| Head Start provides a valuable resource for underserved children in the United States but unfortunately, the teachers in the Head Start system experience a high rate of burnout and turnover. In order to support the children served by Head Start, teachers' needs must also be met and their job experiences must be understood. By evaluating how individual factors and characteristics in the work environment as well as how the use of coping strategies might impact the experience of occupational stress among teachers in the Head Start system, better support and training can be offered to decrease those sources of stress and increase coping skills. The current study evaluated individual factors (i.e., educational background, time employed at Head Start, and difficulty using teaching techniques) and work environment factors (i.e., job demands, work load, clear expectations, good boundaries, responsibilities, and the physical environment) that contribute to teachers' experience of strain and the potential moderating role that coping plays. Results indicate that individual factors are not significantly related to strain, but the work environment as a whole significantly contributes to teachers' experience of strain. Coping skills did not moderate this relationship. Discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for Head Start policies regarding teachers, particularly given the potential for improved work environment stressors to lower the experience of strain, and thereby reduce burnout and turnover. |
