1

A Correlational Study on the Occupational Stressors and Professional

Commitment of the Teachers of Lauc Pao Elementary School during the
School Year 2020-2021

Submitted by:

Evelyn D. Pantig
Master Teacher I, Lauc Pao Elementary School

Submitted to:
Cristina T. Santiago
Elementary School Principal III

June 2021
 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract 4

Introduction 5

Conceptual Framework 6

Research Objectives 7

Research Questions 7

Hypothesis 8

Scope and Limitations 8

Definition of Terms 9

Significance of the Study 10

Review of Related Literature 12

Methodology 17

Research Design 18

Respondents of the Study 18

Data-Gathering Method 18

Instrument of the Study 18

Data Gathering Procedure 19

Ethical Consideration 19

Data Analysis 20

Findings and Discussion 22

Summary, Conclusion, Recommendation 30

Summary 30
 3

Conclusion 31

Recommendations 32

References 33

Appendices 37
 4

ABSTRACT

The study is a quantitative-correlational study focusing on assessing and finding the correlation

between impact of the occupational stressors and the level of professional commitment of the teachers of

Lauc Pao Elementary School, Lubao, Pampanga, during the School Year 2020-2021. The researcher

gathered 30 respondents for the study using the convenience sampling method.

The study found out that the work overload affects the respondents with the greatest extent among

the occupational stressors assessed in the study. Findings also indicate that the teachers have a very high

sense of commitment at a normative level, as compared to their commitment at both the affective and

continuance level. The study also found that there is no significant relationship between the stressors and

the teachers’ level of commitment.

The study concluded that there are positive correlations between the occupational stressors and the

teachers’ level of professional commitment, in which the researcher recommended the improvement of

the occupational stress of the teachers by addressing their needs for work. The researcher added that

improving the occupational stressors can also improve the commitment level of the teachers.
 5

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that the world currently faces, teachers work as the frontliners

of the education system. Tosco (2020) said that they are frontliners in the field of education, as they help

in disseminating essential information about the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, as well

as encouraging the students to follow health protocols, such as physical distancing and other measures to

prevent contracting the disease.

As the primary professional who deliver instructions in their respective classrooms, teachers have

a huge responsibility on their shoulders to educate and mold the students to be a better citizen of the

country. Educating these young minds became an integral part of their duties and responsibilities as

classroom teachers and served as the reflection of their actual performance. Given the duties and

responsibilities they are currently taking, teaching is not considered as an easy profession. It requires a lot

of passion and dedication for a person to be a teacher and to stay in it. Teaching profession is considered

to be the one that makes other professions exist.

The work of teachers is said to be the most taxing among other professions. In the traditional face-

to-face setting, their job starts at school and most of the time, they continue doing it at home. In the face

of the pandemic, the roles of teachers had changed in terms of delivering the lessons to their students, as

well as the time they dedicate between teaching-related tasks like communicating with their students and

other administrative tasks, and attending to their personal lives.

Given the responsibilities and workload given to teachers today, the New Normal makes it even

harder for the teachers to be fully committed and give their best in their work. Due to the national health

emergency shows that teachers are also human because they are primarily concerned about their family
 6

members. They tend to think about how they can ensure that their family members are protected during

this time without sacrificing their professional obligations in school.

With this in mind and the current situation, the researcher found it necessary to examine the

relationship of teachers’ job stressors and their professional commitment during the new normal set up at

Lauc Pao Elementary School during the School Year 2020-2021.

Conceptual Framework

The completion of this study was guided by the figure adopting the IV-DV Diagram. The IV-DV

model is composed of two (2) components: the Independent Variable (IV) which is defined by Cramer

and Howitt (2004) as “a variable thought to influence or affect another variable, and the Dependent

Variable (DV) which they also defined as “a variable that is assumed to ‘depend’ on, be affected by, or

related to the value of one or more independent variables.”

In this correlational analysis study, the independent variable will be the job stressors of teachers,

while the dependent variable will be the teachers’ professional commitment. The arrow connecting the

two diagrams reflect the posted relationship.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Occupational Stressors Teachers’ Professional Commitment

Work Overload
Affective
Relationship with School
Administration Affects Continuance
Nature of Work

Normative
Role Conflict

Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework of the Study

 7

Research Objectives

The study focused on finding the correlation of occupational stressors and the commitment of the

public elementary teachers of Lauc Pao Elementary School, Lubao, Pampanga.

Specifically, this study aims to achieve the following research study:

1. To determine the extent of the occupational stressors to the teachers of Lauc Pao Elementary School

during the School Year 2020-2021.

2. To assess the level of professional commitment of teachers using the three levels: affective, continuance,

and normative level.

3.To find if there is a correlation between the extent of the impact of occupational stressors and the

professional commitment of the teachers the school year covered in the study.

4. To find if the occupational stressors significantly affect the professional commitment of teachers to

their profession during the School Year 2020-2021.

Research Questions

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of job stressors and the

commitment of teachers in the New Normal during the School Year 2020-2021.

Specifically, the study sought to answer the following questions:

1. How may the teachers assess their stressors in terms of the following indicators?

1.1. Work Overload

1.2. Relationship with school administrators

 8

1.3. Nature of Work; and

1.4. Role conflict

2. How may the teachers assess their professional commitment in relation with the following

levels of commitment?

2.1. Affective

2.2. Continuance; and

2.3. Normative

3. Is there a significant relationship between the occupational stressors and the professional

commitment of teachers?

Hypothesis

H0: There is no significant relationship between the occupational stressors and the professional

commitment of teachers in the New Normal.

HA: There is a significant relationship between the occupational stressors and the professional

commitment of teachers in the New Normal.

