Stress management for teachers in vocational education and training sector

Abstract

Much of the stress of teaching is related to problem behaviour in the classrooms. The most effective way of managing behavioural problems is to prevent them from arising, and to minimize their occurrence. The focus is the teacher's ability and willingness to create a successful learning situation appropriate to the student's needs. Essentially, stress can be a challenging, exciting stimulus to personal growth, whilst excessive stress can prove damaging to psychological and physical health because it often triggers emotional and physical strain that may be harmful. So, people are motivated to cope with stress. However, the reactions to stress and its adaptive value vary from one person to the next and from time to time for the same person. Decisions about how to cope can consequently be complex. Thus, this paper will highlight some of the more adaptive stress coping strategies, with examples and cases drawn from the authour's experiences in teaching as well as from research towards secondary school teachers in Hong Kong