“I don’t want to teach anymore” - burnout syndrome among the English teachers

Poland, ID LLCE2016-365;             One of the major concerns of occupational psychology is the effectiveness of human activity in the place of one's employment. Therefore, scientists are not only concerned about the shape of employees' effectiveness but also about their feelings and job satisfaction. Teaching is regarded as one of the most demanding and involving professions. Teaching does not only mean transferring knowledge. It means dedication, engagement as well as educational and emotional support. Burnout syndrome defined as “a chronic and negative psychological state caused by professional work” (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998: 36) can be often noticed among teachers. The aim of this presentation is to provide an outline of the research on the burnout syndrome starting with a brief description of the burnout syndrome, the main causes and its consequences among teachers. The study, which is to be presented, was conducted among English teachers from different types of schools – Primary School, Junior High School and Secondary School. The main aim of the study was to find out what kind of teachers are likely to be affected by the burnout syndrome and what the consequences are. More than 100 English teachers participated in the study and they were asked to fill in an adjusted version of Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) (Maslach and Jackson, 1986). The most interesting data is to be presented and analysed in the presentation.

References:

Maslach, C  & Jackson, S.E. (1986). Maslach Burnout Inventory manual (2^nd ed.). CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA

Schaufeli, W. B. & Enzmann, D. (1998). The burnout companion to study and practice: A critical analysis. London: Taylor & Francis.