Burnout, Perceived Efficacy, and Job Satisfaction: Perception of the Educational Context in High School Teachers

Abstract

Burnout is closely related to personal and contextual variables, especially job satisfaction and commitment, and other less studied psychological variables, such as perception of teaching efficacy or educational context. Objective. The general objective of this study was to examine the relationships of burnout with perceived educational context, perceived teaching efficacy (personal and collective), and job satisfaction and commitment. Materials and Methods. A battery of instruments was administered to 500 high school teachers at different schools in several Italian provinces. Results. The cluster analysis found that one-third of high school teachers had high burnout. Evidence was also found associating elevated burnout with low scores in perceived efficacy (personal and collective), low job satisfaction, and low professional commitment. Furthermore, perception of the educational context is less positive when the teachers experience high levels of burnout. Finally, the results showed the mediating effect of perceived personal efficacy on the relationship between burnout and job satisfaction. Conclusions. The results are discussed from the perspective of developing teaching autonomy on improving personal efficacy, decreasing burnout, and increasing job satisfaction in an educational system which reinforces individual and collective competence.