LOCUS OF CONTROL IN GEORGIAN TEACHERS AND ITS RELATION TO TEACHER BURNOUT

Abstract

The intensive reforms taking place in general education field in Georgia impose considerable stress to those engaged in teaching profession. This may gradually lead to the condition of professional burnout of teachers. According to the conducted research some teachers have experienced burnout while others did not. The purpose of the present research is to identify how the personal quality such as control of locus may have influenced the level of burnout in Georgian teachers. Two self-assessment instruments, Rotter Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), were used in this research to measure control of locus type and level of burnout among Georgian teachers. Two questionnaires were distributed among 407 teachers at Public schools of Georgia. After dismissing inaccurately filled out questionnaires the analysis was conducted based on the data received from 373 questionnaires. The research findings revealed that Georgian teachers with internal locus of control are less likely to become professional burnout victims. Significant correlations proved to exist between locus of control orientation and teacher burnout on Emotional Exhaustion (EE) and Personal Achievements (PA) subscales of MBI. The article explores the opportunities to change locus of control from external to internal as a part of teacher professional development activities guided by school Principals and through redesigning of teacher preparation programs in order to make teachers more resistant to professional burnout. Key words: teacher burnout, locus of control, teacher preparation programs.