International Association of Educators   |  ISSN: 2834-7919   |  e-ISSN: 1554-5210

Original article | International Journal of Progressive Education 2023, Vol. 19(1) 205-222

The Main Stressors of Tertiary Level EFL Instructors Teaching Remotely Amidst Covid-19

Oğuzhan Yangöz & Burcu Ünal

pp. 205 - 222   |  DOI: https://doi.org/10.29329/ijpe.2023.517.13   |  Manu. Number: MANU-2210-30-0003

Published online: February 01, 2023  |   Number of Views: 164  |  Number of Download: 345


Abstract

With the global COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, our lives, especially education, have been adversely affected. This research investigates the relationship between technostress and burnout levels of English language instructors amidst the pandemic and makes recommendations about the role of online language education in the coming years. In this study, Turkish adaptation of Maslach’s MBI-ES and Defining Teacher’s Technostress Level Scale was administered to 188 English instructors working at State and Foundation Universities in Turkey. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 10 English language instructors. The findings indicate that instructors have medium level of technostress and low level of burnout. Age and gender were found to be an important contributing factor for both technostress and burnout levels. Correlation analyses showed a relationship between subscales of burnout and technostress measures. The research findings suggest adapting the curriculum of English language teaching programs to increase the technology literacy of prospective English language teachers and prepare them for the increasing role of online language teaching in the coming years as well as providing professional development opportunities for in-service language teachers.

Keywords: Teacher burnout, technostress, pandemic, online education, Covid-19


How to Cite this Article?

APA 6th edition
Yangoz, O. & Unal, B. (2023). The Main Stressors of Tertiary Level EFL Instructors Teaching Remotely Amidst Covid-19 . International Journal of Progressive Education, 19(1), 205-222. doi: 10.29329/ijpe.2023.517.13

Harvard
Yangoz, O. and Unal, B. (2023). The Main Stressors of Tertiary Level EFL Instructors Teaching Remotely Amidst Covid-19 . International Journal of Progressive Education, 19(1), pp. 205-222.

Chicago 16th edition
Yangoz, Oguzhan and Burcu Unal (2023). "The Main Stressors of Tertiary Level EFL Instructors Teaching Remotely Amidst Covid-19 ". International Journal of Progressive Education 19 (1):205-222. doi:10.29329/ijpe.2023.517.13.

