d, Olejnik & Parkay, 1990); age, gender (females are more susceptible than males) low self-esteem (Beer & Beer, 1992) and the extent to which teachers attribute their outcomes in their career to internal or external factors (Parkay, Greenwood, Olejnik & Proller, 1988).
One of the more interesting findings in the occupational stress literature is that stress levels can often differ in relation to differences in the grades being taught. For example, Malik, Mueller and Meinke (1991) found that middle school and secondary level teachers are more prone to occupational stress than elementary school teachers. The same findings have been reported in other studies (Fogelson, 1992; Wheeler, 1995). However, some studies have found not observed any significant associations between grade levels and occupational stress levels of teachers (Sunja, 1990; Hock, 1988). In other words, the findings with respect to grade level and occupational stress of teachers are mixed.
Given the relationship observed for grade level and occupational stress and the negative results of stress, it seems reasonable to state that there is a need to conduct a more in-depth examination of the grade level/occupational stress relationship. In this regard, a key question that can be asked is: In what ways precisely does grade level exert a stressful effect?
One possible answer to this question can be found in a study conducted by Derobbio (1995). Specifically, Derobbio (1995) examined burnout among secondary school teachers. The study was conducted in two phases. During the initial phase all secondary teachers from a mid-sized, urban school district (N=378) were asked to complete the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and a Demographic Data sheet.
Phase Two utilized those teachers with high levels of perceived burnout (N = 25). The results of this study supported the results of previous studies in that age, sex, and grade level taught all accounted for sign...