A study of the potential influence of school environment, administrative leadership and support, social support, and coping upon the presence of symptoms of teacher depression: implications for educational leaders.

摘要

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the potential influence ofschool environment, administrative leadership and support, social support, and coping upon the presence of symptoms of teacher depression. The population was comprised of teachers employed in the metropolitan Atlanta area. A snowball sample, which helped the researcher to gain a comprehensive understanding, was used in effort to reach teachers in various school districts. Participants electronically submitted the surveys to ensure anonymity. The survey followed a correlational design to seek out relationships between the independent variables of school environment, administrative leadership and support, social support, and coping with the dependent variable, teacher depression. The results from this study suggest that teachers experience higher symptoms of teacher depression when school administrators are unsupportive and make high work demands and when there are negative student behaviors. Practical implications and recommendations for educational leaders to ameliorate the growing rate of depression in teachers are offered