Abstract
The purpose of this study was to analyze how four potential stressors in the school environment (discipline problems, time pressure, low student motivation, and value dissonance) were related to dimensions of teacher burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment). Participants were 1145 teachers from grade 1 to 13. Data were analyzed by means of confirmatory factor analysis and SEM analysis. A confirmatory factor analysis including the four stressors and the three dimensions of burnout had good fit to the data and the correlations between the factors were moderate. Although all the potential stressors were significantly related to emotional exhaustion, time pressure was the far strongest predictor. In comparison, depersonalization and personal accomplishment was not significantly related to time pressure but was significantly predicted by discipline problems, low student motivation, and value dissonance. Teachers at the lowest grade levels reported more discipline problems and higher time pressure than teachers at higher grade levels, whereas teachers at the highest grade levels experienced low student motivation as a greater problem than teachers at lower grade levels.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Betoret, F. D. (2009). Self-efficacy, school resources, job stressors and burnout among Spanish primary and secondary school teachers: A structural equation approach. Educational Psychology, 29, 45–68. doi:10.1080/01443410802459234.
Betoret, F. D., & Artiga, A. G. (2010). Barriers perceived by teachers at work, coping strategies, self-efficacy and burnout. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 13, 637–654. doi:10.1017/S1138741600002316.
Bollen, K. A. (1989). A new incremental fit index for general structural models. Sociological Methods & Research, 17, 303–316. doi:10.1177/0049124189017003004.
Brouwers, A., & Tomic, W. (2000). A longitudinal study of teacher burnout and perceived self-efficacy in classroom management. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16, 239–253. doi:10.1016/S0742-051X(99)00057-8.
Buchanan, J. (2010). May I be excused? Why teachers leave the profession. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 30, 199–211. doi:10.1080/02188791003721952.
Byrne, B. M. (1994). Burnout: Testing for the validity, replication, and invariance of the causal structure across elementary, intermediate, and secondary teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 31, 645–673. doi:10.3102/00028312031003645.
Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural equation modelling with AMOS. Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Ass.
Chan, D. (2002). Stress, self-efficacy, social support and psychological distress among prospective teachers in Hong Kong. Educational Psychology, 22, 557–570. doi:10.1080/0144341022000023635.
Chang, M. L. (2009). An appraisal perspective of teacher burnout: Examining the emotional work of teachers. Educational Psychology Review, 21, 193–218. doi:10.1007/s10648-009-9106-y.
Fernet, C., Guay, F., Senécal, C., & Austin, S. (2012). Predicting intraindividual changes in teacher burnout: The role of perceived school environment and motivational factors. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28, 514–525. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2011.11.013.
Friedman, I. A. (1995). Student behavior patterns contributing to teacher burnout. The Journal of Educational Research, 88, 281–289. doi:10.1080/00220671.1995.9941312.
Goddard, R., O’Brian, P., & Goddard, M. (2006). Work environment predictors of beginning teacher burnout. British Educational Research Journal, 32, 857–874. doi:10.1080/0141192060098511.
Hakanen, J. J., Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2006). Burnout and work engagement among teachers. Journal of School Psychology, 43, 495–513. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2005.11.001.
Hargreaves, A. (2003). Teaching in the knowledge society: Education in the age of insecurity. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Hong, J. Y. (2012). Why do some beginning teachers leave the school, and others stay? Understanding teacher resilience through psychological lenses. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 417–440. doi:10.1080/13540602.2012.696044.
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1–55. doi:10.1080/10705519909540118.
Jennett, H. K., Harris, S. L., & Mesibov, G. B. (2003). Commitment to philosophy, teacher efficacy, and burnout among teachers of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33, 583–593. doi:10.1023/B:JADD.0000005996.19417.57.
Johnson, S., Cooper, C., Cartwright, S., Donald, I., Taylor, P., & Millet, C. (2005). The experience of work-related stress across occupations. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 20, 178–187. doi:10.1108/02683940510579803.
Khani, R., & Mirzaee, A. (2015). How do self-efficacy, contextual variables and stressors affect teacher burnout in an EFL context? Educational Psychology, 35, 93–109. doi:10.1080/01443410.2014.981510.
Klassen, R., & Chiu, M. M. (2011). The occupational commitment and intention to quit of practicing and pre-service teachers: Influence of self-efficacy, job stress, and teaching context. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36, 114–129. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2011.01.002.
Klassen, R., Wilson, E., Siu, A. F. Y., Hannok, W., Wong, M. W., Wongsri, N., et al. (2013). Preservice teachers’ work stress, self-efficacy, and occupational commitment in four countries. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 28, 1289–1309. doi:10.1007/s10212-012-0166-x.
Köber, T., Risberg, T., & Texmon, T. (2005). Hvor jobber førskolelærere og lærere? In Utdanning (pp. 232–253) Oslo: Statistics Norway. http://www.ssb.no/emner/04/sa_utdanning/arkiv/sa74/kap-11.pdf.
