The Study on Work Pressure and Coping Strategies of Junior High School Natural Science and Life Techniques Teachers

[[abstract]]This study aims at exploring the work pressure and coping strategies of junior high school natural science and life techniques teachers particularly in the curriculum for Grades 1 to 9 and further exploring the relations between the work pressure and the coping strategies. This study adapts questionnaire survey and conducts it by taking as the population the natural science and life techniques teachers in junior high schools in the region including three counties: Hsinchu, Miaoli, and Taoyuan, and one city – Hsinchu City. 497 valid questionnaires were collected back from 800 teachers as the population thus created a valid rate of 62.1%. This study analyzes and tests the questionnaire results by making use of statistical methods such as Frequency Distribution, Percentage, Mean, Standard Deviation, Independent-Sample t Test, One-Way Analysis of Variance and Scheff? Method – Post Hoc Comparison and comes to the conclusions as the follows: 1. In terms of work pressure for the junior high school natural science and life techniques teachers from implementing the curriculum for Grades 1 to 9, the pressure value demonstrates to be moderate to high, and among others the pressure from “teaching activities” is the highest while that from “curriculum design” the lowest. 2. In terms of application frequency of coping strategies against work pressure, from implementing the curriculum for Grades 1 to 9 for the junior high school natural science and life techniques teachers, the frequency result demonstrate to be above mean value, and among all strategies “Problem-solving” strategy is of the highest frequency while “Emotion Reducing” strategy the lowest frequency. 3. In terms of perception affecting factors to the work pressure for the junior high school natural science and life techniques teachers, such as gender, post, workshop hours, teaching pattern, scale of school, school campus location, the overall measure demonstrates the female teachers perceive higher work pressure than the male teachers do; “teachers with second post in administration” perceive higher work pressure than “teachers with second post in class teacher”; teachers “with workshop hours over 40 hours” perceive apparently much higher work pressure than those “with workshop hours below 40 hours”, the main reason could be teachers’ own responsibility for class arrangement.teachers “teaching general studies” perceive higher work pressure than those “teaching specific study”; science teachers with “24 or less classes” load perceives higher work pressure than those with “61 plus classes” load; and finally teachers working in “the school in rural area” perceive higher work pressure than those working in “the school in urban area” do. 4. In terms of work pressure coping strategy, the strategies vary to the teacher’s gender, post, expertise, teaching method and school campus locations. Female teachers demonstrate a higher application frequency of coping strategies than male teachers do; “specific subject teachers” demonstrate a higher application frequency of coping strategies than “the teachers with second post in administration”; teachers teaching “biology” demonstrate a higher application frequency of coping strategies than the teachers teaching “computer science”; teachers “teaching general studies” demonstrate higher application frequency of copy strategy than those “teaching specific study”; teachers working in school located in “urban” or “township” demonstrate higher application frequency of copy strategy than those working in schools in “rural area”. 5. In terms of difference in coping strategies, the intensity of perception of work pressure or the junior high school natural science and life techniques teachers from implementing the curriculum for Grades 1 to 9, teachers under higher work pressure demon strate coping strategy more freuently then those who under lower work pressure, has resulted in obvious difference in work pressure coping strategies. At last this study tries to offer some suggestions, for reference purpose, to the educational authorities, school administration units, natural science teachers of junior high schools and the researchers interested in this domain in the coming future.