Published Paper Details:

Occupational stress has become a significant concern in the teaching profession due to increasing academic responsibilities, administrative demands and continuous educational reforms. The present study aimed to examine the level of occupational stress among secondary school teachers of Bangalore district and to determine whether stress levels differed with respect to selected background variables such as gender, locality, marital status and teaching experience. The study adopted a descriptive survey method. The population comprised secondary school teachers working in different management schools during the academic year 2012-13. A sample of 132 teachers was selected using the stratified random sampling technique to ensure equal representation of male and female teachers as well as teachers from urban and rural schools. Data were collected using the Teacher Occupational Stress Factor Questionnaire (TOSFQ) developed by Clark (1980) along with a personal proforma. The collected data were analyzed using percentages, mean, standard deviation and 't'-test. The findings revealed that occupational stress is prevalent among secondary school teachers; however, no significant differences were found in stress levels based on gender, locality, marital status or teaching experience. The study concludes that occupational stress is a common phenomenon among teachers irrespective of demographic factors and highlights the need for institutional support, stress management strategies and improved working conditions to enhance teachers' well-being and professional effectiveness.