Teacher Stress in a Time of Reform

Abstract

These are tough times to be a teacher. The nature and organization of the job make teaching inherently difficult. Teachers face new challenges and opportunities from increasingly diverse and needy student populations. Demands on teachers to develop new knowledge and skills and perform new tasks are increasing rapidly. So too are expectations for school and teacher performance and accountability. Taken together, the characteristics and conditions of teaching present increasingly stressful situations for teachers, situations that may have positive or deleterious consequences for them and for their work with students.