THE most stressed teachers are those who spend every day in the classroom, not the heads and deputies who run the schools, according to psychologists’ research.
Teachers in primaries were more stressed than secondary counterparts. The interviews with 780 primary and secondary teachers in 126 London schools also found that women were more stressed than male colleagues.
The research by Dr Jayne Griffith of University College London, Professor Andrew Steptoe and Dr Mark Cropley of St George’s Hospital Medical School was published in the British Journal of Educational Psychology today.
Stressed teachers had higher blood pressure and faster heart rates than less-stressed colleagues. The readings remained high late into the evening, suggesting that these teachers found it impossible to relax after work.