Chapter 2: Teacher Stress and Misbehavior Toward Students: A Problem of Work Motivation

Teachers start their careers feeling motivated and desiring to make a difference in their students’ lives. Teaching is challenging and stressful work, however. The considerable demands on their time and attention, limited resources for assistance, and ever-increasing performance requirements take a toll. Perhaps not surprising, beginning teachers soon feel burned out and emotionally exhausted. Studies find nearly half of teachers leave the profession in the first 5 years. The rest stay and, despite difficulties, report that their primary motivation remains caring for students. Nevertheless, researchers also note incidents of teacher misbehavior toward students. Festinger’s (1957) Cognitive Dissonance Theory is used here to analyze and better understand such contradiction. The chapter proposes solutions to ease or abate teacher burnout and misbehavior given the above discussion as conclusion.