Analysis on the difference of college teachers’ professional pressure and strategies to improve teachers’ mental health under the expectancy theory

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Professional pressure is one of the most concerned issues in society. Teachers are a group of people with greater professional pressure. The pressure sources include students, schools and society.

OBJECTIVE:

This exploration aims to explore the professional pressure and mental health of college teachers.

METHOD:

Based on the expectancy theory, the professional pressure and mental health of different college teachers are investigated. The overall steps are as follows: the determination of topic, questionnaire design, questionnaire distribution and recovery, questionnaire data analysis to obtain results, as well as countermeasure analysis based on the results.

RESULTS:

The investigation suggests that the sores of college teachers’ work pressure load, family life pressure, interpersonal pressure, physical and mental pressure, leadership and organizational factors pressure, career development pressure, scientific research, and professional title pressure are high. From senior to elementary, the pressure of teachers increases first and then decreases. The professional development pressure of liberal arts teachers is significantly higher than that of science teachers and engineering teachers (P < 0.05). Among science and engineering teachers, the professional development pressure of science teachers is relatively high. Men have better mental health than women (P < 0.05). Unmarried teachers have the best mental health status, followed by married and finally divorced (P < 0.05). The mental health of senior and elementary teachers is significantly better than that of sub-senior teachers and intermediate teachers (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION:

The investigation on professional pressure and mental health of college teachers can contribute to the related problem solving in China, as well as enrich the content of relevant fields in China.

Keywords

Expectancy theory teacher professional pressure teacher mental health difference analysis college teachers

1 Introduction

Professional pressure is an issue widely concer-ned by the whole society and it will bring many physical and psychological injuries to the employee. Physiological reactions caused by professional pressure in behavior include cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory problems, cancer, arthritis, headache, physical damage, skin dysfunction, excessive fatigue, and death [1 –3]. Work problems and dissatisfaction, work pressure, heavy workload and behavioral patterns are all important risk factors that cause people to have coronary heart disease [4]. Teachers bear greater professional pressure, and their professional pressure comes from students, schools, and society. Student factors mainly include worrying about the poor ranking of students’ exams, the difficulty of the work of individual poor students, the unsatisfactory test scores of students, and the progress rate of students in their class. School factors include lack of attention to work, too many activities or examinations based on school forms, too many requirements of schools or educational administration departments, the use of students’ test scores to measure teachers’ work level and evaluating teacher’s title and bonus based on students’ test scores [5 –7]. The conflict between students’ thoughts and behaviors with teachers’ thoughts will form a contradiction between teachers and students. This contradiction is the main source of teachers’ pressure at the student level [8]. For social factors, teachers’ low income, difficult relationships with parents, and family dis-support are the main pressure sources [9]. Teachers do not get the respect and understanding they deserved. The public believes that the treatment of teachers has increased, and they should redouble their efforts. It is believed that teachers’ success is taken for granted, and failure is attributed to teachers’ inefficiency and incompetence [10, 11]. Countries all over the world pay more attention to education and teachers. Therefore, mental health and professional pressure of teachers are explored.

