Development of an Instrument to Measure Teacher Work Stress

Background: English Language Learner (ELL) teachers often assume multiple roles in the lives of immigrant and refugee students.  Yet little research attention has been paid to the work experiences of these teachers and their mental health.  The purpose of the current study was to develop an ecological measure of ELL teacher stress that identifies multiple work setting influences on stress. 

Methods: Teachers completed an online questionnaire that included a demographic survey, the current teacher stress measure, the Teacher Stress Inventory, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory.  Fifty-six stress events were included on the original measure, across four ecological domains. Ninety-eight public school teachers in grades K-12, representing 29 U.S. states, participated in the study.  

Results: Of the original 56 items, 40 items representing unique stress events were retained for the final version. Findings reveal that the teacher stress measure has both discriminant and predictive validity.  The four-factor structure of the measure held up to psychometric testing.  The development of the final 40-item measure is described in full, including the development of a separate response scale to capture frequency and severity of stress events. 

Conclusion: The teacher stress measure developed in this study addresses a significant gap in field, as well as methodological and conceptual problems with other teacher stress measures.  The current measure provides a tool to identify ecological sources of teacher stress and is useful across a variety of school settings.  Use of this tool has implications for prevention and intervention efforts to reduce teacher stress and promote psychological well-being.