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The impact of resilience on role stressors and burnout in elementary and secondary teachers

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Abstract

The role of a teacher is becoming increasingly complex, and it is more important than ever that teachers develop resilience to overcome stress and burnout. A conceptual framework to explain the ability of resilience to decrease role stress and burnout was developed and tested. Participants included 415 teachers (174 elementary, 241 secondary) who taught in three adjacent school districts in the Midwest of the United States. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey that included measures of resilience, role stressors, and burnout. Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual framework, and invariance analysis examined the equivalence of relationships across elementary and secondary teacher groups. Results generally supported the conceptual framework, and commonly experienced pathways were found to be invariant across groups. This study emphasizes the importance of resilience in helping to reduce perceived teacher stress and feelings of burnout.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Kinesiology, University of Alabama, Moore Hall, Rm. 1010, Box 870312, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    K. Andrew R. Richards

  2. Center for Instructional Excellence, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Chantal Levesque-Bristol

  3. School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Thomas J. Templin

  4. Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA

    Kim C. Graber

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  1. K. Andrew R. Richards
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  2. Chantal Levesque-Bristol
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  4. Kim C. Graber
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Correspondence to K. Andrew R. Richards.

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Richards, K.A.R., Levesque-Bristol, C., Templin, T.J. et al. The impact of resilience on role stressors and burnout in elementary and secondary teachers. Soc Psychol Educ 19, 511–536 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-016-9346-x

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