There are many investigations on the professional pressure of teachers in various countries in the world. Putwain and von der Embse explored the pressure generated by teachers’ self-efficacy and the pressure that teachers perceive based on the work demand-resource model. The results show that the pressure caused by the curriculum change is positively correlated with the students’ pressure, and the teacher’s self-efficacy is negatively correlated with the students’ pressure [12]. Skaalvik and Skaalvik investigated 1,145 first-grade to thirteenth-grade teachers to analyze the relationship between the four potential stresses in the school environment (disciplinary problems, time pressure, student motivation, value imbalance) and teacher burnout (emotional exhaustion, the disintegration of personality, decreased personal achievement). The results show that lower grade teachers reflect more disciplinary problems and greater time pressure than higher grade teachers. Teachers in higher grades reflect greater motivation problems for students than teachers in lower grades [13]. Tack and Vanderlinde discussed the relevance of work pressure and career development of teacher educators [14]. Husbands explored the educational pressures facing teachers, as well as the nature, scope, and impact of these pressures. Some suggestions on how to self-reform teacher education under the changing background were proposed [15]. Chen investigated the emotional experience of elementary school teachers in Hong Kong and Mainland China, as well as developed the emotional quantity of teachers [16]. Clark and Newberry explored teachers’ self-efficacy and discussed how to strengthen pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy [17]. Nathaniel et al. investigated the relationship between exam-based accountability policies with teacher pressure and school atmosphere in four US states. The results show that the examination-based accountability policy may have a negative correlation with the school atmosphere and teacher pressure [18]. Ryan et al. investigated the relationship between test-taking accountability policy, teacher test pressure, teacher burnout, and teacher turnover intention. The results suggest that the examination-based accountability policy can predict a larger teacher’s intention to lose and a higher level of teacher pressure [19]. Sandilos et al. discussed the relationship between teacher-reported work pressure and observed quality of teacher-student interaction [20]. Although worldwide scholars have rich research content on teacher professional pressure, there is less content on the professional pressure of teachers and the differences in professional pressure in China’s colleges.

Therefore, based on previous works, the professional pressure and mental health of college teachers under the expectancy theory are explored. The overall steps are the determination of topic, the design, distribution, recovery, and data analysis of questionnaire, the results obtained, as well as countermeasure analysis based on the results. It is hoped that the investigation can contribute to the problem solving of professional pressure and mental health of college teachers in China.

2 Method

2.1 Research objects and data acquisition

The objects are teachers in four colleges in China. The survey is mainly based on questionnaires, supplemented by interviews. By investigating the pressure situation of college teachers, the main causes of pressure, the differences in pressure and the mental health of college teachers are analyzed. The overall steps are the determination of topic, the design, distribution, recovery, and data analysis of questionnaire, the results obtained, as well as countermeasure analysis based on the results.

Online distribution is adopted. 576 questionnaires are distributed and 551 questionnaires are recovered. After the invalid questionnaires are eliminated, 526 questionnaires are obtained, with a validity rate of 91.3%.

In the reliability and validity analysis of the questionnaire, the test sample is analyzed. 50 questionnaires are distributed and 50 questionnaires are recovered. There are 50 valid questionnaires and the questionnaire recovery rate is 100%.

2.2 Expectancy theory

Expectancy theory, also known as “valence-instrumentality-expectancy theory”, is a theory of management psychology and behavioral science. This theory was proposed by the North American famous psychologist and behavior scientist Victor H. Vroom in 1964 in Work and Motivation. The equation is as follows [21]. $M = \sum V \times E$ (1)

M represents motivation, which means mobilizing a person’s enthusiasm and stimulating the strength of a person’s internal potential. V represents valence, which means the value of achieving the goal of meeting personal needs. Because each person’s environment is different and their needs are different, their required target values are also different. The same goal may have three valences for everyone: positive, zero, and negative. If the individual likes the available results, it is positive valence. If the individual ignores the result, it is zero. If the individual does not like the available results, it is negative valence. The higher the valence is, the greater the motivation is. E is the expectancy value. It is people’s judgment on whether they are more or less likely to achieve a certain goal or meet their needs based on past experience. It is the subjective probability that people judge the possibility of reaching a certain goal or meeting their needs. The target value directly reflects the strength of people’s needs and motivation. The expected probability reflects the strength of people’s confidence in fulfilling their needs and motivations. Vroom believes that people are always eager to meet certain needs and try to achieve certain goals. This goal appears as an expectancy before it has been achieved. The concept of expectancy refers to a psychological activity that a person hopes to achieve a goal or meet needs within a certain period of time based on past abilities and experience [22, 23].

