Teacher burnout

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[edit] Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms, types of

Descriptions

  • When a teacher cannot perform the day-to-day duties of teaching due to a sense of tiredness, frustration, exhaustion, and/or hopelessness. The teacher either leaves the situation or stays in the same position and, in general, is unsuccessful or ineffective as a teacher.
  • A teacher's loss of idealism and enthusiasm for work (Matheny, Gfroerer, and Harris 2000).
  • "An extreme type of role-specific alienation with a focus on feelings of meaninglessness, especially as this applies to one's ability to successfully reach students" (Wood, McCarthy 2000).
  • "Syndrome resulting from teachers' inability to protect themselves against threats to their self esteem and well being" (Haberman)

Definitions

  • Scholars define teacher burnout as a condition caused by depersonalization, exhaustion and a diminished sense of accomplishment (Schwab et al. 1986).
  • One of the most down to earth definitions described teachers as no longer considering themselves professionals, rather just paid individuals.

Synonyms

  • suffer exhaustion
  • be exhausted
  • be used up, finished

History of the Term

  • Freudenberger, a psychiatrist, is largely credited for first using the term "teacher burnout" (Wood, McCarthy 2000)

Types of

Teachers can be burned out from:

  • a specific school
  • a specific subject or grade level
  • K-12 teaching (moving to higher education, K-12 administration, state level positions)
  • the field of education completely

Symptoms of teach burnout include: anxiety and frustration, impaired performance, and ruptured interpersonal relationships at work and home (Wood, McCarthy 2000).

Are You Burnt Out?

Do work activities you once found enjoyable now feel like drudgery? Have you become more cynical or bitter about your job, your boss or the company? Are non-work relationships (marital, family, friendships) affected by your feelings about work?

Do you find yourself:

dreading going to work in the morning? easily annoyed or irritated by your co-workers? envious of individuals who are happy in their work? caring less now than you used to about doing a "good job" at work?

Are you:

regularly experiencing fatigue and low energy levels at your job? easily bored with your job? depressed on Sunday afternoons thinking about Monday and the coming week?

If you answered yes to five or more of the above, you may be suffering from job burnout. 

 (Adapted from Recognizing Job Burnout The Counseling Corner by the American Counseling Association, written by Audrey L. Canaff)

Causes for Teacher Burnout

Burnout is the result of a long period of stress. Stress comes from the perception of a teacher that the resources available to deal with the stress are not adequate. In other words, the stressors (demands from the job) outweigh the resources available to deal with the demands. Example: "Teachers must face a classroom full of students every day, negotiate potentially stressful interactions with parents, administrators, counselors, and other teachers, contend with relatively low pay and shrinking school budgets, and ensure students meet increasingly strict standards of accountability." (Wood, McCarthy 2000).

One interesting aspect of teacher burnout is the thought that younger teachers are experiencing burnout due to lack of mentoring. It is the hope that guidance from a more experienced teacher will aide in the way prospective and novice teachers handle the stress of the job.

[edit] Preventing Teacher Burnout

Researchers point out that it is easier to prevent teacher burnout than it is to reverse it once teacher burnout has developed. Preventative measures can be taken at the organizational level (changes in school environment) or at the individual level (strengthen teachers' resouces for resisting stress).

Interventions the school system can take to prevent teacher burnout:

  • Offer professional development activities
  • Stress management workshops
  • Relaxation training
  • Time management workshops
  • Nutrition, exercise and coping skills training.
  • Improve working conditions
  • Classroom environment
  • Salary issues
  • Accommodate cultural differences
  • Religious events/holidays

Section from The REBOOTING of a Teacher's Mind written by Brenda Dyck and she has complied a list of sites to help teachers become excited of their profession and connect with other teachers.Rebooting Online Companion

[edit] Evidence of effectiveness

Teachers who exhibit characteristics of being burned out are not effective in the classroom. They feel that they can no longer be responsible for the behavior or learning of the students in their classroom. Burned out teachers are not effective in the classroom because "burnouts who remain use significantly less task oriented behavior (i.e. less hands-on, active learning), and provide fewer positive reinforcements to their students (Koon, 1971). They also have negative effects on student performance (Young 1976). The reseach supports the contention that stress affects teachers' effectiveness with students (Blase 1982). When teachers feel good about their work student achievement rises (Black 2001)." (Haberman)

[edit] Critics and their rationale

Although it is difficult to find anyone that would disagree that teacher burnout does exist, there are some critics that say we do not have adequate data to determine the best way to prevent teacher burnout. Matt Jarvis, claims that, as of 2002, searches using PsychINFO, ERIC and British Education Index only found two studies within five years. This would indicate that programs offering solutions to teacher burnout may not have enough research to create effective solutions.

