Stress Levels and Perceived Self-Efficacy of Teachers Handling Inclusive Education

Abstract

This study pursued to assess the stress levels and perceived self-efficacy of teachers handling inclusive education. It utilized a descriptive comparative method and it was limited to 40 teachers-respondents. Standardized and researcher-made instruments and appropriate statistical tools were utilized to determine their level of stress and perceived self-efficacy. The respondents were classified according to the following profiles: Age, Sex, Civil Status, Educational Attainment, Job Rank, Work Shift, Number of Seminars and Trainings Attended, Length of Service and Number of Learners with Special Educational Needs, from which the researcher measured the related levels of stress and perceived self-efficacy. Of the 40 respondents, 16 or 40% are from the 26-30 years old age bracket, 11 or 27% are between 36 to 40 years old, 8 or 20% are 20-25 years old, 4 or 10% are 31-35 years old, and 1 or 3% is between 41-45 years old. Majority of the participants are female, with a number of 25 or 62.5% compared to the male respondents, which accounts for the remaining 15 or 37.5%. 22 or 55% of the participants are married, while 18 or 45% are single. Meanwhile, 25 respondents, or 62.5% have earned MA/MS units, 12 or 30% have BA/BS degrees, 2 or 5% have earned their MA degrees and 1 or 2.5% have PhD/EdD units. Rank-wise, 32 respondents or 80% are Teacher 1, 5 or 12.5% are Teacher 2 and 3 or 7.5% are Teacher 3. 30 or 75% belong to the AM shift, while 10 or 25% are from the PM shift. Majority of the respondents have not attended any training; 23 or 57.5% did not have any supplemental training to date, while the remaining 17 or 42.5% have attended at least 1-3 trainings. In terms of length of service, 18 or 45% are relatively new, 14 or 35% have served for 6-10 years, 6 or 15% have been working for 11-15 years and 2 or 5% are with the school for 16-20 years. Lastly, 38 or 95% have 1-5 learners with special educational needs and 2 or 5% have 6-10 learners with similar requirements. From these data, the absolute value of the Pearson r value was computed and determined to be equivalent to 0.493, greater than or equal to 0.4 and less than or equal to 0.6; This indicated that stress level and perceived self-efficacy has moderately strong negative correlation. Although the respondents are likely to experience stress, the study revealed that the male participants are more likely to be stressed as compared to their female counterparts. Also, those with lower educational attainment and higher job rank are just as likely to be stressed. The study also revealed that the older participants appear to have lower self-efficacy. The researcher proposes an alternative program be adapted in the school to manage stress and help promote self-efficacy. Also, additional studies may be conducted to refine findings gathered.