EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AMONG TEACHERS BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS IN KENYA

Abstract

Teaching is a unique profession in which practitioners constantly deal with situations in which a variety of emotions are involved. Emotional intelligence is therefore vital for teachers as they strive to meet their occupational expectations, and in managing their own stress. High emotional Intelligence is associated with less stress. It is conceivable that teachers in Borstal institutions could be exposed to greater stress since they work with learners who may have conduct disorders that impact negatively to their process of learning. This study explored emotional intelligence and occupational stress among teachers in Borstal institutions. The target population was all the teachers in the four Borstal institutions in Kenya. The researcher’s aim was to conduct a census, but only the teachers who returned duly completed questionnaires were included in the study. Mixed Method Embedded research Design was used. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the teachers. Maximum variation purposive method was used to sample focused group discussion participants. A modified Schutte emotional intelligence scale was used to measure emotional intelligence and Occupational stress was measured using Teachers Occupational Stress scale. Results indicated that teachers in Borstal institutions had high levels of emotional intelligence and moderate levels of occupational stress. Emotional intelligence was not a significant predictor of teachers’ ability to cope with occupational stress (F (4, 55) = 1.647, p > 0.05). Major sources of stress among the teachers included work overload, poor living conditions, inadequate training, and acute shortage of teaching and learning resources among others. The most frequently mentioned coping mechanism used by teachers was physical exercise.