Browsing by Author "Jonker, Lorraine Cathrine"

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    Stress in a college workplace and its relationship with certain correlates and predictive variables
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03) Jonker, Lorraine Cathrine; Le Roux, Marieanna C.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Department of Psychology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT : Educational reform in South Africa has been a major part of the country’s reconstruction and development projects since the 1994 democratic elections. The previous racially based education had to be replaced by an education system that emphasized human dignity, equality and social justice. Unfortunately this transformation had to take place with limited funding and resources. In a study of educators, 94% of teachers reported that teaching was more stressful now than in previous years. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges (previously FET Colleges) in South Africa have been transformed intensively, according to a Western Cape Education Study (WCES). Lecturers have been re-trained to accommodate the new curriculum and there has been a shift to outcomes based teaching and a specific assessment and moderation regime. Excessive overload caused by long syllabuses and assessment requirements is a problem, as well as administration overload associated with assessments. The aim of the study was to identify levels of stress overload and to investigate its relationship with specific correlates and predictive variables among lecturers. A convenience sample of 145 lecturers was recruited from a public TVET college in Gauteng. Data collection was done with self-administered questionnaires. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicated that organizational constraints, interpersonal conflict at work, and distress tolerance were significant predictors of stress overload (PV). Organizational constraints, quantitative workload and distress tolerance were significant predictors of stress overload (EL) and organizational constraints, distress tolerance, gender and quantitative workload were significant predictors of stress overload (TS). It is recommended that future research use this study as a basis for comparison as very little college stress-related research is available and it may also be helpful in the development of interventions to alleviate stress overload among college lecturers.