Occupational stress : implications for Vincentian teachers and managers, education planning and management

Abstract

Empirical investigation has revealed that people in helping professions especially education have significantly higher levels of occupational stress and are vulnerable to illness. The problem is not an easy one. Evidence shows that stress in people in education setting is so prevalent particularly among teachers (the world over) that it has an enormous detrimental effect on the process of teaching and learning. Education needs to recognise the problem and make a deliberate effort to alleviate the situation. The study focuses on stress in teachers and educational administrators/managers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Several major themes are dealt with: ( i) the observation made which prompted the study; (ii) lack of awareness of the nature of stress; (iii) the prevalence of stress; (iv) symptoms of stress; (v) effects of stress; (vi) coping and managing stress; and, (vii) sources of stress. Multifunctionality as a source of stress in senior educational administrators/managers in small states (but with direct reference to St.Vincent and the Grenadines) is given attention. The study argues for a response to the problem; offers some recommendations; and, suggests that research effort be undertaken as a point of departure to begin to deal with the phenomenon.