PREDICTORS OF TEACHER BURNOUT

Abstract

This paper describes the nature of burnout among teachers, examines the differences in burnout between teachers and school‐based administrators, and explores the extent to which specific work factors predict teacher burnout. Teachers were experiencing less Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization burnout, but more Personal Accomplishment burnout than other helping service professionals. Their levels of Emotional Exhaustion and Personal Accomplishment burnout were higher than those for administrators. Both job satisfaction and job challenge were significant predictors of each burnout sub‐scale. The findings indicate that burnout is both the result of organizational factors such as work load, as well as the result of failure of the job to satisfy the motivational needs of teachers to be challenged and rewarded by their work. These results dispute some established research findings, and contribute new evidence to the growing data base on educator burnout.