Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine (1) if there was a difference in teacher occupational stress among various organizational climates in elementary schools, (2) if there were differences in teacher occupational stress when analyzed by selected demographic variables, and (3) if there were differences in teacher occupational stress within various organizational climates when analyzed by selected demographic variables. Methodology. The researcher used descriptive research. The sample was all teachers in twenty randomly selected elementary schools in San Bernardino County, California. The instruments used were the Teacher Stress Inventory and the Organizational Climate Descriptive Questionnaire. Of the 519 teachers surveyed, 349 teachers completed both instruments for a response rate of 67.2 percent. One-way ANOVA, two-way ANOVA, and the Tukey were used to test the hypotheses. Findings. Teachers in closed and middle climates reported moderate stress while teachers in open climates reported significantly low stress. However, teachers in closed climates had significantly higher stress than teachers in open and middle climates. Teachers in closed climates with less than four years teaching experience in present school reported moderate stress which was significantly higher than teachers in middle climates with less than four years and teachers in open climates regardless of the number of years teaching experience in present school. There were no significant differences in stress within various organizational climates when analyzed by age, years teaching experience, grade taught, and school size. Teachers with ten or less years teaching experience in present school reported moderate stress which was significantly higher than teachers with more than ten years teaching experience in present school. Teachers in all size schools reported moderate stress, but teachers in large schools, more than 800 students, had significantly higher stress than teachers in medium schools, 401 to 800 students. Age, years teaching experience, and grade taught had no effect on stress. Implications. It appears that teachers in closed climates tend to have more stress than teachers in other climates. Principals and other school administrators need to be aware of the effects of climate on stress and explore methods to make school climates more open.