Abstract:

The intense stress experienced by teachers can affect the future of societies by causing many problems in their individual lives and in the schools they work. For this reason, the aim of the study is to examine teachers' opinions on the causes, consequences and coping strategies of the stress they experience in the profession. Phenomenology, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in the research. The study group of the research consists of 28 teachers working in Yeşilova district of Burdur province in the spring semester of 2018-2019 academic year, which was determined by the maximum variation sampling, one of the purposive sampling methods. Data were collected by semi-structured interview form and analyzed by content analysis. According to the research findings, it was determined that the most important source of stress for teachers was parents. They expressed that behaviors such as parents' lack of interest in their children's education, holding the teacher responsible for the failure of their children and intervention of the teachers in their works are among the important sources that create stress in themselves. This was followed respectively by students, teaching profession, school management, physical conditions and colleagues. It was concluded that individual consequences of occupational stress were psychological, physiological and behavioral, on the other hand, organizational consequences were low performance, decrease in school commitment, absenteeism, alienation and burnout. Teachers stated that they used positive thinking, participation in social activities, physical movement, prayer / worship, effective communication, regular nutrition and depersonalization strategies to cope with stress. In addition, it was concluded that supportive organizational structure, participatory management, improvement of the physical environment, in-service training, elimination of stress sources and psychological help activities in the workplace were carried out in order for teachers to cope with stress in schools. According to the results of the study, it may be recommended to give effective parent education seminars to parents and to organize activities that may increase their communication with teachers. Policies can be developed to ensure that students behave in accordance with classroom and school rules. For future research, carrying out similar studies based on the perceptions of other education stakeholders may provide different perspectives on the subject.

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