A systematic narrative review of teachers’ occupational stressors and coping strategies: A bioecological systems perspective

ABSTRACT

This systematic review uses a bioecological systems model to study occupational stressors and their effects on teachers’ performance in schools. We discuss risk factors and coping styles influencing occupational stress at the levels of the biosystem (teacher characteristics), microsystem (class relations), mesosystem (school context), exosystem (social policy), and macrosystem (cultural norms). The review indicates that teachers face specific stressors within each ecological system and experience varying levels of emotional issues corresponding to the system challenges. They are particularly vulnerable to feelings of helplessness and negative affect at higher-order ecological levels (i.e. exosystem and macrosystem) due to limited control over stressors in those systems. Accordingly, teachers may have to resort to palliative coping to manage their emotions. While workload, role stressors, and interpersonal conflicts are significant stressors in the microsystem, organisational challenges originating from the school structure, such as the inadequacy of professional support, contribute to stress in teachers at the mesosystem level. At higher-order ecological systems, stressors include school reform, policy changes, and discrimination against marginalised teachers. The study concludes by offering evidence-based strategies tailored to each ecological system to mitigate stress and alleviate negative emotions among teachers.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher stress
• coping style
• school climate
• stress management
• racial/cultural disparities
• bioecological framework

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Farshad Ghasemi

Farshad Ghasemi Ph.D., is a Research Assistant at the Missouri Prevention Science Institute, University of Missouri. His work spans randomized clinical trials, survey research, and qualitative inquiries to uncover mechanisms underlying poor outcomes and to translate these findings into evidence-based interventions. In particular, he is interested in implementing and tailoring therapeutic approaches to prevent and treat specific mental disorders.