Let’s talk about stress: beginning secondary school teachers’ stress in the context of induction programmes

Teaching is a highly stressful profession. Occasionally a bit of stress can be motivating, but long-term stress has, among other things, negative consequences for the health of the teacher and for the performance of students. Beginning teachers seem more vulnerable to the pressures of the profession than experienced teachers. A large percentage of these beginners leave the profession within five teaching years. This is problematic as there is a teacher shortage. In the Teachers' Agenda of 2013-2020, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science stated that all starting teachers should follow a three-year additional training program (induction program) at their workplace in 2020. The purpose of these induction programs is to make the transition from teacher training to teaching go more smoothly. These programs seem to have the potential to reduce teachers' stress. Scientific research into the effectiveness of the induction programs on stress of starting teachers had not yet been carried out. In addition, little research had been done into the relationship between beginning teachers’ stress their teaching behavior and their decision to leave the profession (attrition). Understanding these relationships and the effectiveness of induction program elements is important to determine how we can properly support teachers so that they experience less stress, can teach effectively and do not leave their profession prematurely. Therefore, this dissertation investigates the stress of beginning secondary school teachers in the context of induction programs and the relationships between their stress, teaching behavior and attrition.