References
  1. Açikgöz, Ö., & Günay, A. (2020). The early impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global and Turkish economy. Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences, 50(SI-1), 520-526. doi: 10.3906/sag-2004-6  [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  2. Agai–Demjaha, T., Minov, J., Stoleski, S., & Zafirova, B. (2015). Stress causing factors among teachers in elementary schools and their relationship with demographic and job characteristics. Open access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 3(3), 493-499. DOI: 10.3889/oamjms.2015.077   [Google Scholar]
  3. Aktan, O., & Toraman, Ç. (2022). The relationship between technostress levels and job satisfaction of teachers within the COVID-19 period. Education and Information Technologies, 1-25. [Google Scholar]
  4. Al-Fudail, M., & Mellar, H. (2008). Investigating teacher stress when using technology. Computers & Education, 51(3), 1103-1110. DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2007.11.004   [Google Scholar]
  5. Antoniou, A. S., Polychroni, F., & Vlachakis, A. N. (2006). Gender and age differences in occupational stress and professional burnout between primary and high‐school teachers in Greece. Journal of managerial psychology, 21(7), 682-690. [Google Scholar]
  6. Babbie, E. R. (2016). The Basics of Social Research. Cengage Learning. [Google Scholar]
  7. Bibou-Nakou, I., Stogiannidou, A., & Kiosseoglou, G. (1999). The relation between teacher burnout and teachers’ attributions and practices regarding school behaviour problems. School Psychology International, 20(2), 209-217. DOI: 10.1177/0143034399020002004    [Google Scholar]
  8. Branscombe, M. (2020). The network impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The New Stack, 14. [Google Scholar]
  9. Burke, R. J., & Greenglass, E. (1993). Work stress, role conflict, social support, and psychological burnout among teachers. Psychological Reports, 73(2), 371-380. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1993.73.2.371  [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  10. Busch, T. (1995). Gender differences in self-efficacy and attitudes toward computers. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 12(2), 147-158. https://doi.org/10.2190/H7E1-XMM7-GU9B-3HWR  [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  11. Çoklar, A.N. & Sahin, Y.L. (2011) Technostress levels of social network users based on ICTs in Turkey. European Journal of Social Sciences, 23, 171-182. [Google Scholar]
  12. Çoklar, A., Efilti, E., Şahin, Y., & Akçay, A. (2016). Determining the reasons of technostress experienced by teachers: A qualitative study. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 7(2), 71-96. DOI: 10.17569/tojqi.96082 [Google Scholar]
  13. Çoklar, A. N., Efilti, E., & Sahin, L. (2017). Defining teachers' technostress levels: A scale development. Online Submission, 8(21), 28-41. [Google Scholar]
  14. Cortina, J. M. (1993). What is coefficient alpha? An examination of theory and applications. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(1), 98-104. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.78.1.98  [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  15. Damicone, K. L. (2021). Technostress: Measuring, describing, and identifying causes of teachers' technological stressdDuring the COVID-19 pandemic. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Kent State University. [Google Scholar]
  16. Department for Education. [24.05.2021]. Coronavirus COVID-19: Implementing Protective Measures in Education and Childcare Settings. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing- protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in- education-and-childcare-settings. [Google Scholar]
  17. Department for Education. [28.05.2021]. School funding: Exceptional costs associated with coronavirus COVID-19for the Period March to July.  https://www.gov.uk/Government/publications/coronavirus- covid-19-financial-support-for-schools/school-funding-exceptional-costs-associated-with-coronavirus-covid-19-for- the-period-march-to-july-2021  [Google Scholar]
  18. Effiyanti, T. & Sagala, G. H. (2018). Technostress among teachers: A confirmation of its stressors and antecedent. International Journal of Education Economics and Development, 9(2), 134-148. 10.1504/IJEED.2018.092197 [Google Scholar]
  19. Estrada-Muñoz, C., Vega-Muñoz, A., Castillo, D., Müller-Pérez, S., & Boada-Grau, J. (2021). Technostress of Chilean teachers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and teleworking. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), 5458. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105458 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  20. Farber, B. A. (1984). Stress and burnout in suburban teachers. The Journal of Educational Research, 77(6), 325-331. DOI: 10.1080/00220671.1984.10885550 [Google Scholar]
  21. García-González, M. A., Torrano, F., & García-González, G. (2020). Analysis of stress factors for female professors at online universities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(8), 2958. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082958 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  22. George, D. & Mallery, M. (2010). SPSS for Windows Step by Step: A Simple Guide and Reference 17.0 update 10a ed.  Boston: Pearson [Google Scholar]
  23. Greenberg, M.T., Brown J.L.,& Abenavoli, R.M. (2016). Teacher stress and health effects on teachers, students, and schools. Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved from http://prevention.psu.edu/uploads/files/ rwjf430428.pdf. [Google Scholar]
  24. Hall, J. K. (2010). Interaction as method and result of language learning. Language Teaching, 43(2), 202-215. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444809005722 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  25. Harahap, K. & Effiyanti, T. (2015). Technostress among educators: A revisit of social cognitive perspective. Asia Pacific Journal of Contemporary Education and Communication Technology, 1(1), 108-120.  [Google Scholar]
  26. Haydon, T., Leko, M. M., & Stevens, D. (2018). Teacher stress: Sources, effects, and protective factors. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 31(2), 99-107.  [Google Scholar]