Scope and Limitations

The primary objective of the study was to examine the relationship of job stressors and the

commitment of teachers in the new normal during the School Year 2020-2021. Respondents of the study

were 30 teachers from the Lauc Pao Elementary School, a public school located at Lubao West District,

City of Lubao, Pampanga, who taught during the school year covered by the study.
 9

The study focused on examining and correlating the stressors of teachers on the following

indicators: work overload, relationship with school administrators, nature of work and role conflict, as

well as their professional commitment using the three-dimensional model developed by Meyer, Allen, &

Smit (1993).

Definition of Terms
For the purpose of this study, the following terms were defined:

1. Commitment – The psychological state which characterizes the employee’s relationship with

his/her organization which has an implication for the decision to continue his/her membership in

the organization (Meyer and Allen (1997, as cited in Andrew, 2017).

2. New Normal – Oxford (n.d.) defined the word as “(Usually with the) a previously atypical or

unfamiliar situation, behaviour, etc., which has become standard, usual, or expected.” For the

context of this study, new normal refers to the period in education during the COVID-19 pandemic,

marked by the advent of distance learning as primary mode of learning, replacing the traditional

face-to-face instruction to be able to deliver learning while keeping students and teachers safe from

the disease. It covers the school year 2020-2021, which marked as the first school year in the

period.

3. Occupational Stress - Refers to the stress experienced by teachers in their workplace.

4. Occupational Stressors – Refers to the factors which causes occupational stress on the teachers.

5. Professional Commitment – For the context of this study, it refers to the teachers’ attitude and

attachment to their profession.

6. Role Conflict – Refers to the conflict between the tasks and roles teachers take as part of their

profession.
 10

7. Stress – Refers to a body response to a change which requires mental, physical, emotional

adjustment or response (Bauer & Erdogan, 2009, as cited in Mohamed, 2018).

8. Teachers – Refers to the teaching personnel from Lauc Pao Elementary School, Lubao, Pampanga.

9. Work Overload – Refers to the imbalance between the volume of workload given and the

capabilities of a person to finish a task at a given amount of time.

Significance of the Study

This study is expected to have a potential assistance to the following:

School Governance and Operations Division Personnel. This study will give the school

administration a detail on the factors that affects the commitment of teachers. It will also give them an

insight on the kind of assistance the teachers need. The results of this study may help them formulate an

instructional supervisory plan that could help improve the commitment of the teachers.

School Administrators. The study will provide the school administrators a concrete information

and insight regarding the occupational and stressors, level of commitment and performance of teachers

under their administration. Knowledge of the impact of occupational stressors to teachers’ performance

and professional commitment will help the administrators in formulating a plan to provide teachers

assistance to attain an outstanding performance to their work. Furthermore, this study will give them an

insight on how they can help their teachers deal with the occupational stressors while improving their

level of commitment. This will also help them in performing their duties as they are the ones in charge of

human resource management and development.

Teachers. The completion of the study is expected to help the teachers reflect on their occupational

stressors. Through this study, they may find ways on how they can come up with coping strategies.

Effectively dealing with stressors while improving level of commitment can help teachers to improve their

performance and their career.

 11

Pupils. Since the study can be of help to the teachers, it could eventually benefit the pupils in the

long run. Having teachers who are less stressed and committed in their work will be beneficial to them.

When teachers are at their best, pupils can expect better quality of instruction and classroom management

from them, which is seen to have a positive direct contribution on the academic performance and

achievement.

Future Researchers. The results of the study may be added to the existing body of knowledge

related to stressors, and commitment of teachers, which may be used as source of information in the future.

Furthermore, this study can be used as a basis for future studies focused on the impact of occupational

stressors to the commitment of teachers and other professionals.

 12

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Teaching has been perceived by many as a difficult profession. It requires years of pre-service

training and passing the licensure examination before one can enter the public school system. For the

previous years, duties and responsibilities of the teachers have evolved which made the profession one of

the most stressful professions (Johnson, Cooper, Cartwright, Donald, Taylor, Millet 2005; Kitchen,

Fordham, Henderson, Looney, & Maghnouj, 2017).

Defining Stress and Teachers Stress

Stress is a very common words which was used by people in their daily conversations and

discussions either by professional or ordinary people. (Siswanto, 2015). It was defined by Ward (1990) as

“the physiological and psychological reaction which occurs when people perceive an imbalance between

the level demand placed upon them, and their capability to meet those demands.” Bauer & Erdogan (2009,

as cited in Mohamed, 2018), defined stress as a body response to a change which requires mental, physical,

emotional adjustment or response.

Kyriacou (2001) defined teacher stress as the “as the experience by a teacher of unpleasant,

negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety, tension, frustration or depression, resulting from some aspect

of their work as a teacher.” The author emphasized from the definition that teacher stress was due to the

unpleasant, negative emotions teachers encountered from their work. It is also defined specifically as “a

negative emotional experience being triggered by the teacher’s perception that their work situation

constituted a threat to their self-esteem or well-being.”

 13

Causes of Occupational Stress on Teachers

In a study by Mohamed (2018) on the occupational stress among teachers using a cross-sectional

design among 103 teachers in Libyan schools in Turkey. It was found out that the primary source of

occupational stress of teachers is their nature of work. Other sources were the relations with others

(managers, pupils, teachers, and parents), wages, incentives, physical work environment, social and

educational relations, and wages and incentives.

The volume of work alone is one thing that consumes much of the time of the teachers. The

increase of the demands and responsibilities given to them often triggers the stress among them (Siswanto,

2015). Johanssen (2011), said that “stress is present among teachers at all levels of experience” but its

levels differ based on the length of service or gender, as well as grade level taught.

