Measuring teacher stress : validity and reliability evidence for the classroom appraisal of resources and demands-revised (CARD-R)

Over the last half century, teacher stress has remained a topic of interest for many researchers. However, as the educational landscape continues to shift over time, so too do the classroom setting and broader sociopolitical context in which teachers conduct their work. As such, the measures we use to ascertain to what extent teachers may be at-risk for stress must also evolve to ensure continued research is able to best capture the realities of the modern classroom. The current study aims to examine whether a revised version of a teacher stress measure, the Classroom Appraisal of Resources and Demands-Revised (CARD-R, 2021), can provide valid and reliable measurements of teacher stress risk. Using qualitative and quantitative data analysis across three phases (n₁ = 18; n₂ = 246; n₃ = 513), the current study developed and examined initial construct validity for the CARD-R through factor analyses, measurement invariance, and correlational analyses with related measures. Study results provide partial evidence for the construct validity of the CARD-R: good model fit indices were achieved via factor analyses with two samples, configural invariance was found between elementary and secondary teachers’ responses to the measure, and correlations between CARD-R subscales and related measures demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity. Results and implications for these findings and the measure’s continued development are discussed.Educational Psycholog