Moderate |
| 30 | 30 | There are a distinction and bias in the distribution of classes between the teachers. | 2.72 |
1.31 |
54.5 |
Moderate |
| 32 | 5 | I am afraid of the results of the annual reports. | 2.70 |
1.28 |
53.9 |
Moderate |
| 33 | 29 | The length and difficulty of the scheduled curriculum is frustrating to me | 2.66 |
1.30 |
53.1 |
Moderate |
| 34 | 41 | I suffer from unclear work requirements and responsibilities. | 2.61 |
1.29 |
52.1 |
Moderate |
| 35 | 38 | I suffer from the difficulty of applying the activities mentioned in the curriculum | 2.58 |
1.20 |
51.6 |
Moderate |
| 36 | 39 | Bad use of the teachers' record (fingerprint) worries me | 2.57 |
1.24 |
51.5 |
Moderate |
| 37 | 24 | I feel dissatisfied and ashamed of my profession as a teacher | 2.56 |
1.26 |
51.3 |
Moderate |
| 38 | 13 | I suffer from a weak relationship between teachers and the school environment | 2.49 |
1.22 |
49.9 |
Moderate |
| 39 | 4 | The poor relationship between the teacher and the school administration worries me | 2.46 |
1.16 |
49.3 |
Moderate |
| 39 | 25 | I feel the futility of daily teaching planning. | 2.46 |
1.19 |
49.3 |
Moderate |
| 41 | 35 | I am sensitive toward social and economic differences among students. | 2.41 |
1.13 |
48.2 |
Moderate |
| 42 | 3 | The relationship between the teacher and the coordinator is weak | 2.40 |
1.10 |
48.0 |
Moderate |
| 43 | 43 | I don't like being assigned to teach a subject outside of my major | 2.30 |
0.96 |
45.9 |
Low |
| 44 | 40 | I suffer from the inability to use modern technology in teaching. | 2.27 |
1.03 |
45.3 |
Low |
| 45 | 31 | The many questions that are asked by students bother me | 2.09 |
0.88 |
41.9 |
Low |
| The tool as a whole | 2.97 |
0.71 |
59.3 |
Moderate |
||
The results also show (40) items obtaining an average evaluation score, where the mathematical averages for these items ranged between 2.40 -3.65. For instance, article (22) states: I suffer from a lack of interest in students and a weak motivation to learn, came in the third rank with an average score of (3.65) and an average evaluation. The researcher attributes this result to educational problems at all basic, preparatory and secondary levels of study causing stress among teachers of social studies in the State of Qatar. There is a lack of interest of students and their motivation to learn. The teachers feel that their efforts made to teach students are not appreciated and that they have gone in vain. The fatigue and the effort put by the teacher in teaching students are put in a wrong or inappropriate place if teachers see that their efforts did not produce a good result. This also reflects on the achievement of students. It causes them extreme stress, frustration, confusion and lack of self-confidence.
The researcher also believes that the student's lack of interest in learning is due to the lack of clarity of his inclinations and plans. The student does not realize the importance of continuing to learn, but only cares for the profession that gives him a material salary that he will take up as soon as possible after graduation from school. Some students may be suffering due to family circumstances such as the separation of parents or the death of either parent, which greatly affects achievement of students as it does on their play, amusement particularly if they are very young. Sometimes there are psychological, behavioral problems that children suffer from, such as bullying from their colleagues. This may also affect their achievement significantly. The researcher also believes that student the student’s learning motivation is driven by high ambition and requires the student to persevere and develop the ability to overcome obstacles and difficulties. The student must learn to overcome challenges in the desire to achieve academic success and excellence on others and to achieve his future goals that lead to his satisfaction, self-confidence, and feeling of social acceptance, and gaining the trust of others.
The item (3) came in the last rank in the medium evaluation with an average score of (2.40). It states: I suffer from a weak relationship between the coordinator and the teachers. The reason is that since coordinators are concerned with supervision, follow-up, and coordination between teachers and their work, they need to play the role of evaluating teachers and writing annual reports. This evaluation sometimes proves an impediment to the promotion of teachers. For this reason, the teacher respondents of the sample of this study made average assessments on this item. The researcher also attributes this result to the failure of the coordinator to play his role effectively by focusing on the negative aspects and neglecting the positive aspects in the teacher’s work. Additionally, when the coordinator makes sudden supervisory visits, and insists on implementing the curriculum literally, obligating each teacher to follow a specific method of teaching and preparing lectures, it causes stress to varying degrees among teachers.
