Teaching Ag Ed: Is it stressing you out?

Abstract

According to the American Psychological Association one third of Americans report extreme levels of stress due to their job. Teachers are no exception. While most teachers agree that teaching is rewarding, it can also be challenging. In fact, it is estimated that teachers make more than 400 decisions a day. This is particularly true in agricultural education. In addition to frequent decision making, secondary agriculture teachers work well beyond a 40-hour work week preparing lessons, evaluating student work, coaching career development teams, and supervising student projects. This study sought to describe the level of job stress experienced by Missouri's agriculture teachers, identify the most stressful items of the job, as well as uncover predictors of that stress.