In (1), motivation refers to the intensity of mobilizing one’s enthusiasm and stimulating one’s internal potential. Expectancy value is based on personal experience to determine the degree of grasping the goal. The valence is the value of the goal that can be achieved to meet individual needs. The equation of this theory shows that the amount of human enthusiasm mobilized depends on the product of expectancy value and valence [24]. That is to say, the greater one’s grasp of the goal is, the higher the estimated probability of reaching the goal is, the stronger the motivation is, and the greater the enthusiasm is. In leadership and management, it is meaningful to use the expectancy theory to arouse the enthusiasm of subordinates.

Expectancy theory reflects the relationship be-tween needs and goals in three factors. In order to motivate employees, it is necessary to make employees clear that work can provide what they really need; what they want is linked to performance; as long as they work hard, they can improve their performance.

The motivation or incentive for people to take action depends on their value evaluation of the action result and the estimation of the possibility of achiev-ing the result. In other words, the size of the motivation depends on the total expected value of the action that can achieve the goal and lead to a certain result multiplied by the expected probability that he believes that the goal is achieved and a certain result is obtained.

In real life, the valence and expectancy of each goal often show a negative correlation. The goal of high difficulty and low success rate is of great social significance, but also meets the needs of individual achievements, with a high valence. The goal of the high success rate is lack of challenge, and it is tasteless to do it, resulting in a reduction in total valence [25, 26]. Therefore, designing and selecting appropriate external goals not only give people the hope of success, but also make people feel worth fighting for, which has become a key issue in the incentive process.

According to the above-mentioned expectancy theory, the college teacher pressure detection scale to be designed is divided into 6 analysis factors, namely, career development, interpersonal relationships, physical and mental factors, leadership and organizational structure, scientific research and professional title evaluation and employment, workload, as well as family life.

2.3 Questionnaire design

The questionnaire is divided into three parts. The first part is to conduct a survey of the basic information of the tested person, including the tested person’s age, education, gender, subject category, and working years. The second part is to investigate the pressure situation of the tested persons. The questionnaire contains a total of 30 questions that can be divided into five items. The scale adopts the integration method of 1–5 points, from low to high, indicating “no pressure”, “less pressure” “general pressure”, “large pressure” and “very large pressure”. According to the format of the questionnaire, the lower the score is, the lower the pressure is. In the questionnaire, the research is described in detail on the front page of the questionnaire. Participating in the questionnaire survey means that the participants are informed and agree to the research. The third part is the mental health survey, which is divided into 15 questions. The scale adopts the integration method of 1–5 points, from low to high, indicating “very poor”, “poor”, “general”, “better” and “very good”. According to the format of the questionnaire, the lower the score is, the worse the mental health is.

2.4 Interview design

The target of the interview is the most representative teacher in each subject. Teachers of different ages, genders, titles, and positions are selected for in-depth interviews. The teachers participating in the interviews all sign the informed consent. In the interview process, based on pressure-related issues, the interviewed teachers’ pressure and mental health status are understood from shallow to deep.

2.5 Questionnaire reliability analysis

The reliability analysis of the questionnaire is also the responsibility analysis of the questionnaire. Responsibility is to verify the stability and consistency of the questionnaire test results. For verification results, the higher the reliability of the questionnaire is, the smaller the test error of the questionnaire is [27]. Reliability indicators are mostly expressed in correlation coefficients, which can be roughly divided into three categories: stability coefficients (consistency across time), equivalence coefficients (consistency across forms) and intrinsic consistency coefficients (consistency across projects). There are four main methods for reliability analysis: retest reliability method, replica reliability method, halved reliability method, and α reliability coefficient method.

The Cronbach α reliability coefficient is currently the most commonly used reliability coefficient, and its equation is as follows. $α = (k / (k - 1)) * (1 - (\sum {Si}^{2}) / {ST}^{2})$ (2)

K is the total number of items in the scale. Si² is the in-question variance of the i-th score. ST² is the variance of the total score of all items. The equation reveals that the α coefficient evaluates the consistency between the scores of each item in the scale, which belongs to the inherent consistency coefficient. This method is suitable for the reliability analysis of attitude and opinion questionnaires (scales).