The results also include items that received a low evaluation score, as the arithmetic averages for these items ranged between (2.09-2.30). One of these items (item 44): got the forty-third rank with an arithmetic average (2.30). It states: I am not assigned to teach a subject from outside my specialty. The reason for this dissatisfaction is the lack of awareness in the officials in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education who cannot give due importance to each teacher’s major or the subject that he is capable of teaching. This leads to further increase of work stress on him. Similarly the forty-fifth item with the arithmetic mean of 2.09 states: the number of questions that the students ask me to bother me. The reason for such low rating is the abundance of questions by students asking them about the feedback. The teacher is willing to accept their questions about the feedback but not to cause him inconvenience.
A good teacher knows how to ask students questions in order to motivate their thinking. The teacher's ability to ask questions is in fact one of the essential teaching skills that must be planned accurately. It creates an opportunity for students to ask and generate questions that increase their ability to think creatively. Asking questions helps students to integrate and participate in the class actively, and increases their self-confidence, a sense of independence and makes them work to develop scientific thinking skills. It also helps to stimulate students' mental activity and improve their focus and attention on learning.
The researcher believes that the work stress of teachers of social studies in Qatar at various academic stages is also due to the stressful situations prevalent in the Qatari schools in recent years. The work stress areas relate to the nature and content of the curricula, educational administration, co-workers, students, parents, and work environment. The interaction between these problems strains and complicates the psychological state of the teacher in general, and increases the severity of the professional stress in particular. In other words, the greater the teacher's exposure to these conditions, the higher will be the level of stress.
The results of this study are similar to the study of Nader (2018) whose results indicated that teachers suffer from an average level of stress due to causes such as bad working conditions, poor relationship with students, workload, less or no professional growth, and role conflict. These results are also consistent with Abu (2015) whose results indicated that the degree of sources of work stress among secondary school teachers in the governorates of Gaza had a relative weight (56.1%) and an average grade in the variables of the study. However, these results differ from Talafha (2013), whose results indicated that the work stress faced by teachers was at a high level on the tool as a whole.
These results also differed from Hamayda (2011), whose results indicated that the work stress faced by secondary school teachers was at a high level on the tool as a whole.
Third : Results related to the third question: Are there statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α≤0.05) between the opinions of the members of the study sample about the level of stress experienced by teachers for social studies at all levels of education in Qatar based on variables like gender, educational qualification, nationality, job experience, marital status, and educational level?
To answer this question, an Independent Samples t-Test was applied to the tool as a whole based on variables (gender, nationality, educational qualification), and the application of the ANOVA analysis on the tool as a whole based on variables (experience, school level), Tables 5-6 illustrate the results of the t-Test.
Table-5. Results of (Independent Samples t-Test) on the instrument as a whole according to the variables (gender, nationality and educational qualification).
Variable |
Category |
Mean |
Standard deviation |
T value |
Sig |
Gender |
Male |
2.82 |
0.65 |
2.89 |
0.00 |
Female |
3.04 |
0.74 |
|||
Educational qualification |
Bachelor |
2.96 |
0.72 |
0.22 |
0.83 |
Postgraduate |
2.99 |
0.67 |
|||
Nationality |
Qatari |
3.06 |
0.75 |
2.40 |
0.02 |
Not Qatari |
2.88 |
0.67 |
Table 5 shows a statistically significant difference at the level of significance (α≤0.05) between the opinions of the members of the study sample about the level of stress experienced by teachers of social studies at all levels of education in Qatar according to the gender variable. The value of (T) is seen equal to (2.89), which is a statistically significant value, and when reviewing the arithmetic averages, it was found that the differences were in favor of females, as the arithmetic mean for females reached (3.04), while the arithmetic mean for males reached (2.82). This indicates that females are more vulnerable to stress than males. The researcher attributes this result to the fact that males and females have become responsible for material and social obligations. Thus, a teacher may develop the fear of losing the job, a fear which is alike to both male and female teachers, as the loss of the job affects the security and safety of their families. This leads to more stress in both male and female teachers.
Moreover, a female teacher, besides her job, is also a mother or a wife. She has responsibilities towards her family and children like preparing food, teaching children, cleaning the house, and making family obligations. Above all, she has her responsibility as a teacher. Her exit from home early in the morning and returning late to her home has consequences that may cause more stress. But females have more tolerance to stress and they adapt to it more than the males, by the nature of their physical makeup and by the fact that society is considered a male community in which the man is accountable for family burdens and also is the main recipient of stress.
