Occupational Stress and Satisfaction in Teaching

Abstract

Teacher stress, job satisfaction, absenteeism, career intention, career commitment and self‐image as teacher were investigated in a context which allowed many of the characteristics of an educational system to be incorporated in the design. A questionnaire survey of 545 teachers in Maltese secondary schools revealed that some of the demographic characteristics of the sample were related to self‐reported teacher stress, job satisfaction and career commitment. Results also showed that teachers who reported greater stress were less satisfied with teaching, reported greater frequency of absences and a greater number of total days absent, were more likely to leave teaching (career intention), and less likely to take up a teaching career again (career commitment).