External factors such as environment and working conditions also contributes to the occupational

stress experienced by teachers namely the following: lack of resources, infrastructures, fund for schools,

learning materials (Brown and Ralph, 1994; Kloska & Raemasut, 1985; Jepson & Forrest, 2006;

Hammond and Ominaka, 1997). Such hindrances in education system forces teachers to work beyond

their capabilities and expertise, which causes adverse effects to their health and well-being.

Effects of Occupational Stressors on Teachers

The negative effect of occupational stressors on the lives of the teachers have been documented

by various researchers. Siswanto (2015), the effects of stress to the teachers are varied. Generally, it often

leads to poor productivity and performance, unnecessary employee sick leave, and higher medical cost.

The study also added that teachers’ perspectives and reactions about stress play a major role on how it

will affect them. The study found out that since stress were primarily viewed as negative, it is

consequentially viewed to have adverse effects to the motivation and spirit in the workplace, as well as
 14

their physical and mental health. It also added that at high level, stress can lower the teacher’s motivation

and spirit to teach. It can also trigger them to retire early or quit from school.

Naghieh, Montgomery, Bonell, Thompson, & Aber (2015), said that teaching is a profession where

work-related stress was highly prevalent. They added that work-related stress in teaching can “negatively

affect the health, wellbeing and educational attainment of children, and impose a financial burden on the

public budget in terms of teacher turnover and sickness absence.”

Due to the stress induced by the continued increase of duties and responsibilities the teachers have

to accomplish, the number of attrition rate of teachers has been increasing. Oke, Ajagbe, Ogbari and

Adeyeye (2016) concluded that in order to retain the teachers in schools, the issues on working conditions

and management must be thoroughly evaluated addressed.

Professional Commitment of Teachers

The heart of doing one’s work is measured by the commitment that an employee exerts in their

work. The term “commitment” was defined by Oxford Dictionary (n.d.) as “the willingness to work hard

and give your energy and time to a job or an activity.”

Meyer and Allen (1997, as cited in Andrew, 2017), commitment is defined as “a psychological

state that characterizes the employees’ relationship with the organization and has implication for the

decision to continue membership in the organization.”

Cohen (2003, as cited in Ayele, 2014) said that commitment is one’s attitude, including affect,

belief, and behavioral intention towards his/her work. In the context of teaching, the teachers are primarily

responsible in educating the students for the future of the country, which emphasize the importance of

professional commitment especially in the delivery of instruction.

 15

Jafaraghaie, Parvizy, Mehdad, & Rafii (2012) defined professional commitment is defined as a

commitment marked by one’s loyalty, the desire to stay in a profession, and a sense of responsibility

toward the profession's particular problems and challenges.

Altun (2017) defined teacher commitment as “an internal force that derives teachers to invest

more time and energy in keeping up involvement in the school.” The author also added that it is a crucial

factor in contributing to the achievement of students. The study found out that when teachers are involved

in development of their profession, they can influence student achievement. Also, teachers with high level

of commitment motivates students to join student activities. Mart (2013, as cited in Ayele, 2014) added

that it is the emotional bond between the teacher and the school where he/she works.

Level of Professional Commitment

Meyer, Allen & Smith (1993) suggested that there are at least three separable components which

were used to maintain employment in a profession: desire, need, and obligation. They also proposed a

model of professional commitment based on Meyer & Allen’s Three-Component Model of Organizational

Commitment (1991), which is divided into three (3) dimensions: affective, continuance, and normative.

According to the them, affective professional commitment is a level of commitment which reflects

to one’s involvement in, and emotional attachment to the profession. This entails that one will likely

remain to their profession because they wanted to do so.

The second, which they labeled as continuance commitment, was defined as a commitment which

reflects to one’s recognition of the costs of leaving the profession. They emphasize that one will likely

remain to his/her profession because they perceive that the costs of leaving the profession is greater than

the benefit that they will get

 16

The third level, the normative commitment, reflects to one’s feeling of obligation to his/her

profession. They said that employees with this kind of commitment were likely to remain because they

obliged to do so, or they think it is the proper thing for them to do.

The cited literature and studies helped the researcher see the relevance of conducting research

related to occupational stressors and commitment of teachers. It showed that most of the study are during

the time when there was no national health emergency like the one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With this, the researcher decided to examine the relationship of occupational stressors and the commitment

of teachers in the new normal during the School Year 2020-2021.

,
 17

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the methodological procedures the researchers utilized in order to gather

data pertaining to the occupational stressors of the teachers in the New Normal and their professional

commitment during the School Year 2020-2021.

Research Design

This study employed a quantitative approach. Benny (2016) defined the quantitative approach as

a formal, objective, systematic process in which numerical data are utilized to obtain information about

the world. This approach describes and test relationships and examine cause and effect relationships.

Using this method, the researcher focuses the collection of data on numbers and figures. In quantitative

approach, data are considered more efficient, but may miss contextual details.

The researcher also employed a correlation analysis. Senthilnatan (2019) defined that correlation

analysis measures the degree of closeness between two (2) related variables, and is useful in exploring

“the association between independent and dependent variables.” DJS Research (n.d.) defined this

approach as method of statistical evaluation used to study the strength of a relationship between two,

numerically measured, continuous variables. They also added that the approach was useful when the

researcher wants to find out if there are possible connections between variables identified in the study.

The researcher employed a quantitative correlational analysis approach to determine the

relationship between the occupational stressors of teachers and their professional commitment during the

school year 2020-2021.

 18

Respondents of the Study

The study was conducted in Lauc Pao Elementary School, Lubao West District, Lubao Pampanga.

The respondents of the study were 30 teachers from the said school, who taught the students during the

school year 2020-2021.

