Stress in Chinese teachers who teach the mathematically gifted: a qualitative perspective.

Those who teach mathematically gifted high school students play a key role in both their identification and cultivation. Teachers who teach the Mathematical Olympiad in China work long hours and teach difficult content; they are under a significant amount of work-based pressure, and that is worthy of further study. This study analyzed the sources of stress for 33 Chinese teachers who teach the Mathematical Olympiad, collected data through semi-structured in-depth interviews, and adopted a subject analysis method based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological system that considers the influences that the complexity of socio-cultural and environment have on individual emotions. It is divided into five structural or environmental systems in which human beings develop, namely the macroscopic, external, meso, micro, and chrono systems. The research results show that the greatest influences on these teachers' stress come from the mesosystem and microsystem levels, and that the key players are students and school leaders. Educational policy and culture are found to be key factors from the macrosystem. Overall, long-term stress was seen to affect both teachers' moods and their physical health. Finally, the results offered implications for education policy and school management and suggestions for the cultivation and management of mathematics teachers who teach the gifted. Limitations of the study are discussed, and directions for future research are proposed.

An ecological examination of the emotions of Chinese high school mathematics teachers in a long-term teaching improvement program.

Teacher emotions are essential for teaching effectiveness and teachers' professional development. Studying teacher emotions during a program in today's world is crucial, where teachers are commonly involved in professional development programs. From an ecological perspective, this study employed a case study method to examine the emotions of two Chinese high school mathematics teachers in a 4-year teaching improvement program. Semi-structured interviews, teacher emotion logs, researcher memos, and informal dialogues were all used to collect data. This study aimed to better understand the emotions that Chinese high school mathematics teachers developed and the processes that generated them in their interactions with various ecosystems within a specific professional development program overlay. The study's findings revealed that the two teachers triggered 65 emotions in their interactions with the various ecosystems over 4 years-A describing 51 and B describing 46-with an overall predominance of positive emotions. They triggered the broadest range of emotions in the mesosystem, particularly during interactions with program companions. During the early, medium, and late stages, their internal psychological factors and interactions with each system changed, resulting in significant changes in their emotions. They all went through phases of mixed sadness and happiness, ending in a state of delight and calmness. Finally, we recommended teachers' professional development based on the study's findings.