Kyriacou, C. (2001). Teacher stress: Directions for future research. Educational Review, 53, 27–35. doi:10.1080/00131910120033628.
Lee, R. T., & Ashforth, B. E. (1996). A meta-analytic examination of the correlates of the three dimensions of job burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 123–133.
Leung, D. Y. P., & Lee, W. W. S. (2006). Predicting intention to quit among Chinese teachers: Differential predictability of the component of burnout. Anxiety Stress and Coping, 19, 129–141. doi:10.1080/10615800600565476.
Lindqvist, P., & Nordänger, U. K. (2006). Who dares to disconnect in the age of uncertainty? Teachers’ recesses and “off-the-clock” work. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 12, 623–637.
Liu, S., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2012). Chinese teachers’ work stress and their turnover intention. International Journal of Educational Research, 53, 160–170. doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2012.03.006.
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 2, 99–113. doi:10.1002/job.4030020205.
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (1997). The truth about burnout: How organizations cause personal stress and what to do about it. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Maslach, C., Jackson, S. E., & Leiter, M. P. (1996). Maslach burnout inventory manual (3rd ed.). Mountain View, CA: CPP Inc.
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397–422. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397.
Montgomery, C., & Rupp, A. A. (2005). Meta-analysis for exploring the diversity causes and effects of stress in teachers. Canadian Journal of Education, 28, 458–486. doi:10.2307/4126479.
Pines, A. M., & Aronson, E. (1988). Career Burnout. Causes and Cures. New York: Free Press.
Rosenberg, M. (1977). Contextual dissonance effects: Nature and causes. Psychiatry, 40, 205–217.
Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the self. New York: Basic Books.
Sahlberg, P. (2010). Rethinking accountability in a knowledge society. Journal of Educational Change, 11, 45–61. doi:10.1007/s10833-008-9098-2.
Schaufeli, W. B., & Salanova, M. (2007). Efficacy or inefficacy, that’s the question: Burnout and work engagement, and their relationships with efficacy beliefs. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping: An International Journal, 20, 177–196. doi:10.1080/10615800008549268.
Schwarzer, R., & Hallum, S. (2008). Perceived teacher self-efficacy as a predictor of job stress and burnout: Mediation analysis. Applied Psychology, 57, 152–171. doi:10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00359.x.
Schwarzer, R., Schmitz, G. S., & Tang, C. (2000). Teacher burnout in Hong Kong and Germany: A cross-cultural validation of the Maslach burnout inventory. Anxiety Stress and Coping, 13, 309–323. doi:10.1080/10615800701217878.
Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2007). Dimensions of teacher self-efficacy and relations with strain factors, perceived collective teacher efficacy, and teacher burnout. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 611–625. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.99.3.611.
Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2010). Teacher self-efficacy and teacher burnout: A study of relations. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26, 1059–1069. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2009.11.001.
Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2011a). Teacher job satisfaction and motivation to leave the teaching profession: Relations with school context, feeling of belonging, and emotional exhaustion. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27, 1029–1038. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2011.04.001.
Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2011b). Teachers’ feeling of belonging, exhaustion, and job satisfaction: The role of goal structure and value consonance. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping. An international Journal, 24, 369–385. doi:10.1080/10615806.2010.544300.
Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2012). Skolen som arbeidsplass. Trivsel, mestring og utfordringer. [School as a workplace for teachers]. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2016). Teacher stress and teacher self-efficacy as predictors of engagement, emotional exhaustion, and motivation to leave the teaching profession. Creative Education, 7, 1785–1799. doi:10.4236/ce.2016.713182.
Smithers, A., & Robinson, P. (2003). Factors affecting teachers’ decisions to leave the profession. Liverpool: University of Liverpool, Centre for Education and Employment Research, Department for Education and Skills, Research Report RR430.
Stoeber, J., & Rennert, D. (2008). Perfectionism in school teachers: Relations with stress appraisals, coping styles, and burnout. Anxiety Stress and Coping, 21, 37–53. doi:10.1080/10615800701742461.
Watt, H. M. G., & Richardson, P. W. (2008). Motives, perceptions, and aspirations concerning teaching as a career for different types of beginning teachers. Learning and Instruction, 18, 408–428. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.96.2.236.
Weiss, E. M. (1999). Perceived workplace conditions and first-year teachers’ morale, career choice commitment, and planned retention: A secondary analysis. Teaching and Teacher Education, 15, 861–879. doi:10.1016/S0742-051X(99)00040-2.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a grant from the Union of Education Norway.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Skaalvik, E.M., Skaalvik, S. Dimensions of teacher burnout: relations with potential stressors at school. Soc Psychol Educ 20, 775–790 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-017-9391-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-017-9391-0