Teacher Stress and Coping: A Qualitative Case Study

This study examines how stress affects the teacher participants in a rural school in Alabama and how those teachers cope with stress. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore the effects of teacher stress and the ways in which stress is dealt with through coping strategies. Thirteen teachers from one school in the district were invited to participate. Eight teachers of the thirteen agreed to be interviewed as part of the study, which included all the K–6 teachers (with the exception of fourth grade), the literacy coach, and the physical education teacher. The final finding is that increasing support, creating positive work environments within the school, and incorporating a mindset of effective communication can reduce the effects of stress and build coping strategies. Understanding sources of stress and how they affect teachers will be essential to help guide future research and best ways of coping. The study of teacher stress and coping suggest a need to recognize stress and understand its affects are important to the teacher interactions of implementing coping strategies. Researched-based methods and models for reducing the effects of teacher stress are needed and identifying coping strategies is as well using guide lines for such an agenda.