[edit] Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations

According to an article titled, NEA Offers Tips to Recruit Minority Teachers, "Minority teachers suffer burnout and frustration caused by on-the-job hazards such as discipline problems, school violence, and the lack of colleague support." NEA Offers Tips to Recruit Minority Teachers

Other facts about teacher burnout and diversity (findings taken from: Martin Haberman, Teacher Burnout in Black and White):

  • "Stress appears to be more prevalent in large school systems than in smaller ones"
  • "rural teachers feel great stress from time demands and the conditions of work, while urban teachers attributed greater stress to discipline and behavior problems"
  • females tend to be more satisfied with their job of teaching than males
  • "Elementary teachers report less stress than secondary teachers"
  • "Younger less experienced teachers report feelings of greater alienation, powerlessness and greater stress"
  • There is no difference amoung white, African American and other ethnic groups for the reasons why teachers burnout
  • "The highest attrition rate for new teachers is in schools serving minority populations"

[edit] Signed life experiences, testimonies and stories

I have been teaching for approximately 8 years in urban educational settings. I have taught in high schools that were ranked by Newsweek and Atlanta Magazine as well as for high schools that were low performing. The best year I ever had teaching was my second year when I got hired by a phenomonal principal named Marion Collins. It was the best year because I had just come from a low performing school and did everything I could to help students. I had tutorials, made lesson plans available so they could refer to them when they were absent but regardless of all that the students didn't seem to care because they knew administrators would change the grades so all of them would pass. At the school I went to my second year, students knew they were going to be held accountable so they worked hard. Foolish behavior was not allowed and was dealt with immediately. Moreover, the principal was supportive of staff and talked to us on a personal level. Beyond that she made us feel like professionals and trusted us. She spoke with us rather than to us. That was the best year I have ever taught.

Leadership is the key in helping teachers not have teacher burnout. When principals talk down to teachers, don't enforce school rules, and don't back teachers up when students are not fulfilling their academic responsibility teacher burn out is inevitable. For the past five or more years I have had ineffective administrators that blame everything on the teacher. It seems to me simple. If a student does not fulfill their academic responsiblities they should be held accountable and fail. However due to the high stake tests and cash bonuses that can be made most principals don't care and will do whatever is necessary to meet expected numbers so that they can earn more money rather than making sure that students have mastered skills in school that will allow them to compete in our global economy.

I have finally realized the public educational system is broken and the mass majority of people aren't willing to overhaul it to create and educational system that prepares are youth for the future. Unfortunately, experienced teachers and administrators find ways to harass new innovative teachers into submitting into mediocrity instead of excellence. They do not concentrate on real issues that would help improve student academic achievement by providing students and parents with resources that will help them excel. They would rather hold onto antiquated notions of society and prepare students for that which does not exist because they are afraid of change themselves. Consequently, they force teachers into submitting to teaching standards with no creativity.

I have participated in summer institutes on various historical topics sponsored by the National Endowment for Humanities to try and gain a sense of hope. I usually am hopeful and excited but when I return to public schools, I realize the administrators don't care what you do to enhance kids understanding they just want you to teach standards. Gmanty

Personally I think one of the key ways to avoid teacher burnout is like any other job. You have to make sure you get away from it at times. I see a lot of young teachers just get completly overwhelmed and forget that sometimes whether you feel like you can or not you need to go home and not worry or do any school work. Even a day or two can reenergize a person. I also believe that other teachers play a major role in preventing teacher burnout. Have some fun at school! We do all kinds of things whether it is getting together to play cards or going out to eat. It gives everyone an opportunity to relax and blow off steam. Also have fun at school. A few weeks ago the social studies and English department had a so called pretend war. We sent some funny memos back and forth and everyone in the school got a good laugh out of it. In early March when school seems like it has been going on for ever and the weather is crappy something like that can relax everyone a little.