Sampling Method

To determine the number of respondents for the study, the researcher considered gathering samples

from the population of teachers in the research locale. The researcher conducted a convenience sampling

method to gather respondents for the study, where the samples are selected based on their willingness and

availability to participate in the study.

Instrument of the Study

The researcher used a quantitative correlational analysis approach. The researcher used a pre-

validated survey questionnaire to gather valuable data to be used for the study.

The first part of the questionnaire dealt with the occupational stressors of the teachers. The study

used the Occupational Stressors Survey of Marcelo (2016). The creation of the instrument was based from

the interview with school administrators. After the interview, the tool was crafted, validated and

underwent pilot testing. From the validation of the tool, a mean item assessment of 3.86 indicates that the

tool has excellent content validity.

The last part was intended to measure the level of commitment of teachers as described by the

Meyer and Allen’s model: affective, continuance, normative. In this part, the researcher will adopt the

pre-validated research instrument of Ayele (2014) which is the Commitment Assessment tool. Its

reliability test recorded a Cronbach alpha of 0.695. The final draft of the questionnaire has a total of 18

items which will be given to the respondents of the study.

 19

Data-Gathering Procedure

The collection of data started after getting all the need permits from the school head. Through a

work plan, the researcher was guided on the steps to be undertaken. The researcher personally distributed

the survey questionnaire among the public elementary teachers through whatever possible means was

available like personal, email, calls, text and other platforms. This data gathering was done for four weeks

to give enough time for teachers to answer the survey and not to get their time that was already allotted

for teaching.

Ethical Considerations

Before the full implementation of this study, the researcher sent a letter of request to the school

head stating the purpose of the study and the copy of the manuscript. This enabled the office to read and

examine the study.

The purpose of the study was also discussed to the respondents. The respondent was assured that

participation is on voluntary basis and no relationship was affected whatever the decision of the

respondents would be. They were also assured that they can opt out of the study if they have decided to

do so. In addition, the tool enables the respondents to be anonymous for the duration of the study. They

were also told that their responses were kept with utmost confidentiality and will be only used for the

purpose of the research.

To ensure the protection of identity of the respondents, codes were used as substitute for the

identity and code the responses numerically. The names or any information that would pin point the

participant were kept for confidentiality. All of the data related to the study will be destroyed after five

(5) years.
 20

Data Analysis
The study used descriptive statistics, statistical analysis through the Statistical Package for Social

Science computer program to analyze the data in order to ensure valid and reliable interpretation of results.

The following statistical treatment were used in this study:

1. Weighted mean – to describe the job stressors and level of commitment of teachers.

To gather the valuable data on the impact of occupational stressors to the respondents, the

following Likert Scale was employed:

Scale Descriptive Equivalent

5 Very Great Extent
4 Great Extent
3 Moderate Extent
2 Some Extent
1 Not at All

For the respondents to assess their level of professional commitment, the following Likert scale was used:

Scale Descriptive Equivalent

4 Very High
3 High
2 Low
1 Very Low

The responses regarding the occupational stressors of the respondents were assessed and
interpreted using the following scale was employed:
Scale Descriptive Equivalent
4.01 – 5.00 Very Great Extent
3.01 – 4.00 Great Extent
2.01- 3.00 Moderate Extent
1.01 - 2.00 Some Extent
0 – 1.00 Not at All
 21

For the interpretation of teachers’ professional commitment, this rating was used:
Scale Descriptive Equivalent
3.01 - 4.00 Very High
2.01 – 3.00 High
1.01 – 2.00 Low
0 - 1.00 Very Low

2. The study also used Pearson R Moment of Correlation, to assess the relationship of variables.

The Pearson’s formula used was the following:

The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient formula is written as:

𝑛(Σab)−(Σa)(Σb)
r=
√[𝑛(Σa)(−(Σb)2 ][n(Σa2) −n(Σb)2 ]

Where:

r = Pearson value

Σa = summation of a scores

Σb = summation of b scores

Σab = summation of product of paired scores

Σa2 = summation of squared a scores

Σb2 = summation of squared b scores

 22

CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This part discusses the findings of the study collected from the teacher-respondents through a

survey questionnaire.

Occupational Stressors of the Public Elementary Teachers

The first objective of the study is to measure the job stressors of public elementary teachers in

terms of role overload, relationship with school administrators, nature of work and role conflict.

Table 4.1
Respondents’ Assessment on the impact of Work Overload as Occupational Stressors
Indicators Mean Interpretation
1. I am expected to do too many different tasks in too little time. 4.6 Very Great Extent
2. I am expected to perform tasks on my job for which I have 4.13 Very Great Extent
never been trained.
3.I have to take work home with me. 4.83 Very Great Extent
4. My job requires me to work in several equally important areas 4.17 Very Great Extent
at once.
5.I am expected to do more work than is reasonable. 4.07 Very Great Extent
Overall Mean 4.36 Very Great Extent

Table 4.1 shows the assessment of the respondents on the impact of role overload as an
occupational stressor to them. The respondents said that the need to take their school-related works home
affects them with the greatest extent (4.83), followed by being expected to do too many different tasks in
too little time (4.6), and having them work in several equally important areas at once (4.17).

