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TEACHER BURNOUT.
Term Paper ID:28290
Essay Subject:
Examines public Middle School teachers & problem of burnout. Review of the literature, methodology. Annotated Bibliography.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines public Middle School teachers & problem of burnout. Review of the literature, methodology. Annotated Bibliography.
Paper Introduction:
Middle School Teachers, Burnout, Age and Race/Ethnicity
Statement of Purpose
Burnout has been described as a state of fatigue or frustration brought about by an individual's devotion to a cause or way or life (or profession) that has failed to meet expectations (Vredenburgh, Carlozzi, & Stein, 1999). It further represents a state in which individuals expect little reward and compensation along with considerable punishment from work because of a lack of valued reinforcement, controllable outcomes, or personal competence (Vredenburgh, et al, 1999). The problem is viewed as significant in a number of fields, especially in education, where research suggests that many teachers leave the profession within a few years of entering (Betancourt-Smith, 1994).
Text of the Paper:
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A study by Holland, Michael, and Kim (1994) examined the efficacy ofthe MBI as a measure of risk status for teacher burnout. Professional attrition: Anexamination of minority and nonminority teachers at risk. The article discusses the reliability and validity of the MBI and isuseful in developing the research methodology. Student behavior patterns contributing toteacher burnout. Locus of control, pupil control ideology,and dimensions of teacher burnout. The Personal AccomplishmentSubscale describes feelings of competence and success towards one'sachievements. One of a limited number of studies focused on the middle school. Holland, P.J. Byrne (1998) statesthat in the first year of teaching, burnout occurs because teachers realizethat pre-teaching ideals are often unattainable in practice settings; theteacher then learns to cope with this dissonance, but at about the fifthyear of teaching realizes that coping is not the same thing as teaching.The result is the exodus of potentially valuable teachers from the publicschool system, as well as increased indifference and frustration on thepart of teachers who elect to remain (Austin, 1998). San Francisco:Jossey-Bass. Thus, the problem ofteacher burnout can be regarded as having a significant and negative impactupon the education system, teachers' themselves, and their students (Byrne,1998). Given the lack of extensive data in theliterature regarding burnout and middle school teachers, the survey will befocused on teachers in this school setting. Constructvalidity of the educators survey. Further, thesedifferentials indicate that burnout - or some other phenomenon - may wellbe at work in leading younger teachers to exit the profession. Middle School Teachers, Burnout, Age and Race/EthnicityStatement of Purpose Burnout has been described as a state of fatigue or frustrationbrought about by an individual's devotion to a cause or way or life (orprofession) that has failed to meet expectations (Vredenburgh, Carlozzi, &Stein, 1999). Burnout in teachers. The factorialvalidity of a teacher burnout measure. 94) further states that teachers' dissatisfactionis broad and deep but close to passive resignation than to activeindignation and "closer to dejection that deflates energy than to angerthat inspires action." This presents the challenge of burnout, the culmination of aprogressive disillusionment and lack of efficacy in which early enthusiasmand dedication ultimately yield to depletion and a loss of caring. Using the MaslachBurnout Inventory (MBI), Holland and Michael (1993) found that teachercharacteristics such as gender, marital status, age, college degree held,number of students for whom responsible, number of years in currentassignment, and number of years in education seemed to be virtuallyunrelated to any one of the indicators of teacher burnout. TheMBI identifies the following feelings in each of the subscales:Emotional Exhaustion ScaleDrained emotionallyFeel used upFeel fatiguedA strain to work with othersFeel burned outFeel frustratedWorking too hardWorking with others is stressfulA perception of being at the end of one's ropeDepersonalization ScaleStudents are treated as objectsA sense of becoming more callousThe job is hardening the teacherLack of interest in what happensSense of being blamed by studentsPersonal Accomplishment ScaleImportance of understanding studentsImportance of dealing effectively with studentsPerception of being a positive influenceSense of energyA feeling of exhilarationA feeling of accomplishmentAn ability to deal calmly with stressAn ability to create a relaxed atmosphere (Gold, et al, 1992). It further represents a state in which individuals expectlittle reward and compensation along with considerable punishment from workbecause of a lack of valued reinforcement, controllable outcomes, orpersonal competence (Vredenburgh, et al, 1999). When reform and change efforts are required, younger teachersmay embrace them enthusiastically, but without the kind of experience whichcan lead to effective follow through. This study examined the relationship between teacher burnout andteacher locus of control and pupil control ideology. TheDepersonalization subscale describes unfeeling and impersonal responses toboth coworkers and recipients of services. The MBI is used to measure dimensions of teacher burnout. He found that student inattentiveness,poor discipline, disrespect, and other behavior problems fostered stresslevels in teachers in all ages, ethnicities, races, experience levels, orboth genders that were associated with increased risk for burnout. Counseling Psychology Quarterly, 12(3), 295-3 5. (1999). Job burnout among teachers seems tooccur within the first seven