The reliability coefficient of the total scale is preferably above 0.8, and it is acceptable between 0.7 and 0.8. The reliability coefficient of the subscale is preferably above 0.7, and 0.6-0.7 is also acceptable. If Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is below 0.6, it is necessary to rewrite the questionnaire.

2.6 Questionnaire validity analysis

Validity analysis refers to the analysis of scales to achieve the accuracy of measurement indicators. There are many methods of validity analysis, often using project analysis, independent criterion measurement analysis and factor analysis [28]. Project analysis is mainly to measure the difficulty and discrimination of various items in the scale, and to select a moderate scale with higher discrimination as an effective scale. The independent criterion measurement analysis method mainly uses a certain independent validity as the criterion and basis for validity analysis. Each scale item is related to this independent criterion. Items that do not reach a significant level are invalid items, while those that reach a significant level are valid scales.

Factor analysis is the most ideal method for validity analysis, since only it can measure the validity analysis process and its effective items to explain the percentage of the entire scale variation. Factor analysis is essentially a mathematical mode that uses a set of variables as independent and dependent variables. The calculation process is a simplified process of the linear model of complex variables. Factor analysis has the following characteristics due to different application purposes. The first is to explain the relationship of multiple variables with smaller common factors. The second is to find uncaused causal factors from the relationship among a set of variables, and it has the meaning of proposing a hypothesis. The third is to propose a hypothesis and further prove it.

The KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) test statistic is an indicator used to compare simple correlation coefficients and partial correlation coefficients between variables. It is mainly used for factor analysis of multivariate statistics. The value of the KMO statistic is between 0 and 1 [29].

When the sum of squares of simple correlation coefficients among all variables is much larger than the sum of squares of partial correlation coefficients, the KMO value is close to 1. The closer the KMO value is to 1, the stronger the correlation between the variables is and the more suitable the original variables are for factor analysis. When the sum of squares of simple correlation coefficients between all variables is close to 0, the KMO value is close to 0 [30]. The closer the KMO value is to 0, the weaker the correlation between the variables is and the less suitable the original variables are for factor analysis.

The KMO metrics: above 0.9 means very suitable; 0.8 means suitable; 0.7 means general; 0.6 means not very suitable; below 0.5 means extremely unsuitable. The value of the KMO statistic is between 0 and 1. When the sum of squares of simple correlation coefficients among all variables is much larger than the sum of squares of partial correlation coefficients, the KMO value is close to 1. The closer the KMO value is to 1, the stronger the correlation between the variables is and the more suitable the original variables are for factor analysis. When the sum of squares of simple correlation coefficients between all variables is close to 0, the KMO value is close to 0. The closer the KMO value is to 0, the weaker the correlation between the variables is and the less suitable the original variables are for factor analysis.

2.7 Statistical methods

After the quality inspection on the original data obtained from the survey is performed, Microsoft Excel is used for data entry. Data analysis is performed using IBM SPSS 26.0 software. General data are expressed as mean and standard deviation, composition ratio and frequency. The comparison of measurement data between the two groups is performed by single-factor analysis of variance. P < 0.05 means statistically significant difference.

3 Results

3.1 Analysis of questionnaire reliability and validity

Figure 1 is the basic situation of the personnel participating in the pre-test. It suggests that the proportion of men who participate in the pre-test is relatively high, most of them are under 40 years old, and they are generally younger. Most of the academic qualifications are doctorate degrees, and there are fewer master degrees, which also shows that colleges have higher requirements for teacher qualifications. The titles of the teachers tested are mostly intermediate and above. The working year is less than 20 years, mostly under 5 years. The teaching field is mostly in the field of engineering.

Fig. 1

Descriptive analysis of pre-tests (A: the proportion of the gender distribution of the tested people; B: the proportion of the age distribution of the tested people; C: the proportion of the academic qualification distribution of the tested people; D: the proportion of the position distribution of the tested people; E: the proportion of the working year distribution of the tested people; F: the proportion of the teaching field distribution of the tested people).