It is notable that most of the respondents said that which cause them occupational stressors in

relation to work overload come with the imbalance between the volume of tasks given and the time and

capabilities that they possess. Overall, the findings indicate that the work overload causes occupational

stress to the respondents at a very great extent, as evident on its overall mean (4.36).
 23

Table 4.2.
Respondents’ Assessment on the impact of Relationship with School Administrators as an Occupational
Stressor
Indicators Mean Interpretation
1. I feel like I am not included in what goes on in this school, and 1.7 Some Extent
feel discriminated.
2. School administrators do not work with me to solve problems 1.4 Some Extent
and helpful in getting the job done.
3. I cannot count on school administrators to provide appropriate 1.17 Some Extent
assistance when a student’s behavior requires it.
4. I do not receive encouragement from school administrators to 1.33 Some Extent
try out new ideas thus, I feel valued in my role as a teacher.
5. My leader does not treat me as a family member. 1.27 Some Extent
Overall Mean 1.37 Some Extent

Table 4.2 describes the extent of impact of the respondents’ relationship with their school

administrators as source of occupational stress in teaching. The table indicates that the respondents

perceive their relationship with their school administrators only affects them negatively at some extent,

marked by its overall mean of 1.37. It can be inferred from the table that the school administrators gave

their teachers generally fair treatment in the workplace.

Table 4.3.
Respondent’s Assessment on the Impact of Nature of Work as their Occupational Stressor
Indicators Mean Interpretation
1. Severity of needs of my students. 3.43 Great Extent
2. students’ misbehavior and discipline problems. 3.77 Great Extent
3. Too much tasks to do with a little time to finish it. 4.8 Very Great Extent
4. Bureaucratic requirements such as rules and regulations, and Very Great Extent
paper works. 4.47
5. Wide or varied range of students’ needs and abilities. 3.8 Great Extent
Overall Mean 4.05 Very Great Extent

The table indicates that the teaching profession’s nature of work generally affects the respondents

at a very great extent. They said that having too much task to do with a little time allotment to finish
 24

contributes to their occupational stressor in relation with the nature of their work. Others who contribute

to their occupational stress includes complying to the bureaucratic requirements such as the rules and

regulations governing their profession, as well as the paper works associated with teaching, and attending

to a wide and varied range of their students’ needs and abilities.

It is also notable that severity of the students’ needs, and addressing their misbehavior and

discipline problems garnered the lowest mean among the indicators given. It could be interpreted that

since the New Normal in education is marked by distance learning, teachers do not have to deal much

with the misbehavior or discipline problems of their students since they are holding classes remotely.

Table 4.4.
Respondents’ Assessment on the Impact of Role Conflict as Occupational Stressor
Indicators Mean Interpretation
1. I have conflict with the time spent working directly with Moderate Extent
students versus with classroom teachers. 2.6
2. I have conflict with the District Superior’s/ Superintendent’s Some Extent
expectations versus school administrator’s expectations. 1.37
3. I have conflict with attending to students’ academic needs Moderate Extent
versus their social/behavioral needs. 2.8
4. I have conflict with what to prioritize in teaching and clerical Very Great Extent
work 4.6
5. I have conflict with attending to curricular tasks and extra- Very Great Extent
4.27
curricular tasks
Overall Mean 3.13 Great Extent

The table above shows that the role conflict causes the respondents occupational stress at a great

extent. It can also infer from the table that the conflict on what to prioritize between teaching and clerical

works contributes to their role-related occupational stress, as it garnered a mean score of 4.6.

Other factors that gathered high mean scores where the conflict with attending to curricular tasks

and extra-curricular tasks related to teaching, and the conflict between attending to their students’

academic needs and their social/behavioral needs.

 25

It is notable that the conflict between the District Supervisor’s/ Superintendent’s expectations and

the school administrator’s expectations got the lowest mean among the indicators, which indicates that

the expectations of both the Division Superior’s/Superintendent and the school administrator was aligned,

which gave the teachers a clear insight of what were the expectations of their superiors both in the school

and school division level.

Overall, it can be inferred from the assessment of the impact of the different occupational stressors

that the work overload has the greatest adverse impact to the teachers in the New Normal, with the mean

of 4.36. The other stressors (role conflict and nature of work) have caused them occupational stress at a

moderate extent. Their relationship with the school administrators stressed them the least, with an overall

average of 1.37.

Level of Commitment of Public Elementary Teachers

This part discusses the findings of the study on the level of commitment among the respondents.

The levels of commitment were based on the model developed by Meyer, Allen, & Smith (1993) which

identifies three levels of commitment: affective, continuance, and normative commitments.

Table 4.5
Respondent’s Assessment of their Professional Commitment at an Affective Level
Indicators Mean Interpretation
1 Teaching profession is important to my self-image. 3.77 Very High
2. I believe that school image is my image. 3.1 Very High
3. I am proud to be in the teaching profession. 3.63 Very High
4 Teaching profession is a great deal of personal meaning to me. 3.67 Very High
5. I am emotionally attached to teaching. 3.23 Very High
6. I encourage my co-teachers to complete the task timely with full Very High
dedication and accuracy to increases productivity of school. 3.47
7. I do not mix my feelings, emotions and personal problems in the Very High
profession 3.4
8. I am willing to deal with the future of the school. 3.2 Very High
9. I see my school as the best one among the others. 3.33 Very High
Overall Mean 3.42 Very High
 26

The table shows that the respondents are committed on the affective at a very high level, with the

overall average of 3.42. This shows that they perceive their experiences to their organization create a

feeling of comfort and personal competence to them. They also perceive it as important means to have a

positive self-image. The respondents also said that they feel proud for their profession and it has a great

deal of personal meaning for them, as evident with the highest mean scores of 3.67.

Overall, the teachers are committed at a very high affective level, which reflects to their desire to

commit to their profession because they wanted to, and their goals and aspirations were aligned with those

of the school.