  27. İnce, N. B., & Şahin, A. E. (2015). Maslach tükenmişlik envanteri-eğitimci formu’nu Türkçe’ye uyarlama çalışması. Eğitimde ve Psikolojide Ölçme ve Değerlendirme Dergisi, 62, 385-399. https://doi.org/10.21031/epod.97301  [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  28. Joo, Y. J., Lim, K. Y., & Kim, N. H. (2016). The effects of secondary teachers’ technostress on the intention to use technology in South Korea. Computers & Education, 95, 114-122. [Google Scholar]
  29. Khan, S. R. (2020). Fostering students’ sense of belonging in online asynchronous courses through social media. Culminating Projects in Information Media. 27.  [Google Scholar]
  30. Kokkinos, C. M. (2007). Job stressors, personality and burnout in primary school teachers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77(1), 229-243. DOI: 10.1348/000709905X90344 [Google Scholar]
  31. Kokkinos, C. M., Panayiotou, G., Davazoglou, A. M. (2005). Correlates of teacher appraisals of student behaviors. Psychology in the Schools, 42(1), 9-89. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20031 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  32. Kondracki, N. L., Wellman, N. S., & Amundson, D. R. (2002). Content analysis: Review of methods and their applications in nutrition education. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 34(4), 224-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1499-4046(06)60097-3 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  33. Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Pergamon Press Inc. [Google Scholar]
  34. Kyriacou, C. (2001). Teacher stress: Directions for future research. Educational Review, 53, 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131910120033628 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  35. Li, L., & Wang, X. (2021). Technostress inhibitors and creators and their impacts on university teachers’ work performance in higher education. Cognition, Technology & Work, 23(2), 315-330. DOI: 10.1007/s10111-020-00625-0 [Google Scholar]
  36. Marchiori, D. M., Mainardes, E. W., & Rodrigues, R. G. (2018). Do individual characteristics influence the types of technostress reported by workers? International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 35(3), 218–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2018.1449713 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  37. Maslach, C. (2003). Job burnout: New directions in research and intervention. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12(5), 189-192. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.01258 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  38. Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2(2), 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205  [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  39. Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103-111. doi: 10.1002/wps.20311  [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  40. Mokh, A. J. A., Shayeb, S. J., Badah, A., Ismail, I. A., Ahmed, Y., Dawoud, L. K., & Ayoub, H. E. (2021). Levels of technostress resulting from online learning among language teachers in Palestine during Covid-19 pandemic. American Journal of Educational Research, 9(5), 243-254.  [Google Scholar]
  41. Michal, M., Kaufhold, J., Grabhorn, R., Krakow, K., Overbeck, G., & Heidenreich, T. (2005). Depersonalization and social anxiety. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 193(9), 629-632. [Google Scholar]
  42. OECD (2020). Country Education Responses to The Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic. [04.02.2021]. http://www.oecd.org/education/country-education-responses-coronavirus.htm   [Google Scholar]
  43. Özgür, H. (2020). Relationships between teachers’ technostress, technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), school support and demographic variables: A structural equation modeling. Computers in Human Behavior, 112, 106468. [Google Scholar]
  44. Penado Abilleira, M., Rodicio-García, M. L., Ríos-de Deus, M. P., & Mosquera-González, M. J. (2021). Technostress in Spanish university teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 617650.    [Google Scholar]
  45. Pressley, T. (2021). Factors contributing to teacher burnout during COVID-19. Educational Researcher, 50(5), 325-327. [Google Scholar]
  46. Rumschlag, K. E. (2017). Teacher burnout: A quantitative analysis of emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, and depersonalization. International Management Review, 13(1), 22-36.   [Google Scholar]
  47. Salanova, M., Llorens, S., & Cifre, E. (2013). The dark side of technologies: Technostress among users of information and communication technologies. International journal of psychology, 48(3), 422-436. [Google Scholar]
  48. Shepherd, S.S. G. (2004). Relationships Between Computer Skills and Technostress: How Does This Affect Me? Proceedings of the 2004 ASCUE Conference, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. [Google Scholar]
  49. Shernoff, E.S., Mehta, T.G., Atkins, M.S., Torf, R. & Spencer, L. (2011). A qualitative study of the sources and impact of stress among urban teachers. School Mental Health, 3, 59–69. [Google Scholar]
  50. Spada, N. (2007). Communicative Language Teaching. In International Handbook of English Language Teaching (pp. 271-288). Springer, Boston, MA.   [Google Scholar]
  51. Tarafdar, M., Tu, Q. and Ragu-Nathan, T.S. (2011) Impact of technostress on end-user satisfaction and performance. Journal of Management Information Systems, 27, 303-334. http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/MIS0742-1222270311 [Google Scholar]
  52. Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (1998). Mixed Methodology: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Google Scholar]
  53. Wood, J. M. (2007). Understanding and computing Cohen’s kappa: A tutorial. WebPsychEmpiricist, Web Journal at http://wpe.info/  [Google Scholar]
  54. World Health Organization (2020). Coronavirus Disease ‎‎ COVID-19 ‎‎: Situation Report- 165. https://reliefweb.int/report/world/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-situation-report-165-3-july-2020?gclid=CjwKCAiAsYyRBhACEiwAkJFKom235c65E_X40hc7DDML_RAO50NVqGajjKvjF3x7XDBF9kKxFQbIbRoCuf0QAvD_BwE [08.02.2021]   [Google Scholar]