A Meta-Analysis for Exploring the Diverse Causes and Effects of Stress in Teachers

This study provides a correlational meta ‐ analysis of 65 independently written or published studies on teacher stress between 1998 and 2003. We measured the relationships between teacher stress and numerous other constructs including coping, burnout, emotional responses, personality mediators, personal support, environmental structure, and background characteristics. A theoretical ‐ empirical model of construct relationships investigated across studies was developed and n = 2,527 correlational effect sizes were used to estimate the empirical relationships between the operationalized theoretical constructs. Results showed that the strongest association of teacher stressors exists with negatively oriented emotional responses confirming the central role of teachers’ coping mechanisms, personality mediators, and burnout potential according to our model of the stress cycle. Key words: stress, coping, teacher burn ‐ out, teacher emotional response Cette recherche fournit une meta ‐ analyse correlationnelle de 65 etudes, redigees ou publiees entre 1998 et 2003, sur le stress chez les enseignants. Les auteurs ont mesure les relations entre le stress des enseignants et de nombreux autres construits, dont l’adaptation au stress, l’epuisement professionnel, les reactions emotionnelles, les personality mediators, le soutien personnel, la structure du milieu et les antecedents. Un modele theorico ‐ empirique des relations entre les construits a ete elabore et des valeurs d’effets correlationnels de n = 2527 ont ete utilisees pour determiner les relations empiriques entre les construits theoriques operationalises. Les resultats demontrent que, pour les facteurs de stress chez les enseignants, l’association la plus importante se trouve du cote des reactions emotionnelles negatives, ce qui confirme le role cle des mecanismes d’adaptation au stress des enseignants, des personality mediators et du potentiel d’epuisement professionnel selon le modele du cycle du stress qui a ete utilise. Mots cles : stress, adaptation au stress, meta ‐ analyse, enseignants.