Professional Isolation and Occupational Stress in Teachers

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between professional isolation of teachers and their occupational stress. A systematic random sample of 1,110 teachers in Quebec were administered French Canadian versions of the UCLA Loneliness Scale and Teacher Stress Inventory. Analysis gave, as expected, a positive and significant correlation between isolation and occupational stress. This highlights the importance of looking for ways to reduce professional isolation of teachers.

Revisiting the Factorial Validity of the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: A Test of Competing Models in a Sample of Teachers

“…This scale allows good prediction in educational settings. Past studies have related loneliness to the performance of school principals (Dussault & Thibodeau, 1997), the self-efficacy of preservice teachers (Dussault & Deaudelin, 2001), and teachers' occupational stress (Dussault, Deaudelin, Royer, & Loiselle, 1999). Moreover, the results showed no differences in fit between elementary and high school teachers, confirming the appropriateness of the three-factor solution for both groups of teachers.…”

Poor Mental Health Associated with Job Dissatisfaction among School Teachers in Japan

“…In addition to this, work overload for teachers has been an area of concern in Western countries 4,8) as well as in Japan 5) . In Japan, a policy to reduce teachers' workload took effect in April 2002.…”

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“…Unfortunately, isolation has been found to be a common and significant dilemma among teachers, including the music education profession. This results in stress and keeps this specialized group of music educators from being involved in professional learning groups with their peers (DuFour, 1999;Dussault, Deaulelin, Royer, & Loiselle, 1999;Sindberg & Lipscomb, 2005). More specifically, the general music professionals may experience increased feelings of isolation when compared to their instrumental and choral teachers due to their unique teaching environments and less opportunity to interact regularly with their peers.…”

“…Additionally, isolation is a common problem for music teachers (Sindberg & Lipscomb, 2005). Isolation "is a major obstacle and prohibits schools from functioning as a professional learning community" (DuFour, 1999) and "has also been found to contribute to occupational stress in teachers" (Dussault, Deaulelin, Royer, & Loiselle, 1999). General music educators may often feel even more isolated than their instrumental and choral music teacher counterparts due to their distinct non-performance-based teaching environments.…”