Through the investigation, the Cronbach α reliability coefficient of the career development factors in the questionnaire is 0.899, that of the interpersonal relationship and physical and mental factors, is 0.892, and that of leadership and organizational structure factors is 0.876. Figures 2 –7 present the specific values. Cronbach α reliability coefficient of scientific research and professional title evaluation factors is 0.884, that of the workload factor is 0.911, and that of family life factors is 0.901. The item-overall correlation coefficients in the scale are greater than 0.4, which proves that the scale has good reliability.

Fig. 2

Reliability analysis of professional development factors (A: item-overall relevance; B: deleted Alpha value of the item).

Fig. 3

Interpersonal relationships as well as physical and mental factors (A: item-overall relevance; B: deleted Alpha value of the item).

Fig. 4

Leadership and organizational factors (A: item-overall relevance; B: deleted Alpha value of the item).

Fig. 5

Scientific research and professional title evaluation factors (A: item-overall relevance; B: deleted Alpha value of the item).

Fig. 6

Workload factors (A: item-overall relevance; B: deleted Alpha value of the item).

Fig. 7

Family life factors (A: item-overall relevance; B: deleted Alpha value of the item).

After validity analysis, the results show that the value of KMO in this questionnaire is 0.889, with a significant level of 0.000. It indicates that the relationship between the variables in this questionnaire is good, which is suitable for factor analysis.

The principal component analysis shows that there are 6 initial eigenvalues greater than 1, and the accumulation of initial eigenvalues reaches 69.883%. The factor has more information, which is higher than the general standard of validity analysis.

3.2 Demographic analysis of the research object

Figure 8 shows the demographic analysis of the research object, which reveals that the age of college teachers tested is generally low, and teachers under 40 years old account for more than 90%. Also, the academic qualifications of these college teachers are generally high, and teachers with doctoral-level account for more than 70%of the total sample. Teachers have been working for less than 5 years.

Fig. 8

Demographic analysis (A: gender of the tested people; B: age of the tested people; C: education degree of the tested people; D: position of the tested people; E: working years of the tested people; F: teaching field of tested people).

3.3 Analysis of the current situation of college teachers’ pressure

Table 1 shows the score of work pressure load after the pressure of college teachers is investigated. It reveals that the overall mean of college teachers’ work pressure load is 3.55. The mean value is relatively close to 5, indicating that the pressure load of college teachers is relatively high. The high variance value of the topic “no fun at work” in the table indicates that the individual difference of this item is large and it is unstable.

Table 1
The scores of work pressure load of teachers

Topic Mean Variance

Teaching workload 2.903 0.861

Frequently irritable and unwell 2.914 0.852

Do things you do not want to do every day 3.131 0.852

Long work time 3.621 0.781

No fun at work 2.832 1.030

Less leisure time 3.460 0.770

Topic	Mean	Variance
Teaching workload	2.903	0.861
Frequently irritable and unwell	2.914	0.852
Do things you do not want to do every day	3.131	0.852
Long work time	3.621	0.781
No fun at work	2.832	1.030
Less leisure time	3.460	0.770

Table 2 presents the scores of college teachers’ family life pressure and it shows that the overall mean of college teachers’ family life pressure statistics is greater than 3.8. The mean value is relatively close to 5, indicating that college teachers have higher pressure on family life. Also, the lower variance results indicate that the scale is stabler.

Table 2

The scores of family life pressure of teachers

Topic	Mean	Variance
Family housing and economic problems are serious	3.814	0.771
Low total household income	3.862	0.643
Family and work relationships are difficult to balance	3.671	0.752

Table 3 is the scores of interpersonal, as well as physical and mental pressure of college teachers. It suggests that the overall mean score of the interpersonal, as well as physical and mental pressure of college teachers is greater than 3.4. The mean value is relatively close to 5, indicating that college teachers have higher interpersonal as well as physical and mental pressure. Also, the results of the topic options indicate that teachers have higher pressure in student management.

