personal stress:

Student behavior
motivation
attitude
work ethic

Time pressures:

time and long working hours

Problems Associated with Class Size

More time spent on preparation, grading and discipline rather than relating to individual students or
using innovative instructional approaches,

Inclusive Classrooms

Completing individual learning plans, meeting with parents, feeling ineffective and unprepared and
having inadequate resources

Workplace Change
The changing face of students in the classroom, Board restructuring including amalgamation and
downsizing, and curriculum changes

Lack of Administrative Support

Reasonable expectations, appreciating teachers efforts and consulting and involving teachers

Inadequate Collegial Support

opportunity for teachers to interact with one another or to have relationships with their colleagues and
share experiences

Lack of Resources
lack of materials and supplies
Using their own resources and contributing personally to maintain their classrooms places

Disruptive Students
Managing student physically assaulting or intimidating another student, a student verbally
abusing another student and a student verbally abusing a teacher

Balancing multiple demands

Work overload
Lack of time
Inadequate resources
Inadequate administrative support
Inclusive classes
Pathways S
tudent misbehaviour
On-going changes
Inadequate professional development

Physical Ailments Symptomatic of Stress A frequency count of the most common physical
ailments the teachers in this study complain about are as follows: (1) fatigue (71%), (2) aching
neck and shoulder muscles (41%), (3) lower back pain (39%), (4) sleep disturbances and
insomnia (34%), and (5) migraine headaches (22%) and menstrual distress or irregularities
(22%). Complaints on aching neck and shoulders and lower back pain are associated with the
nature of the work.

Environmental Stressors
Noise
Crowding
Air quality
Colors
Tornadoes and other natural disasters
War and other manmade disasters
Light
 Insects

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First order stressors directly interfere with teacher effort and can include student apathy, student
disruption or discipline, poor student attendance, high student to teacher ratios (large classes),
paperwork, prep work, irresponsible colleagues, obtrusive supervisors, lack of effective leadership such
as assistant principals or principals, and seemingly non-supportive parents. Stressors that occur most
frequently tend to be organizational issues dealing with students, administration, other teachers, and
other work relationships (Blas, 1986). Second order stressors do not interfere directly with teacher
effort and can include issues such as low salary, emotional fatigue, frustration, helplessness, stagnation,
boredom, and loss of motivation or enthusiasm (Blas, 1986).
 The Pearson Product-Moment correlation coefficient (r = .301) for the teachers which was
computed indicated that there was positive correlation between teachers stress and
physical environmental factors in special primary schools in Kisumu County. The analysis
revealed weak significant (p=0.046<.05) positive relationship between teachers stress and
physical environmental factors. The study findings were in agreement with Reddy and
Anuradha (2013) who found that school physical environment such as dilapidated teachers
houses, crowded classrooms, and inadequate and informal furniture arrangement were key
stressors. Similarly the findings also concurred with Liu and Ramsey (2010) who found that
school physical environment was related to job stress among teachers. Specifically,
inadequate infrastructure and learning materials such as in adequate stationeries and
congested classrooms were making teachers more dissatisfied with their jobs.

During the interview with the head teachers, one of the head teachers (HT1) was quoted
saying "I have witnessed situations where teachers are stressed because they use pupils
latrines, some are stressed because they travel far to school and also due to the fact that
they engage into extra curriculum activities like ball games". From these findings, it is
evident that there are school physical environmental factors that are responsible for
stressful experience among teachers and therefore appropriate actions need to be taken to
curb the situation. The findings were in agreement with Onyango, Adoyo and Florence
(2014) who found that more than half of the principals reported that most high school
principals have quitted principal-ship for others assignments elsewhere including election
commissioners, hospital administrators due to inadequate accommodation at school,
difficulties of getting to school in time due to poor road network to school, participating in
school activities outside the normal working hours and education officers. The findings were
also in agreement with Johannsen, (2011), who found a significant association between
physical environmental factors and stress.
During the interview with the head teachers, one of the head teachers (HT4) quoted that
"The condition of school physical environment is worrying in our schools since some of
these structures were put up 40 years ago and has never been renovated and this has
made most of our teachers to quit teaching profession".

The findings were also in agreement with that of Billingsley, (2004) who found that special
education teachers in South Africa often teach in unfavourable conditions, such as
classrooms that are ill-equipped and have limited materials and supplies.
4. Conclusions
The study revealed a weak but statistically significant relationship between school
physical environmental factors and stress. Qualitative findings also revealed that
school physical factors contributing teachers to stress included lack of enough
latrines and also travelling far distances to schools. School physical working
environment is in bad conditions and therefore exposes teachers to stress and thus
an immediate attention need to be taken to improve school physical facilities such as
proper lighting, renovating class rooms and putting up more infrastructures. From
the study findings, its recommended that the Ministry of Education should ensure
immediate review of condition of services, provision of adequate instructional
facilities, proactive approach to service delivery, and training and retraining of
special educators to meet the immediate needs and challenges of the various special
needs of children in the Kenyan society. Moreover, the Ministry of Education should
develop a policy on stress management to guide the induction, operations and
counseling of teachers on their day to day duties.

3.3 Coping Strategies of the Teachers Most teachers find (1) watching television an effective way
of relieving their stress (64%); so with (2) window shopping at malls (57%), (3) watching sports
on television (43%), (4) going to movies (38%), and (5) doing deep breathing and relaxation
exercises (34%). Although the method mentioned are positive, most of them are sedentary.

(G) Stress: I want to know how your health has been in general over the last few weeks. Please
read the questions below and each of the four possible answers. Circle the response that best
applies to you. Have you recently:
1. been able to concentrate on whatever youre doing? Better than usual Same as usual Less
than usual Much less than usual
2. lost much sleep over worry? Not at all No more than usual Rather more than usual Much
more than usual
3. felt that you are playing a useful part in things? More so than usual Same as usual Less useful
than usual Much less useful
4. felt capable of making decisions about things? More so than usual Same as usual Less so than
usual Much less capable
5. felt constantly under strain? Not at all No more than usual Rather more than usual Much
more than usual
6. felt you couldnt overcome your difficulties? Not at all No more than usual Rather more than
usual Much more than usual
7. been able to enjoy your normal day-to-day activities? More so than usual Same as usual Less
so than usual Much less than usual
8. been able to face up to your problems? More so than usual Same as usual Less able than
usual Much less able
9. been feeling unhappy and depressed? Not at all No more than usual Rather more than usual
Much more than usual
10. been losing confidence in yourself? Not at al No more than usual Rather more than usual
Much more than usual
11. been thinking of yourself as worthless person? Not at all No more than usual Rather more
than usual Much more than usual
12. been feeling reasonably happy, all things considered? More so than usual About same as
usual Less so than usual Much less than usual

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