Abstract
The environment of preschool is informal interactive, and public centered. It is imperative for these teachers to generate and sustain a constructive interpersonal atmosphere. These preschool teachers interact with a variety of people like children, parents, principal, supervisors, school staff, and counselors on regular basis. Several pre-school educators find the occupation of being a professional teacher in today’s schools difficult and sometimes stressful. When this happens, teacher burnout takes place and can result in grave consequences for the health and happiness of not only teachers, but also the children, professionals, and families with whom they network on a regular basis.
Problem
Due to multiple roles a preschool teacher plays in the execution of her job, how can she be able to handle the stress that comes with it? This paper attempts to come up with solutions to the problem by taking the insights and suggestions of preschool teachers.
Literature Review
According on various literatures, ((Greenberger and Strasser, 1986; Neils, Scott, 2007 among others), burnout symptoms can be represented by the signals the body sends which may be the depletion of physical energy when a teacher has absolutely no stamina or energy land getting out of bed to face the day becomes a difficulty with each passing day. Frustration seeps in, bringing along with it impatience, anguish and temperamental swings in moods. This follows with a decline in the immunity of the individual to fight the various common illnesses such as common cold, flu etc and in some cases gives rise to the blood pressure problem in the teacher’s body.
Withdrawal symptoms then become easily visible thus affecting the personal relationships of the teacher which may begin to show signs of strain. It is then justifies that the affected teacher in severe cases develops an extremely pessimistic approach towards life resulting in absolute inefficiency at work which directly affects the students and their fast depleting relationship with the teacher. The enthusiasm to get out and face the world is highly reduced causing syndromes of remaining absent from work. According to Brownell, (1997), “stress can reduce a teacher’s motivation and ultimately affects the operation of the school and teaching”.
Aim of the Research Study
This Qualitative study attempts to assemble information about stress from preschool teachers with a deep study of the factors involved in their occupation. This study additionally endeavors to generate the potential methods to deal with them and produce a design for Stress Management for preschool teachers which can be presented to schools in order to retain their greatest assets – their educators. It is believed that in doing so, schools will be able have and retain more efficient teachers who can provide better quality of service to their preschool students.
Experiments conducted
Experimental strategies adopted to prevent burnout (findings)
In a school in Australia a study was conducted by implementing a Program to reduce Teacher Burnout. It included ‘Enabling Strategies’ as follows:
Regular group get-togethers were conducted, so that teachers could talk about common concern, convey emotion, and obtain encouragement. These meetings were intended to diminish feelings of loneliness. Time out was advised during the course of the day to allow staff to meet and discuss matters in a relaxed way. Physical exercise was encouraged, even if it was only a small walk at lunch time. It is regarded that a healthy body is more likely to reduce the negative influences of stress.
Program Evaluation (Feedback)- (Discussion)
Following the accomplishment of the pilot plan, the Principal of the school was interviewed and she expressed contentment that there had been a by and large enhancement in the manner of the staff and reported that the program had been exceedingly successful. The Principal noted that the teachers emerged, happier, less strained and able to communicate with each other more efficiently. She also observed a drop of stress amongst the staff, which added to a more calm school atmosphere.
The Principal also stated that a more credulous atmosphere had developed, where personnel were more peaceful, able to discuss common concerns more efficiently and were more cheering towards each other. Social outlets called support groups were set up define precise areas that were probable to cause pressure and irritation, and hence burnout, and discuss ways of distribution of work more impartially and initiate methods to deal more successfully with their work (e.g., discuss short-cuts other staff members had discovered or suggest possible alternatives).
It was also suggested that staff meetings be held in a more casual manner with the providence of food and drink at the school’s expenditure in order to thank the staff for their offerings, stressing the achievements, and to express official gratitude and honor for staff efforts. It was further recommended that meetings be held every fortnight instead of monthly. The introduction of support groups and more informal, habitual staff meetings were considered by the Principal and staff to be very realistic, constructive and successful, and they recommended that these practices should persist.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Burnout is often thought of as a phrase of negative adaptation to stress, therefore, the spotlight tends to be on the pessimistic effects of burnout. We as educators need to amplify equilibrium within ourselves before we can successfully communicate this balance to our students. This can be accomplished if teachers are professionally content as collaborative associates of a cohesive school.
Increasing Self-Esteem
It was recommended that teachers be encouraged to feel more optimistically about their labors. Teachers should be commended and acknowledged for their efforts. Fennick (1992) suggested that ‘instead of working harder, work smarter’. Teachers could achieve this by using discussion, peer response grouping, collaborative grouping, and academic journal and case writing. Such a proactive approach could enhance teachers’ self-confidence by indicating that teachers maintain power of their own occupation.
It was recommended that teachers be occupied in a retreat, even for a few days, into a new environment. This would allow individuals collectively to take stock of their situation. To accomplish this goal, the teachers went for a two-day vacation to a nearby resort, where they were able to unwind and de-stress themselves.
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