Table 3

The scores of interpersonal, physical and mental pressure of teachers

Topic	Mean	Variance
Superior distrust	2.223	1.042
Student management difficulties	2.052	0.970
Serious problems with colleagues	3.261	0.841
Low professional accomplishment	3.939	1.029
High pressure and may choose to leave the post	2.874	0.931

Table 4 shows the scores of the leadership and organizational factors pressure of teachers. It reveals that the overall mean of leadership and organizational factors pressure of teachers is above 3.8. In addition to the difficulty in obtaining leadership recognition, teachers score 5 points on other topics, indicating that they have more pressure on leadership and organizational factors.

Table 4

The scores of the leadership and organizational factors pressure of teachers

Topic	Mean	Variance
School emphasizes scientific research rather than teaching	2.501	1.211
Teacher evaluation and rewards are unreasonable	3.139	0.812
Teacher remuneration does not match workload	3.909	0.778
The school does not understand the actual difficulties of teachers	3.958	0.817
Difficult to get leadership recognition	3.726	0.753
Job competition pressure is large	3.696	0.907

Table 5 presents the scores of teachers’ career development pressure, which shows that the overall mean of teachers’ career development pressure is above 3.6. The overall situation is at the upper-middle level. Also, the variance of teachers in job prospects and professional satisfaction is relatively large, indicating that the individual difference of the two items is large.

Table 5

The scores of professional development pressure of teachers

Topic	Mean	Variance
Less opportunities for further education	3.917	0.851
Boring work	2.456	1.027
Knowledge or education is not enough to support the work	3.829	0.849
Few opportunities to participate in academic research	3.762	0.961
Professional prospects are slim	2.908	1.209

Table 6 is the scores of teachers’ scientific research and professional title pressure, which suggests that the overall mean of teachers’ scientific research and professional title pressure is above 4.4, indicating that the pressure of teachers in this area is high. Also, in all the topics, the teacher’s scoring situation is concentrated in 5, indicating that most teachers have great pressure in this regard.

Table 6

The scores of scientific research and professional title pressure of teachers

Topic	Mean	Variance
Large amount of scientific research	4.196	0.976
High requirements for professional title evaluation	4.108	0.807
Conflict between teaching and scientific research	4.301	0.782
Less opportunities to obtain a project	4.317	0.596
Part-time other work	4.319	0.871

3.4 Analysis of teachers’ pressure difference

Figure 9 presents the results of pressure difference analysis of teachers with different titles, which reveals that from senior to elementary, the teachers’ pressure generally increases first and then decreases. In the total scale, the senior shows the lowest mean pressure scores, while the sub-senior shows a significant increase (P < 0.05). The trend of scientific research and professional title evaluation pressure is consistent with the pressure trend of the overall scale. For workload pressure, the intermediate has a downward trend compared to the sub-senior, with statistically significant difference (P < 0.05).

Fig. 9

Pressure statistics of teachers with different titles.

The results of the pressure difference analysis of teachers in different disciplines and genders show that the liberal arts teachers’ professional development pressure is significantly higher than that of science teachers and engineering teachers (P < 0.05). Among science teachers and engineering teachers, the professional development pressure of science teachers is relatively high, but the difference is not statistically significant. For family factors pressure, male teachers are significantly higher than female teachers (P < 0.05).

3.5 Results of teachers’ mental health

Table 7 presents the statistics of teachers’ mental health, which reveals that men have better mental health than women (P < 0.05). Also, marriage is one of the important factors that affect mental health. Unmarried teachers have the best mental health status, followed by married and finally divorced (P < 0.05). The mental health of senior and elementary teachers is significantly better than that of sub-senior teachers and intermediate teachers (P < 0.05).

