Stress in physical education teachers in Qatar

Abstract

Stress is an area of interest among researchers and practitioners in many fields – including teaching. Much of the research on causes of stress for teachers has focused on teachers in general; only a few studies have focused on physical education teachers. Although there have been a few studies of causes of stress for physical education teachers in the Middle East, no studies have been conducted on physical education teachers in Qatar. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify causes of stress for physical education teachers in Qatar at the beginning and end of the school year as well as any changes over the course of the year. A second purpose was to try to explain any differences in causes of stress according to: gender; nationality; type of school; and amount of experience. Results showed that there were different causes of stress for different groups of teachers which could be related to different backgrounds and experiences and different roles and responsibilities in society as a result of different cultural and social expectations and environmental factors.