These findings are similar to the study of Abu (2015) whose results indicated the presence of statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α=0.05) between the averages of the sample individuals ’estimates regarding the degree of sources of work stress among secondary school teachers, from their point of view of gender variable in favor of female teachers. These findings are however different from (Talafha, 2013), which stated that there are statistically significant differences in the level of work stress due to the gender variable and in favor of males. These findings also differ with Hamayda (2011), who found a statistically significant difference in the level of work stress due to the gender variable and in favor of males.
There were also no statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α≤0.05) among the respondents of the study about the level of stress experienced by teachers of social studies at all levels of education in Qatar according to the variable of educational qualification, as the value of (T) reached (0.22), which is not statistically significant. The researcher attributes this result to the agreement between the respondents of the study sample that the level of stress experienced by teachers of social studies at all stages of the study according to the variable of the educational qualification play a role in providing experiences to the teacher. It also increases his perceived self-efficacy and ability to withstand stress, as the educational qualification does not increase the strength of the teacher to withstand the stress faced by him. The years of work and dealing with school diaries and their renewed matters can also give experience to the teacher and knowledge how to deal and adapt to everything new.
These findings are similar to Nader (2018), which show an absence of statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α = 0.05) due to the variables of the civil status and educational qualification. These results are also similar to Talafha (2013) whose results indicated the absence of statistically significant differences attributable to the variable of the academic qualification. These results are also consistent to Hamayda (2011), who stated that there were no differences attributable to the variable of the educational qualification, and the most common problems experienced by teachers were fatigue, physical fatigue, fewer problems, failure in life, the inability to sleep and a drop in the heart muscle.
There are also seen some statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α≤0.05) between the opinions of the respondents of this study sample about the level of stress experienced by teachers of social studies at all levels of education in Qatar according to the nationality variable, where the value of (T) (2.40) is a statistically significant value. When reviewing the arithmetic mean, it was found that the differences were in favor of teachers who hold Qatari nationality, as the average arithmetic for teachers who hold Qatari nationality was (3.06), while the mean for teachers from other nationalities was (2.88). The responsibilities assigned to a Qatari may be significant, which can cause him to work stress of a different kind. The Qatari society is a luxury society and lives in a high level of luxury and psychological comfort. None of us neglects that the nature of work as a teacher has many difficulties that may not be found in some other jobs, this in turn, reflected on the teacher and caused him some of this stress and reduced his enjoyment of a life full of luxury.
The results of this study are also similar to (Eres & Atanasoska, 2010) which stated that Turkish teachers suffer from an average percentage of professional stress, and to a lesser degree than Macedonian teachers.
It appears from Table 6 that there are no statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α≤0.05) among the respondents of the study sample about the level of stress experienced by teachers of social studies at all levels of schools in Qatar according to the variables (job experience, social status, and school stage). In this result, the values of (F) were not statistically significant, due to a sample in (job experience, marital status, school stage) due to the level of stress experienced by male and female teachers of social studies at all school levels in Qatar.Table-6. The results of applying ANOVA to the tool vary according to the variables (job experience, marital status, academic level).
| Variable | Category |
Mean |
Standard deviation |
F |
Sig |
| Job experience | Less than 5 years |
2.94 |
0.67 |
0.09 |
0.91 |
From 5-10 years |
2.96 |
0.75 |
|||
10 years and more |
2.98 |
0.71 |
|||
| Marital status | Married |
2.97 |
0.73 |
0.04 |
0.97 |
Single |
2.94 |
0.62 |
|||
Divorced or widowed |
2.97 |
0.65 |
|||
| School stage | Elementary |
2.98 |
0.68 |
0.44
|
0.65
|
Preparatory |
2.99 |
0.80 |
|||
Secondary |
2.91 |
0.69 |
These results are similar to Abu (2015) whose results showed the absence of statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α ≤05.0) between the averages of the sample individuals ’estimates about the degree of sources of work stress among secondary school teachers, from the point of view attributed to the study variables (Academic qualification, years of experience, working hours, governorate). These results however differ with the findings of Talafha (2013) whose results showed the presence of statistically significant differences at the level of work stress due to the gender variable and in favor of males, and for experience and the benefit of teachers with medium experience (5-10) years. These results also differed with Hamayda (2011) whose results indicated the presence of statistically significant differences in the level of work stress attributable to the gender variable and for the benefit of males and for experience and the benefit of teachers with medium experience (5-10) years, and an absence of differences attributable to the variable of scientific qualification.
Based on the results of the study, the researcher recommends the following:
Funding: This study received no specific financial support. |
Competing Interests: The author declares that there are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of this paper. |
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