Table 7
The scores of mental health of teachers

Variable Mean Variance

Gender Male 3.861 0.920

Female 3.642 0.901

Family situation Unmarried 3.747 0.835

Married 3.411 0.882

Divorced 3.361 0.801

Professional title Senior 3.672 0.766

Sub-senior 3.451 0.743

Intermediate 3.447 0.801

Elementary 3.663 0.912

Subject Liberal arts 3.461 0.712

Science 3.392 0.724

Engineering 3.465 0.736

Variable	Mean	Variance
Gender	Male	3.861	0.920
	Female	3.642	0.901
Family situation	Unmarried	3.747	0.835
	Married	3.411	0.882
	Divorced	3.361	0.801
Professional title	Senior	3.672	0.766
	Sub-senior	3.451	0.743
	Intermediate	3.447	0.801
	Elementary	3.663	0.912
Subject	Liberal arts	3.461	0.712
	Science	3.392	0.724
	Engineering	3.465	0.736

3.6 Interview results

In-depth interviews are conducted for three teachers with different titles. Teacher 1 is the intermediate title. He believes that the school’s professional title evaluation method is not user-friendly. The proportion of teaching in the evaluation of professional titles is too low. The academic qualifications and teaching qualifications are important points for evaluating professional titles. It will cause the teachers who deeply cultivate students to lose confidence and passion. Teacher 2 is the sub-senior professional title. He believes that the school is not reasonable in allocating courses. Some teachers are overloaded all the year round, causing premature physical problems. Teacher 3 is the elementary professional title. He believes that the problem of interpersonal relations in schools is more serious, even the teachers of a college are not familiar enough. It will lead to a reduction in research and teaching efficiency.

4 Discussion

At present, professional pressure is one of the social hot spots. Teachers usually have greater professional pressure. While the professional pressure of college teachers is increasing rapidly, their mental health status has also received widespread attention [31, 32]. Therefore, teachers’ professional pressure and mental health issues are explored.

According to the investigation, the overall mean score of college teachers’ workload pressure score is 3.55, which is in a relatively high state; that of college teachers’ family life pressure is greater than 3.8, indicating that college teachers have higher pressure in family life; that of interpersonal as well as physical and mental pressure of college teachers is greater than 3.4, indicating that college teachers have higher pressure in interpersonal as well as physical and mental pressure; that of leadership and organizational factors pressure of teachers is above 3.8; that of teachers’ career development pressure is above 3.6; that of teachers’ scientific research and professional title pressure scores is above 4.4. From senior to elementary, the pressure of teachers generally increases first and then decreases. The professional development pressure of liberal arts teachers is significantly higher than that of science teachers and engineering teachers (P < 0.05). Among science and engineering teachers, the professional development pressure of science teachers is relatively high. Men have better mental health than women (P < 0.05). Unmarried teachers have the best mental health status, followed by married and finally divorced (P < 0.05). The mental health of senior and elementary teachers is significantly better than that of sub-senior teachers and intermediate teachers (P < 0.05).

From a sociological point of view, most of the professional pressure of teachers comes from social factors. The social status of college teachers is not high and there is no obvious advantage in job treatment. However, society and schools have high demands for college teachers. College teachers are different from ordinary high school or junior high school teachers. They must not only face the pressure of teaching, but also face the pressure of additional scientific research. Also, society has high expectations for college teachers, which also puts great pressure on college teachers. Therefore, teachers’ pressure needs to be improved in many ways. In terms of society, college teachers should be given a higher social and economic status. Colleges should focus on teaching and teacher training. School management methods should be more humane, and teacher evaluation methods should also be more scientific. College teachers should also adjust their status and establish good interpersonal relationships. Self-regulation is required when mental pressure is greater.

5 Conclusion

The limitation of the investigation is that because the questionnaire is open online, the selection of samples is relatively random. In addition, the number of samples obtained by the colleges participating in the survey is not balanced, and the analysis results may have a certain geographical representation. Due to the differences in the environmental conditions of various colleges, universal research on the overall pressure of young teachers in all colleges needs further exploration. Different colleges have different characteristics, so the pressure situation and causes of young teachers are different. The classified survey and analysis can be conducted on colleges, to expand the scope of the survey and obtain more representative sample data.

Conflict of interest

None to report.

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