years of practice, with peaks observed in thesecond and the fifth years of classroom employment. Educational and PsychologicalMeasurement, 52(3), 761-769. Using a sample of15 middle school teachers, comprising 1 1 females and 49 males, theresearchers sought to determine whether or not the MBI was itself a validand reliable instrument for the assessment of factors associated withteacher burnout. This appears to be related to the difficulties many minoritygroup teachers experience in finding teaching assignments that arecontextualized within a nurturing, supporting, collaborative schoolcommunity. Comprehensive schoolteachers at risk of early exit from work. He positions burnout as a majorcause for reform effort failure, and offers insight into how it impactsupon teachers with respect to practice issues, exit decisions, and therelationship between age and burnout. (1993). The literature on teacher burnout is extensive. Evans (1996, p. They also often become focused on material as opposed tointrinsic job rewards. The Clearing House, 71 (4), 214 - 216. Friedman, I.A. Specifically, Evans (1996) maintains that despite career stability,veteran educators do not appear to be enjoying or displaying the benefitsof age and experience. Because the MBI has been used extensively in research focused onburnout among teachers and other members of the various HelpingProfessions, it will be employed as the instrumentation in the proposedstudy. Because teachers are much less mobilethan other professionals and far less likely than college educated workersin general to change occupations or employers, this aging of the facultypresents very real challenges to administrators and others. When teachers do notparticipate enthusiastically in efforts to transform their organizations,or when they participate but do so ineffectively, reform efforts areunlikely to succeed. Friedman (1993) also studied this issue, and found that younger asopposed to older teachers tend to experience burnout at a level sufficientto motivate leaving the profession. Friedman examined the concept of teacher burnout, its core meaningand the efficacy of the MBI. A sample of 3 -4 middle school teachers in an urban school districtwill be constructed. The Emotional Exhaustion subscale describes feelings of beingemotionally overextended and exhausted by one's work. Also offers insight into literature on burnout risk status andcontributing factors. Burnoutin counseling psychologists: Type of practice setting and pertinentdemographics. The study is also limited in thatit is set solely within the context of two urban schools, which may or maynot be typical of middle schools in general or even of urban middle schoolsin particular. Byrne (1998) commented that the research on teacher burnout at themiddle school level is relatively limited and tends to be positioned not inthe context of ethnicity or race, but more specifically with respect tosuch factors as age, school-specific variables and influences, and otherdemographic variables describing disparate populations of teachers. Lackinga sense of efficacy, many teachers become unmotivated and highly resistantto change. They concludedthat the contributions of demographic variables tend to be so specificwithin a particular school or district that it is not possible to fullyreplicate findings or to formulate any broad generalizations acrosseducational settings. The second group ofsubjects will be a matched sample of 15-2 nonminority middle schoolteachers currently employed in a mixed (with respect to race) urban middleschool setting. They also found that older asopposed to younger teachers were at increased risk for an early exit dueless to burnout than other demographic and familial influences. The article is useful in identifying the incidence and scope ofthe problem, and its presentation in teachers of different ages and othercharacteristics. It advances the idea that teachers andschool feel themselves to be under attack from communities, contributing toa sense of futility and enhancing a propensity for burnout. Huber and Garten (1993) examined the causes and consequences ofburnout among rural middle school teachers. Using factor analysis, they reported that theinstrumentation is both reliable and valid and appears to correspond toterms used in an employment setting such as a health service agency orinstitution or a school. It demonstrated reliable and valid findings for the MBI underempirical conditions. Friedman, I.A. Thus, the study is significant in thatit can contribute to understanding of how specific variables orcharacteristics impact upon burnout. The problem is viewed assignificant in a number of fields, especially in education, where researchsuggests that many teachers leave the profession within a few years ofentering (Betancourt-Smith, 1994). Evans' text addresses a number of issues related to school reform,transformational leadership, and change. Thisparticular instrument has been employed in a variety of educational andother settings to identify the most significant set of influences linked toburnout potential or risk status. Hypothesis 2: Younger teachers with less classroom experience or time on the job are more likely to experience burnout and contemplate an exit from the profession than older teachers with more classroom experience or time on the job.The Methodology section of this proposal will describe the research thatwill be undertaken to test these hypotheses.Statement of the Problem Byrne (1998) has commented that as much as 5 percent of America'steachers leave the classroom within the first seven years of experience andnever return, with over two-third of that percentage leaving within fouryears of entry into the profession. Educational and PsychologicalMeasurement, 54(3), 822-83 . Evans (1996)contends that a balanced mixture of career teachers in various stages oftheir career has disappeared from the schools. (1993). These studies, taken as a whole, provide