Abstract:
Introduction: It has been noted that stress is considered a major global health challenge. This
is because it affects the well-being of service providers, especially those working in the human
service sector, such as educators. The sources of stress are attributed to social factors,
discipline of students, occupational pressures and workload. Studies have shown that stress is
a silent killer that affects the health and productivity of educators, leading to mental, physical,
emotional and behavioral illnesses. Educators in the Malamulele North East Circuit are
confronted with work challenges and continue experiencing stress.
Purpose: The study aimed at finding out the experienced stressors by educators in public high
schools of Malamulele North East circuit, Vhembe District.
Method: The study was conducted in Malamulele North East public high schools. Malamulele
North East is situated in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. A qualitative
approach using explorative and descriptive design was adopted for the study. A sample of
twelve educators was chosen from the target population by means of convenience sampling
and data was collected through a face to face individual in-depth interview. Interviews and
discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed and coded into larger themes, categories and
sub-categories.
Results: The following themes were derived from data analysis: factors considered to be
sources of stress, perceived effects of stress among high school educators, strategies that
educators use to cope with stress and strategies to manage the experiences of stress for
educators. The study showed that different factors at schools have a great impact on educators.
All the educators were affected by stressors in their work daily and adopted some coping
strategies. However, these educators required continued intervention to manage the stress.
Conclusions: The findings showed that all educators were experiencing stress in their work
environment and were affected personally as well as professionally. Hence, the DOE needs to
design strategies for continues support in order to manage the stress.