As a teacher for over 20 years I have seen my share of teacher burnout. Personally I have not experienced that. I think my teaching experience is unique as an itinerant teacher, my day is often varied and seldom the same. I often worry that the parents of my students will burn out. Raising children is a difficult task and the constancy of raising a child with special needs is a strenuous stress filled one. I know there are resources for parents but I don't think many parents take advantage of the support available to them. As a teacher, I think technology and especially the internet has opened new avenues of support. One that I particularly enjoy is Teachers First.[1]

I believe that I suffer from the beginnings of teacher burnout, and I'm relieved that I will have the summer months to regroup myself. In small school districts teachers are expected to take on many responsibilities, and often times new teachers are given the bulk of the load. The first years of teaching are difficult enough without extracurriculars and committee memberships. More than discipline problems and a lack of excitement at work, I think that teachers burn out because they feel under appreciated. We work hard, and if that hard work is not recognized by the students, their parents, or the administration, there really isn't much reason to continue working hard. S. Borkgren

I believe that there is teacher burnout because the teacher has not found the discipline problem that works for him/her. When a teacher has to deal day in day out with discipline problems, it wears them down. About 20 years ago I worked with a first year teacher who only lasted one year. I tried to offer my assistance, but I didn't want to be too pushy and she didn't seem to be very receptive of my advice. She was getting more and more frustrated each day and it was from both dealing with the students and/or parents. (I didn't have the same problems because I had a reputation and discipline in my classroom.) I asked the principal to help her, but he didn't seem to know what to do. Needless to say, she left. S. Morrisette

It seems that many special education teachers have burnout. I believe that this is from all the extra responsiblities they have each year. One of our special educations teacher this year has been told that she will be in charge of the developmental curriculum. She has many responsibilities that make it difficult for her to even take time to eat her lunch. She has been teaching for many years - close to 20 years- and she has said that she will not be able to do this again next year. She does a wonderful job, but sometimes it can be very overwhelming. I was always told to become a special education teacher because there are always openings. That did not entice me because I knew that the openings were the cause of burnout. Nichole Jessup

I believe teacher burnout is likely to happen when teachers are not properly supported in their classroom. Our class sizes have increased yearly and it seems along with the additional students, more students with special needs have appeared. Many teachers are supported by a special education aide, however there is not a sufficient number of aides to support all of the special needs students in every classroom. With a class of 30 students, it is difficult to keep the learning atmosphere, let alone attend to the individual needs of students. I can see how the lack of support could definately contribute to teacher burnout. Chris Snodgrass

Opportunities must exist for teachers to change positions within a school before teacher burnout occurs. This has happened at my school. When a teacher has been teaching a particular grade or subject for many years, he naturally becomes bored with the material and the types of misbehaviors of a particular age group. The majority of our school's faculty had been teaching the same grade level and subject for ten or more years. Last year, we had a major shakeup, with many teachers assigned new grade levels or subject areas. This could have caused many hard feelings among teachers, but it actually turned out to be very successful. Teachers were offered a new challenge, and prepared in many creative ways for the new classes they are teaching this year. I was one of those teachers affected. I had been the technology coordinator for eight years, and this year, I teach eighth grade math. It inspired me to work hard, and I was a new face to the students. Throughout our school, the students and faculty responded well to the changes, and it was a very good strategy for battling teacher burnout. Pat Reed

I think some teacher burnout can be attributed to the fact that most teachers are overachievers. They want to do the best job they can in all areas of their life. The need to excel starts to pull that teacher in too many directions. We all want what is best for our students. If we see a need in a student, we try to find a way to fulfill that need, even if it causes us extra time. With increased class sizes, the burden becomes too much for one person to bear. This is the point when teachers start to burnout. I almost had teacher burnout my very first year of teaching. I had 5 classes to prep for, plus I had to sponsor the speech team, drama club (putting on 2 plays) and the Key Club. To make matters worse, none of the classes I was teaching had any set curriculum or textbooks. I about killed myself trying to come up with exciting, meaningful lessons for all my classes. There just wasn't enough time or support to do all that I wanted to do. Luckily for me, I got a different job the following year, which I love and always feel supported. Amy Higgins

I experience this phenomenon annually right around May. On a serious note, I feel that the leading cause of teacher burn out is not the student. As a teacher, I have trained researched on how to deal with students. I have never taken an education class or any other form of formal training that helps me deal with the politics in a school or district. H. Ro

I think there are more demands placed on teachers that can be attributed to teacher burnout. Teachers wear a variety of hats, advocates for their students, social worker, parent educator, and many more. If a beginning, as well as a veteran, teacher do not have the support that they need they may experience burnout and decide to leave the teaching profession. LilY Jimenez

