Stressful Educational Phenomena that Led Teachers to Separate Voluntarily from a South Florida School District

In 1999, the Florida State Legislature passed a statute that provided funding to all Florida school districts for recruitment and retention (Florida Department of Education, Teacher Exit Interview Information, 2000-01 [FDOETEII], 2001). This statute required all districts to document teacher attrition with exit interviews. In the two years that exit interviews have been conducted, 11 1 of the 655 teachers left the district voluntarily due to stress on the job, equating to 16.9% of the total number of voluntary separations (FDOEETEII, 200 1,2002). When a teacher suffers from burnout they at first could develop increased feelings of emotional exhaustion and fatigue, develop negative attitudes towards their students, and evaluate themselves negatively, leading to a feeling of lack of personal accomplishment (Pierce & Molloy, 1990). The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario ([WSIBO], 1999) indicates stress can have an effect on one's health. In the case of workplace stress that occurs constantly over a long period, the body is unable to shut down its response to stress. Over time this condition can lead to: increased blood pressure, faster heartbeat, faster respiration, decrease in protein synthesis, digestion, immune and allergic response systems, increased cholesterol, localized inflammation, faster blood clotting, and increased stomach acids (WSIBO, 1999). Thus, based on these findings, this study was conducted to assess why teachers are separating voluntarily from a school district in South Florida for stress on the job, based on the exit interview questionnaire. The study is qualitative in approach and pays particular attention to specific explanations of actual or perceived stress on the job. The described stress on the job is categorized into five separate levels of distance fiom the teacher (personal characteristics, professional skills, interpersonal relationships, educational system, and extra system). These levels are part of the Teacher Proximity Continuum developed by Camp and Heath-Camp (1990). To implement the study, a search was conducted of all former employees who left voluntarily due to stress on the job. Participants mailed back a questionnaire and a consent form. Participants completed a Teacher Stress Inventory for background information. The researcher interviewed the participants and looked for themes and patterns using Nvivo software. The interviews were analyzed for patterns. The results of the study led to recommendations for the district to retain its teachers. If the district can keep the teachers it hires, the effects will be threefold. First, the district will meet the hiring needs based on projected student population growth. Second, student achievement will increase based on continuity in the classroom. Third, more district dollars can be spent directly in the classroom rather than on recruiting more teachers. The most noticeable theme that emerged fiom the analysis of the data was a lack of administrative support positively affecting the stress that participants of each subgroup obtained. The participants felt the administration did not back them up with discipline issues in the classroom or disagreements with parents, and were insensitive to teacher concerns. Other themes that emerged were student discipline, parent and community support, and the abundance of paperwork. Dedication and Acknowledgements While this dissertation bears my name, it would not have been possible without the support and encouragement provided by many people. First, I would like to thank my parents, sisters, nieces, and aunt for the emotional and financial support over the last three years. Additionally, I would like to thank Margie and the kids for giving me the time to pursue my academic goals. Their encouragement helped get me through the tough times. I also would like to thank my friend Jim, who provided comic relief when it was desperately needed. A special thank you goes out to my dissertation committee: Dr. Carole Warshaw, my dissertation chairperson, who unselfishly gave her time and effort to see this study through; Dr. William Leary; and Dr. Karle. Their guidance and commitment to my study provided the motivation needed for me to complete this study. I also would like to thank Dr. Matthew Shoemaker for encouraging me to pursue my degree and guide me through the pitfalls of the dissertation process. Thank you to Dr. Robert DeYoung who provided timely guidance through the data collection and data analysis phase and motivated me to work hard until completion. Thank you to my cohort members, Mary, Matthew, Herminio, and Pepe for their support throughout the entire doctoral program. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page . ABSTRACT i . DEDICATION and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 111 . LIST OF TABLES viii . LIST OF FIGURES xu . CHAPTER ONE . INTRODUCTION 1 . Introduction 1 . Rational for this Study 2 . Stress Models 4 . Results of Stress 5 . Teacher Attrition 7 . Significance of Study 9 Research Question . 11 . Operational Defimtions 11 . CHAPTER TWO . REVIEW OF LITERATURE 13 . Qualitative Studies 13 . Stress 14 . Stress in Education 16 . Teacher Attrition 29 Consequences of Teacher Attrition . 31 . CHAPTER THREE . DESIGN 34 . Instrumentation 34 . Palm Tree Demographic Profile Questionnaire 34 . Non-Verbal Communication Checklist 34 . Teacher Stress Inventory 35 Teacher Proximity Continuum . 35 . Research Design 38 . Population and Sampling 39 Procedure . 40 Data Collection . 41 Data Analysis . 41 Validity . 42 . Generalizability -43 CHAPTER FOUR . FINDINGS . 45 Teachers Who were Employed with the District for 5 Months to 5 Years . 46 Teachers Who were Employed With the District for 6 Years to 15 Years . 55 Teachers Who were Employed with the District 16 Years to Pre.Retirement . 64 Within-Case Analysis . 72 Teachers Who were Employed with the District for . 5 Months to 5 Years 73 Teachers Who were Employed with the District for 6 Years to 15 Years . 85 Teachers Who were Employed with the District 16 Years to Pre-Retirement . 100 A Cross-Case Analysis . 112 CHAPTER FIVE . SUMMARY . 142 Summary . 142 Limitations of the Study . 147 Suggestions for Future Research . 149 REFERENCES . 15 1 APPENDICES . -162 A . Exit Questionnaire for Instructional and Non-instructional Employees . 162 B . Teacher Proximity Continuum . 163 C . Teacher Stress Inventory . 164 D . Informed Consent Form . 167 E . Informed Consent to Audio Record . 168 F . Palm Tree Demographic Profile Questionnaire . 169 G . Non-Verbal Communication Checklist . 170 H. One-On-One Interview Qu