Table 4.6
Respondents’ Assessment of their Professional Commitment at a Continuance Level
Indicators Mean Interpretation
1. Changing profession now would be difficult for me 3.6 Very High
2. Much of life would be disrupted if I will change my profession High
now. 2.83
3. The cost of leaving the teaching profession would be far Very High
greater than the benefit that I will gain. 3.03
4. I cannot not leave teaching right now because I have a sense Very High
of obligation to teach 3.6
5. I will not change my profession even if I was offered better High
working condition and safety in some other sector. 2.73
Overall Mean 3.16 Very High

The table shows the respondent’s assessment of their commitment to teaching at a continuance

level. It indicates that their commitment at a continuance level is at a very high extent, with a general

average of 3.16. The respondents indicated that changing professions now can be difficult for them, as

well as they perceive that they have a sense of obligation to teach.

The findings of the study entails that the teachers have a high sense of continuance commitment

as they perceive it as a means to satisfy their current needs, and the costs associated with leaving the

profession is greater than the benefits that they will get.

 27

Interestingly, the indicator that got the lowest score was the one that says they will not change

profession even when offered better working conditions in some other sectors outside teaching. It entails

the need to improve their working conditions, as they can opt to change profession if they will be given a

better working condition than what they have at the education sector.

Table 4.7
Respondent’s Assessment on their Professional Commitment at a Normative level
Indicators Mean Interpretation
1. I would feel guilty if I left the teaching profession 3.57 Very High
2. I am in teaching profession because of I have sense of loyalty Very High
to it. 3.2
3. I have a strong sense of belonging to teaching. 3.57 Very High
4. I dislike those who tamper the image of teaching. 3.7 Very High
Overall Mean 3.51 Very High

The table 4.7 shows the assessment of respondents’ commitment to teaching profession at a

normative level. It also shows that the respondents have a very high sense of normative commitment with

an overall mean or 3.51.

The respondents have shown a very high feeling of dislike to those who tamper the image of their

profession. They also noted that they have a strong sense of belongingness to teaching, and they will feel

guilty if they leave it.

Findings indicate that they are committed at a very high normative level, and are very likely to

remain loyal to their profession because they think of it as an obligation, and the proper thing to do. It also

shows that their commitment to teaching came from internalizing it for a certain period of time.

From the findings of the study focused on the teachers’ level of commitment, it can be said that

among the three levels of commitment, the teachers have the highest level of commitment at a normative
 28

level with a recorded mean score of 3.51. It is followed by affective level with a mean score of 3.42 and

the continuance level, which garnered an overall mean score of 3.16.

This indicates that they see teaching to be the most proper thing for them to do now that we are in

the New Normal and in the face of the pandemic. It can also be interpreted that the respondents had

internalized their roles as teachers, and their profession is beyond teaching the students, but also doing

tasks related to it.

Correlation between the occupational stressors and the level of commitment of teachers
Table 4.8
Correlation Of Occupational Stressors and Level of Commitment of Teachers
IV Occupational Stressors
DV
Level of Work Overload Relationship Nature of Work Role Conflict
Professional with School
Commitment administrators
Affective 0.664 0.302 0.273 0.295

Continuance 0.288 0.557 0.015 0.248

Normative 0.354 -0.063 0.429 0.898

The table shows the correlation between the occupational stressors and the level of commitment

of the teacher-respondents in the study. There is a strong correlation between the role conflict and the

normative commitment, which can be interpret that the role conflict strongly impacts the commitment of

the teachers in a normative level.

It is also notable that the occupational stress caused by the teachers’ relationship with their school

administrators negatively affects their normative professional commitment. It can be said that lesser the

conflict between the teachers and their superiors, their commitment at a normative level increase.
 29

In general, the occupational stressors positively correlate the teachers’ professional commitment.

It shows that the teachers, despite the impacts of occupational stressors in their workplace, remain firm to

their sworn duty as professionals, and are dedicated to it.

However, it should be noted that the findings entail the need to further the relationship between

the school administrators and the teachers under them, as the table indicates an adverse effect to the latter’s

commitment to teaching should their relationship with their former causes them stress in work.

Table 4.9

Level of Significance between the Occupational Stressors and Teachers’ Level of Commitment

IV Occupational Stressors
DV
Level of Work Overload Relationship Nature of Work Role Conflict
Professional with School
Commitment administrators
Affective 0.221 0.622 0.657 0.630

Continuance 0.639 0.330 0.980 0.687

Normative 0.646 0.937 0.571 0.102

The table indicates that there is no statistical significance between the occupational stressors and

the teachers’ level of professional commitment, which leads the researcher to accept the null hypothesis,

which claims that there is no significant relationship between the occupational stressors and the teacher’s

level of commitment.
 30

CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

This chapter presents the summary, conclusions and the recommendations of the study.

Summary

The study used a quantitative-correlational approach which primarily aims to assess the impacts

of the occupational stressors, and their level of professional commitment based on Meyer, Allen, &

Smith’s model (1993) to the teachers of the Lauc Pao Elementary school during the school year 2020-

2021. It also aimed to find if there are correlations between the different occupational stressors and the

respondents’ level of their professional commitment. The researcher gathered 30 teachers from the

research locale using the convenience sampling method. A questionnaire was distributed to them to gather

the valuable data needed for the study.

Findings show that among the occupational stressors assessed, the work overload affects the

teachers at a very great extent with an overall mean score of 4.36 or Very Great Extent. Other major

contributors were the nature of their profession (overall mean = 4.05), role conflicts (overall mean = 3.13),

and their relationship with their school administrators (overall mean = 1.37).

The researcher also found out that the teachers have a very high sense of professional commitment

at a normative level (mean = 3.51), which entails that they internalized their profession, and think that it

is the best thing for them to do. It was also found that there is a positive correlation between the

occupational stressors and the levels of commitment, except for the relationship between the teachers and

their school administrators, and the former’s commitment at a normative level which posed a negative

correlation.
 31

The study found that there is no significant relationship between the occupational stressors and the

level of professional commitment of teachers.

