Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the causes, effects and, coping strategies of occupational stress among senior high school teachers in Bolgatanga Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana. A descriptive research design was adopted for this study. The sampling technique that was used to arrive at the sample size of 252 teachers from a population of 505 was stratified random sampling with equal proportion and simple random sampling. The stratified random sampling with equal proportion was use to select the teachers from the five senior high schools within the Municipality. Data were collected using questionnaire and analysed using descriptive and independent samples t-test. The study indicated stress among senior high school teachers in Bolgatanga Municipality. The study revealed that intrapersonal conflict, time management, school management relationship and student behaviour were the major common stressors among senior high school teachers in Bolgatanga Municipality. The study revealed that majority of senior high school teachers in the Bolgatanga Municipality said that they were experiencing more psychological impacts of stress than physical. The results showed that the majority of the respondents used relaxation, listening to music, and consultations with counsellors and imams as strategies to cope with stress positively. From the findings, it was recommended that authorities of the Ghana Education Service should set up vibrant Counselling Units in all senior high schools to assist teachers to manage stress at work place.