I felt the beginnings of teacher burnout when I taught in our district's alternative high school, for at-risk students. Fortunately, our district is aware of the stress involved in teaching at this school and they try to rotate teachers out every 3 - 4 years. Now I have regular classes, but I feel that the majority of my school is suffering from burnout. We implemented (or attempted to implement) smaller learning communities this year and it has just added work to the teacher's normal workload. I have not talked to one teacher who hasn't said 'I can't wait for this school year to end.' E. Morrison

I work in a subject area that is rife with burnout. When I told my high school band director that I was going to follow in his footsteps, I was told to expect to last no longer than ten years in a high school job. In many cases, being at the helm of a high school music program can quickly take is toll on the teacher. Schedules are crazy, most often causing long separations from family and social contact. There are great demands from the students, administrators, community groups, and parents, which tend to pull the music teacher in multiple directions. The important things to remember to prevent burnout are keeping things in perspective, watching weight and stress levels, constantly try new things, and find support from someplace to help. High School Music does not have to be a ten year job. S. Luxbacher

After nine years of working in a public school as a special education teacher, I started to experience symptoms of burnout. I enjoy helping students learn and I feel that teaching is an honorable profession, but at the same time, working with students that have special needs is very difficult. As a special education teacher I dealt with a very difficult population of students, received very little parent support, and little cooperation from regular education teachers and the school administration. I felt that each task of everyday was an uphill battle, and received very little if any appreciation for the work that I did. G. Hall

As a child, I always had this dreamy view of teaching and could not wait to become a teacher. Now that I am a teacher and going on my 5th year, I am still content in my profession, but feeling burnt out does happen every now and then. As a teacher, I have felt overwhelmed on days I had to go to school by 6am in the morning, teach all day (barely having time to sit down, let alone eat lunch), take home so much paperwork/grading, return to school in the evenings for various functions and not get paid any overtime. I am in teaching for greater reasons and will never leave it because I love it so much and it is so rewarding, but there are times when I look around and see how much "more" people in the business world are getting, how their schedules are set, no take home work, compensation for anything and everything they do outside of their normal work day...it is easy to feel under-appreciated and burnt-out. That is why it is so important to have a good network of fellow teachers to share with because there are so many physical and emotional strains on teachers...seen and unseen. JP

As a younger teacher I see teacher burnout alot in the district that I work in. Recently there was a retiring teacher that had "given up" back in August. The teachers, parents, administration and students all knew that this teacher did not care and walked all over this teacher. It was a horrible site. -Chris Royer-

I replaced a band director who changed positions within the district because of burnout. He let everything go within his classroom. There were more than 50 unplayable instruments all over the room, the music library was (and still is, unfortunately) unorganized and parts are not at all in the correct place, if they do exist, and the students have told me that they got away with much more than they should have with this teacher. I once asked them if I was expecting too much of them to be quiet while I was talking and they told me that Mr. ----- never cared or disciplined us when we didn't listen to him. The music teaching was also absent as evidenced by my students' lack of abilities to read and understand basic scales and high school clarinet players that had never played above the break....It will be interesting to have my own beginners outplay the older students that I did not start. -Missy Legutki

I've been teaching high school and middle school math for 18 years. My first teaching job was in a small rural school district teaching advanced level courses. I felt energized by that experience. After 2 years, I moved to Philadelphia, Pa. and taught math in a large suburban district. I felt unsupported, left on my own to "figure it out". I left teaching after 3 years there. I spent the next 5 years working in a bank. When I was ready to go back into teaching, I felt that I was more mature and ready. I got a job in a medium sized suburban district near Columbus, Ohio. My first 2 years in that district, I had some good and some trying experiences, but I had a great mentor teacher. He made all of the difference for me. I felt supported in lesson planning and discipline planning. We were the same age and it felt more like we were on the same level as colleagues rather than having a mentor-mentee relationship. I stayed in that school district for 10 years, becoming well respected by my peers and my students. Once again, I am teaching in a very large suburban district. I am having a good experience. We have a good math department, sharing planning and lesson ideas. I feel that when district administration, and building principals realize that their most valuable assest is their teachers, they will offer programs designed to support the teachers in planning, sharing, and classroom management. District and buiding support like this will reduce teacher burnout for good teachers and for young teachers with potential. -Lee Wilkinson

Support for teachers is very important in the school system so teachers do not feel alone. I also think that working closely with other teachers at the same grade level can be a great support as well. If you are struggling with a particular student and can't think of anything else to try, having some other people that have fresh ideas can make a huge difference. This has helped me out a lot in my first few years of teaching. E. Kilroy

[edit] References and other links of interest

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