Sources of psychological stress among teachers of physical education in basic schools

The aim of the current research is to identify the sources of psychological stress among male and female physical education teachers in basic schools in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the significance of differences in those sources according to demographic variables: (gender, governorate, and age). The sample consisted of (480) male and female teachers who were chosen in a stratified random manner from the four governorates (Erbil, Dohuk, Sulaymaniyah and Halabja) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The researchers relied on the scale of the sources of psychological stress that they prepared, consisting of (40) items distributed on five dimensions or sources. Indicators of the scale's validity and reliability were confirmed. The data were treated statistically using the arithmetic means and standard deviations, in addition to using the t-test for one sample and for two independent samples, and analysis of variance. The results indicated that the level of pressures in two sources, namely the pressures of teaching and the pressures of the school environment, was high, and in contrast, it was found that the level of pressures in two sources, namely professional pressures and family pressures, was low, while the level of pressures in the source of personal pressures was medium. It was found that there were no statistically significant differences in the sources of stress due to the variables of governorate, gender and age. In light of the results of the research, a number of recommendations and proposals were presented.