PREVALENCE AND SOURCES OF ADMINISTRATIVE STRESS AMONG CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS IN BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS

This study is designed to determine the prevalences and sources of administrative stress among chief administrative officers in Broward County, Florida nonpublic schools. The study offers a brief history of nonpublic school education in Broward County, in Florida, and in the United States. In a review of the literature the study identified pertinent administrative and managerial stress research. The researcher developed the Nonpublic School Administrative Stress Survey (NSASS) instrument which was used to collect the information discussed. The study concluded that administrators have some specific sources of administrative stress. Respondents identified educational development as a source of administrative stress. This component included specific problem children, sufficient time spent with students, scheduling of classes, designing school programs, implementing school programs and establishing and implementing innovative ideas. Significance was discovered in determining the administrators self-reported perception of administrative stress for 3 of 11 variables. The variables of age, highest earned degree and years of experience at a particular school were significant in determining the perceptions of administrative stress held by the nonpublic school administrators. The variables of sex, state certification of administrators, clerical status (religious degree), school size, school level, school type, school administrative structure and certified status of school faculty, were inconclusive in determining significance as variables of perceived administrative stress. It was further discovered that biographical variables are more significant factors in determining perceptions of administrative stress than are environmental variables. The researcher concludes that there is a need for much greater emphasis on research in the nonpublic sector of education with particular emphasis upon the nonpublic school administrator. The results of the data are based on 62 nonpublic school chief administrative officers in Broward County, Florida nonpublic schools.