Perceived Stress, Resilience and Hope among Special Educators

Description

Page: 15-22

S.A. Akshayaa Rajeswari¹ and G.S. Prakasha² (Department of Psychology, Christ University, Central Campus, Bangalore, Karnataka¹ and Pedagogy of Physical Sciences, School of Education, Christ University, Central Campus, Bangalore, Karnataka²)

The burgeoning demand for special educators within Indian educational institutions contrasts starkly with a notable scarcity attributed to various stressors leading to avoidance, burnout, and attrition in this profession. Hence, there is a pressing need to identify and relate the driving factors contributing to thriving in this field. Previous studies have suggested that Resilience and Hope are acquired traits helpful in dealing with stress and reducing the occurrence of burnout in various professions. Therefore, this study aimed to understand how Perceived stress, Resilience and Hope interact among special educators. Further, it focused on determining the effect of Perceived stress on Resilience and Hope. Around 70 special educators across India participated online and offline in this correlational study. The results indicated a moderate negative correlation between Perceived stress and Resilience, a weak negative correlation between Perceived stress and Hope and a moderate positive correlation between Resilience and Hope. The findings also indicated a statistically significant multivariate impact of Perceived stress on Resilience and Hope. The study implies promoting individual initiatives that encourage self-care and reflecting activities. It also implies Organizational changes that enhance professional development by providing Resilience training and Mental health workshops to ensure the well-being of this population and advocate work-life balance. While this study focused on the general role of Perceived stress in Resilience and Hope, further studies can be conducted to identify precisely the influence of work-related stress on the level of Resilience and Hope experienced by this population.