Conclusions

From the findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn:

1. Work overload causes the teachers occupational stress at a very great extent, which was closely

associated with the imbalance between their workload and the time allotted to them.

2. There is a need to ease the workload of the teachers in the New Normal setup due to the extent of the

stress caused by work overload.

3. Most of the teachers have a high sense of professional commitment despite the stress associated with

their profession in the present.

4. The stress caused by the relationship between the teachers and their school administrators can adversely

impact the professional commitment of the former.

5. It is noted that the teachers, despite the extent of occupational stress, they remain firm to their sworn

duty, as evidenced by high sense of professional commitment at affective, continuance, and normative

level.

6. Since the professional commitment level of the teachers were already high, it shows that the school

government focus in addressing the occupational stressors which affects the teachers working on the field.

7. As indicated by the findings, the working condition could be a factor for the teachers to change

profession due to the occupational stress.

 32

Recommendations

From the conclusions drawn by the researcher, the following recommendations were made:

1. The school administrators can improve the extent of the occupational stress experienced by the teachers

in the New Normal by easing their workload, and giving flexible time frame for their tasks, especially the

clerical works.

2. Relationship between the school administration and the teachers must be further improved by giving

manageable tasks and help addressing the occupational stressors related to teaching in order to improve

the latter’s professional commitment.

3. Teachers should be given a decent and humane working condition by giving flexible time frame in

tasks, provision of necessary tools and equipment for teaching, and as it was seen to be a major

contributing factor for them to change profession.

4. Future researchers can further the findings of this study by adding work engagement during the new

normal as a variable to the study. They can also compare the difference of the impact of occupational

stressors during the face-to-face classes and the new normal setup to the occupational commitment of the

teachers.
 33

REFERENCES:

Altun, M. (2017). The effects of teacher commitment on student achievement: A case study in Iraq.
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(11).
https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v7-i11/3475

Andrew, A. (2017). Employees’ commitment and its impact on organizational performance. Asian Journal
of Economics, Business and Accounting, 5(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajeba/2017/38396

Wahyu Ariani, D. (2013). The relationship between employee engagement, organizational citizenship
behavior, and counterproductive work behavior. International Journal of Business Administration, 4(2).
https://doi.org/10.5430/ijba.v4n2p46

Ayele, D. (2014). Teachers’ Job Satisfaction and Commitment in General Secondary Schools of Hadiya
Zone, in Southern Nation Nationality and People of Regional State [Master's thesis].
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/29136342.pdf

Benny, G. (2016). Introduction to Quantitative Research. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.2786.5847.

Brown, M., & Ralph, S. (1992). Towards the identification of stress in teachers. Research in Education,
48(1), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.1177/003452379204800110

Commitment. (n.d.). Oxford Learner's Dictionaries | Find definitions, translations, and grammar
explanations at Oxford Learner's Dictionaries.
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/commitment

Correlation analysis - Market research. (n.d.). Market Research Company: DJS Research.
https://www.djsresearch.co.uk/glossary/item/Correlation-Analysis-Market-Research

Cramer, D., & Howitt, D. (2004). The SAGE dictionary of statistics: A practical resource for students in
the social sciences. SAGE.

Dwivedula, R. & Bredillet, C. (2010). The relation between organizational and professional commitment
in case of project workers: implications for the project management. Paper presented at PMI® Research
 34

Conference: Defining the Future of Project Management, Washington, DC. Newtown Square, PA: Project
Management Institute.

Hammond, O. W., & Onikama, D. L. (1997). At risk teachers. Honolulu, HI: Pacific Resources for
Education and Learning.

Jafaraghaie F, Parvizy S, Mehdad N, Rafii F. (2012). Concept analysis of professional commitment in

Iranian nurses. Iran J Nurs Midwifery, 17(7).

Jepson, E. & Forrest, S. (2006). Individual contributory factors in teacher stress: The role of achievement
striving and occupational commitment. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76(1), 183-197.
https://doi.org/10.1348/000709905x37299

Johanssen, J. (2011). An analysis of the occupational stress factors identified by certified teachers.
Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 377. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/377

Johnson, S., Cooper, C., Cartwright, S., Donald, I., Taylor, P., & Millet, C. (2005). The experience of
work-related stress across occupations. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 20(2), 178–187.
https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940510579803

Kitchen; H., Fordham, E., Henderson, K., Looney, A., & Maghnouj, S. (2017). Romania 2017- OECD
Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education. OECD Publishing Paris.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264274051-en

Kloska, A., & Raemasut, A. (1985). Teacher Stress. Maladjustment and Therapeutic Education, 3(2), 19-
26.

Kyriacou, C. (2001). Teacher Stress: Directions for future research. Educational Review, 53(1), 27–35.
doi:10.1080/00131910120033628
 35

Manalo, R. (2019). Occupational stress, organizational commitment, work engagement of stem track
public school teachers: A proposed employee welfare program. Letran Business and Economic Review,1
(1).

Marcelo, R. (2016). School Leaders’ Administrative Support and Occupational Stress of Teachers: A
Basis for Designing an Occupational and Wellness Program. Pampanga State Agricultural State
University.

Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment.

Human Resource Management Review, 1(1), 61–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/1053-4822(91)90011-Z
Meyer, J. P., Allen, N. J., & Smith, C. A. (1993). Commitment to organizations and occupations:
Extensions and test of a three-component conceptualization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(4), 538–
555. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.78.4.538.