insight into the causes,effects, and explanations for teacher burnout. Mykletun, R.J. The correlation matrix of the 22 item variables on the MBI will besubmitted to exploratory factor analysis involving use of a principalfactors solution followed by orthogonal and oblique rotation of threefactor axes consistent with the presence of three hypothesized factors ascontained in the three subscales of the MBI. Theseresearchers found that age was not particularly significant in terms ofburnout rates, but that the amount of pre-practice education and training ateacher received was associated with burnout risk status. Betancourt-Smith (1994) examined theattrition of minority and nonminority teachers at-risk for burnout andfound that minority teachers were particularly at-risk, but that othervariables (e.g., age, perceived administrative support, marital status,socioeconomic class) also impact upon the risk status of teachers andburnout profiles. Second article by Friedman focuses on student behavior patterns andteacher burnout. Lunenburg, F.C. This article described differences in burnout factors in a sample ofminority and nonminority teachers. Minority and nonminority teachersworking in an environment which is culturally different from their own orwho did not share a pupil or instructional ideology with their colleagueswere at increased risk for leaving due to burnout. The concurrent validity ofthe Holland Burnout Assessment Survey. Identifies key issues in burnout and the reliability of a modifiedMBI. This brief article describes the experiences of a teacher in the NewOrleans public school system. (1995). Singleteachers tended to leave the profession entirely whereas married teachersoften moved into other roles in education, such as administration.Teachers from blue collar backgrounds or teachers who had to work their waythrough college, tended to be more satisfied with their profession and lesslikely to leave than persons from white collar families whose families paidfor the majority of college expenses. Older teachers might view suchinitiatives as doomed to failure or burdensome and be resistant toactivities perceived as unlikely to lead to success. Itis rated on both frequency of feeling and intensity of the feeling on eachsubscale thus producing six dimensions. He thinks that it has become increasingly rare tomeet teachers who radiate enthusiasm or principals who praise teachercompetence. It is anticipated that the proposed study will produce resultssupportive of the two research hypotheses described above. References Austin, P. ED388639. (1993). Continued randomselection procedures will be employed until a total of no less than 15 andno more than 2 teachers in each school setting, subdivided into agesubgroups as described above, is obtained. Using the nth number of randomization, teachers in each ofthese four categories will be asked to participate. In the shadow of expectation: Teachers andlearners at risk. This follow-up study further tested the MBI in a middle schoolsetting. It also providesinformation on how MBI results are best analyzed. It also providedempirical evidence of the reliability and validity of the MBI. Evans, R. A value of zero is given ifthe respondent never experiences the described attitude or feeling. Astudy by Holland and Michael (1993) also examined the middle school as alocus for producing burnout among teachers because of the developmentalcharacteristics of the adolescent population. Teacher as hunger artist: Burnout.Contemporary Education, 69(2), 86-92. They concludedthat the more extensive and intensive a preliminary education inpreparation for teaching became, the less likely a teacher was to exit theprofession. and Garten, T. 1 level (Lunenburg, 1992). Betancourt-Smith (1994) also found that when minority and nonminorityteachers are compared, several similarities can be observed. Educational andPsychological Measurement, 53(4), 1 35-1 45. Teachers complain regularly about stress and beingoverburdened by crowded classrooms, growing instructional andnoninstructional demands, low levels of salary, support, and recognition,and deteriorating conditions in schools and diminishing readiness amongpupils. The authors hypothesized that high burnout scores would increase therisk of early exit from work for teachers. The research hypotheses are stated as follows: Hypothesis 1: Minority teachers are more likely to experience burnout and contemplate an exit from the profession than nonminority teachers. Higher mean scores on Emotional Exhaustion andDepersonalization subscales correspond to greater degrees of experiencedburnout, whereas lower scores on Personal Accomplishment correspond togreater degrees of burnout. Finally, the study willfurther demonstrate the reliability and validity of the MBI and providedirections for future research. Byrne, J.J. The MBI comprises three subscales developed to represent threehypothesized constructs portrayed in subscales entitled EmotionalExhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment, with nine,five, and eight items respectively (Gold, Roth, and Wright, 1992). and Michael W.B. Vredenburgh, L.D., Carlozzi, A.F., and Stein, L.B. Holland, P.J., Michael, W.B., and Kim, S. Betancourt-Smith, M. This data analysismethodology was employed by Gold, et al (1992) and by Lunenburg (1992) intheir independent studies of teacher burnout using the MBI. Gold, Roth, and Wright (1992) have pointed out that there issubstantial empirical support for the constructs contained in the MBI. Friedman (1995) looked at student behavior patterns and theircontribution to teacher burnout. (1998). A lack of adequate parental and community involvement may alsonegatively impact upon minority teachers in urban schools that areovercrowded, underfunded, understaffed, and physically located withineconomically disadvantaged communities. Journal of Instructional Psychology,19(1), 13-23. Gold, Y., Roth, R.A., and Wright, C.R. The purpose of the proposed research study is to examine the issue ofteacher burnout in a sample of public Middle School teachers and toconsider the question of how (and whether) teachers' age and race orethnicity are related to burnout. (1999). Mykletun and Mykletun (1999) studied early exit from work forteachers with regard to burnout, work load, efficacy, and age. The frequency scale ranges from 1(a few times a year or less) to 6 (every day). Byrne provides insight into causes, effects, and remedies forburnout. It also described theresearch undertaken by Maslach and the construction of the MBI as areliable and valid tool for assessing risk for burnout in a number ofprofessional environments.