Mohamed, T. (2018). Sources of occupational stress among teachers: A field of study for teachers working
in Libyan schools in Turkey. International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management
Sciences, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarems/v7-i1/3856

Naghieh, A., Montgomery, P., Bonell C.P, Thompson, M., Aber, J.L. (2015). Organisational interventions
for improving wellbeing and reducing work-related stress in teachers. Cochrane Database of Systematic
Reviews, 4. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd010306.pub2

New normal | Definition of new normal by Oxford dictionary on Lexico.com also meaning of new normal.
(n.d.). Lexico Dictionaries | English. https://www.lexico.com/definition/new_normal

Oke, A. O., Ajagbe, M. A., Ogbari, M. E., & Adeyeye, J. O. (2016). Teacher retention and attrition: A
review of the literature. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences.
https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2s1p371

Senthilnatan, S. (2019). Usefulness of correlation analysis. SSRN Electronic Journal.

http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3416918

Siswanto, H. (2015). Stress management for teachers: Reflection on school’s daily activities. Cendekia
Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pembelajaran 9(2), 207. https://doi.org/10.30957/cendekia.v9i2.334
 36

Tosco, C.P. (2020, April 25). The role of education “frontliners” amid global health crisis.
https://cavite.lpu.edu.ph/index.php/en/cas-news-events/671-the-role-of-education-frontliners-amid-
global-health-crisis
 37

Appendix A

Instruments of the Study

Dear Sir/Madam:
The undersigned is in the process of completing the study “Job Stressors and Teachers’
Commitment: A Correlational Analysis”.

I. TEACHER’S STRESSORS
Direction: Please indicate your answers by placing a check mark (√) inside the column which best
describe your perception regarding your occupational stress using the following scale:

Scale Descriptive Equivalent

5 Very Great Extent
4 Great Extent
3 Moderate Extent
2 Some Extent
1 Not at All

A. Role Overload VGE GE ME SE NA

I feel stressed because… 5 4 3 2 1

1. I am expected to do too many different tasks in too little time.

2. I am expected to perform tasks on my job for which I have
never been trained.
3.I have to take work home with me.
4. My job requires me to work in several equally important areas
at once.
5.I am expected to do more work than is reasonable.

Relationship with School Administrators

VGE GE ME SE NA
I feel stressed because… 5 4 3 2 1
1. I feel like I am not included in what goes on in this school,
and feel discriminated.
2. School administrators do not work with me to solve problems
and helpful in getting the job done.
 38

3. I cannot count on school administrators to provide appropriate

assistance when a student’s behavior requires it.

4. I do not receive encouragement from school administrators to

try out new ideas thus, I feel valued in my role as a teacher.

5. My leader does not treat me as a family member.

Nature of Work
VGE GE ME SE NA
I feel stressed because… 5 4 3 2 1
1. of severity of needs of my students.
2. students’ misbehavior and discipline problems.

3. of too much tasks to do with such a little time to finish.

4. of bureaucratic requirements such as rules and regulations,

and paper works.

5. of the great or varied range of students’ needs and abilities.

Role Conflict
VGE GE ME SE NA
I feel stressed because 5 4 3 2 1
1. I have conflict with the time spent working directly with
students versus with classroom teachers.

2. I have conflict with the District Superior’s/ Superintendent’s

expectations versus school administrator’s expectations.

3. I have conflict with attending to students’ academic needs

versus their social/behavioral needs.
4. I have conflict with what to prioritize in teaching and clerical
work
5. I have conflict with attending to curricular tasks and extra-
curricular tasks
 39

II. TEACHER’S COMMITMENT

Instructions: Answer each question by placing a check mark (/) that corresponds to your answer. Kindly
use this parameter.
Scale Descriptive Equivalent
4 Very High
3 High
2 Low
1 Very Low

Affective Commitment VH H L VL
4 3 2 1

1 Teaching profession is important to my self-image.

2. I believe that school image is my image.
3. I am proud to be in the teaching profession.

4 Teaching profession is a great deal of personal meaning to me.

5. I am emotionally attached to teaching.

6. I encourage my co-teachers to complete the task timely with full

dedication and accuracy to increases productivity of school.

7. I do not mix my feelings, emotions and personal problems in the

profession
8. I am willing to deal with the future of the school.
9. I see my school as the best one among the others.

Continuance Commitment VH H L VL
4 3 2 1

1. Changing profession now would be difficult for me

2. Much of my life would be disrupted if I will change my profession

now.
 40

3. The cost of leaving the teaching profession would be far greater than
the benefit that I will gain.
4. I cannot not leave teaching right now because I have a sense of
obligation to teach
5. I will not change profession even if I was offered better working
condition and safety in some other sector.

Normative Commitment VH H L VL
4 3 2 1

1. I would feel guilty if I left the teaching profession

2. I am in teaching profession because of I have sense of loyalty to it.

3. I have a strong sense of belonging to teaching.

4. I dislike those who hamper the image of teaching.

 41

Appendix B
The Researcher’s Work Plan

ACTIVITIES TARGET DATE/S PEOPLE INVOLVED

Crafting of Research Researcher
Proposal
Submission of Research Researcher
Proposal to the School
Head
Crafting of Survey Researcher
Questionnaire and
Validation
Distribution of Survey Researcher and School
Questionnaire Administrators
Retrieval of Qeustionnaire Researcher and School
Administrators
Encoding and Data Researcher
Analysis
Construction of Results and Researcher
Discussion
Construction of Summary, Researcher
Conclusion, and
Recommendation
Submission of Output Researcher/SEPS Planning and
Research
 42

Appendix C
Detailed Budget Requirement for the Study

Particulars Amount (in PhP)

A. Implementation of the Approved Research
Proposals
Supplies and Materials for Conducting Research 1,500.00

Expenses for the distribution of questionnaire 1,000.00

Reproduction of Final Copy of Research Paper 2,000.00

B. Results Dissemination
District/Cluster Research Congress/Colloquim 1,500.00

Grand Total 6,000.00