----------------------- 14 Internal consistency of the MBI has been estimated by Cronbach'salpha. It provides an excellent overview of the MBI and wasuseful in methodology construction and data analysis strategies. Though not focused on teachers, this article was useful inidentifying the causes and correlates of burnout. These researchers discoveredthat middle school in comparison to elementary school teachers, were morelikely to report higher levels of stress and burnout. However, it isalso anticipated that the age of the teacher will be shown to be morestatistically significant an influence on burnout status than raceethnicity. It will add to information on theexperience of burnout in the middle school. and Mykletun, A. Subjects will be randomly selected from the roster of full-time, certified and licensed teachers currently on staff at each of the twotarget schools. (1992). He believes that theaverage age of teachers is nearly 45 and that only about 5 percent ofteachers are under 25 years old. They find it difficult in mid-life to cope withindividual demands as well as the familial responsibilities which many mustshoulder. However, Betancourt-Smith (1994) does believe that minority groupteachers are particularly at-risk for experiencing early professionalburnout. A study that examines unique elements of rural middle schoolscontributing to teacher burnout and offers possible remedies for theproblem. Experimental Aging Research,25(4), 359-367. (1998). Paper presentedat the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association,Nashville, Tennessee. (1994). The reliability coefficients for the subscales are at acceptablelevels, and test-retest reliability for the six dimensions of the MBI havebeen shown to be significant beyond the . The Human Side of School Change. At thesame time, Friedman (1995) identified personality characteristics (e.g.,excitability, idealism, dedication, and compulsiveness as well as locus ofcontrol) as having equally significant impact on teacher burnout. The teachers participating in the study will be asked to complete theMBI and confidentiality of responses will be maintained by assigning a codenumber to each of the two main study groups based on ethnicity/race and thesubgroups based on length of time in classroom teaching. Conversely, older teachers experiencing personal or familialhealth problems were more likely to experience concomitant burnout andelect to leave the profession before retirement age. Fifteen to twenty of the subjects will be randomlyselected African-American teachers currently employed in middle schoolsserving a predominantly minority student population. The instrument does not compute one finalscore for burnout, but offers separate scores that provide for morenarrowly framed analysis of results on this question and help to identifywhich of the three constructs addressed by the MBI are most definitivelyrendering the teacher at-risk for burnout (Lunenburg, 1992). Itconsists of 22 items forming the three subscales described above (i.e.,Emotional Exhaustion, Personal Accomplishment, and Depersonalization). Theintensity scale ranges from 1 (very mild, barely noticeable) to 7 (major,very strong) (Lunenburg, 1992). Half of the subjects in eachgroup will be teachers with no more than 7 years of classroom experience,with the balance of subjects presenting more than 7 years of classroomexperience. Journal of Educational Research, 88(5), 281-29 . (1994). Educational and PsychologicalMeasurement, 53(4), 1 67-1 78. Despite these limitations, the proposed study has the potential togenerate new knowledge regarding the relationship between teachers' age andrace and their risk status for burnout. Both groups will be stratified to reflect internaldivisions on the basis of age of teachers. The next section of thisreport will a research methodology used to more closely explore theseissues.Description of Methodology The proposed study consists of a quasi-experimental two by twofactorial analysis of the relationship between age and ethnicity/race andteacher burnout risk status. These are among the effects of teacher burnoutidentified by Evans (1996) and Friedman (1993), as well as Byrne (1998). Huber, J.D. They found that inexperiencedteachers tended to react more negatively to work-associated stress butfound no correlation between ethnicity, race, and burnout risk status. He found depersonalization and emotionalexhaustion to have the greatest impact on burnout. Other factors that have been identified as negatively impactingon minority teachers include a lack of adequate financial and otherresources for meeting school goals and objectives or meeting students'needs. Thereis little work evident in the literature that specifically addresses thequestion of race or ethnicity. It identified economic and familialvariables as well as marital status as having an impact on burnout statusin both groups. The proposed study is limited in that it includes a smallsample of teachers stratified according to both age/experience and furthersegmented according to ethnicity/race. (1992). (1996). Causes, consequences, andreduction of distress and burnout among rural middle school teachers.Rural Educator, 14(3), 11-13.
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