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Research papers on Teacher burnout

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  2. Special Education Teacher Burnout: A Synthesis of Research from 1979 to 2013

    Nelson C. Brunsting, Melissa A. Sreckovic, Kathleen Lynne Lane · 2014 · Education and Treatment of Children · 480 citations

    Teacher burnout occurs when teachers undergoing stress for long periods of time experience emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment (Maslach, 2003). Outcomes associated with burnout include teacher attrition, teacher health issues, and negative student outcomes. Special educators are at high risk for burnout as their working conditions align with many factors associated with burnout. In this review, we updated the literature on special education teacher working conditions by reviewing studies (N = 23) that (a) included a quantitative measure of burnout and (b) focused on special education teachers as participants. An analysis of the studies reviewed provid

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  3. Well-Being, Burnout and Competence : Implications for Teachers.

    Hitendra K. Pillay, Richard Goddard, Lynn A. Wilss · 2005 · ˜The œAustralian journal of teacher education · 234 citations

    Traditionally, the teaching role has been one of nurturing and developing students’ potential. However, teachers’ work today comprises a complex mix of various factors that include teaching; learning new information and skills; keeping abreast of technological innovations and dealing with students, parents and the community. These are demanding roles and there are growing concerns about teacher well-being and competence. In particular, teachers are experiencing increasing levels of attrition, stress and burnout. This study investigated the relationship between burnout and competence for a sample of mid-career teachers in primary and secondary schools in Queensland. The results break new grou

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  5. ‘Overworked and underappreciated’: special education teachers describe stress and attrition

    Olivia R. Hester, Shannon A. Bridges, Lauren Hart Rollins · 2020 · Teacher Development · 133 citations

    Rising attrition rates and the shortage of highly qualified special education teachers have a negative impact on students and school districts. This study explores the open-ended questions that were part of a larger mixed-method analysis to uncover the voices of current special education teachers (n = 366) from across the United States. Using their own words, teachers identify work-related stressors and express their reasonings behind leaving the field of special education. Overall, results indicate that teachers did not feel supported by their administrators and that their profession had an adverse effect on their overall quality of life, thereby contributing to feelings of burnout. Recomme

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  7. A brief mindfulness-based intervention (bMBI) to reduce teacher stress and burnout

    Stephen G. Taylor, Alex M. Roberts, Nicole R. Zarrett · 2021 · Teaching and Teacher Education · 82 citations

    Teacher stress and burnout contribute to attrition and stress-related health concerns. Despite some positive effects, previous mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) have failed to incorporate key elements of methodological rigor and have included large dosages despite research suggesting that such dosages are iatrogenic. The current study demonstrates the efficacy of a brief MBI (bMBI; four sessions, six total hours) to reduce self-reported stress, burnout, and depression, and suggests the bMBI can protect against deleterious impacts to physiological functioning. The study informs the design and implementation of future MBIs, including strategies for reducing intervention dosages, in order t

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  9. Compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress in teachers: How they contribute to burnout and how they are related to trauma-awareness

    G. Oberg, A. Carroll, S. Macmahon · 2023 · 50 citations

    Introduction Teachers play an integral role in providing positive life experiences for their students and are especially crucial for students who are experiencing or have experienced a trauma in their lives. In Australia however, teachers are increasingly stating that they do not plan on remaining in the profession causing media and governments to warn of a teacher shortage. Several key factors for teacher attrition have been proposed, with burnout being described as a contributing factor). Studies which have focused specifically on teachers’ experiences working with students with histories of trauma have suggested links between lack of trauma-aware training and increased levels of compassio

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  11. Wellness as a Mitigating Factor for Teacher Burnout

    Michelle Welch Brasfield, Chloe Lancaster, Y. Xu · 2019 · Journal of Education · 30 citations

    Teacher stress and burnout have been associated with professional dissatisfaction and elevated rates of attrition. Knowledge has emerged to indicate that wellness may relieve professional stress that can precede burnout and departure from the profession; however, more research is needed to substantiate this relationship. The current study examined the potentially militating function of wellness in lowering burnout. For this study, 107 PreK-12th grade teachers completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Educator Survey and the Five-Factor Wellness Inventory. Results indicate significant relationships between reported burnout with wellness indicators and attrition. Implications for teachers, teach

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  16. Australian Secondary Schools and the Teacher Crisis: Understanding Teacher Shortages and Attrition

    Sandra Caudal · 2022 · Education and Society · 11 citations

    The current teacher shortages in Australia are crippling the education sector. Schools have great difficulties in recruiting teachers and retaining the existing workforce. An unmanageable workload is to blame for teacher attrition as well as unsafe working conditions, high stress and burnout. The only way out of this crisis is a significant alleviation of the workload, and a review of the education system that mirrors the realities of a changing world.

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  18. Building Resilience: Strategies to Combat Burnout and Attrition in New Special Education Teachers

    K. Jackson, La'Chandra C. Parker · 2023 · Journal of Special Education Preparation · 9 citations

    This article presents an overview of literature on special education teacher burnout and attrition, which has historically been a significant challenge that culminates in a cycle of teacher shortages and subsequent negative outcomes for students with disabilities. As a proactive measure to combat special education teacher stress, burnout, and attrition within the first few years of service, the article presents a framework (addressed as SMIRC) centered on practical, tangible strategies to take directly to the classroom for teachers, administrators, and Educator Preparation Programs. Recommendations for practice are included as supportive, proactive strategies aimed at increasing special educ

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  19. A Self-Care and Wellness Framework in Educator Preparation to Address Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, and Secondary Traumatic Stress

    Sara Werner Juárez, A. B. Becton · 2024 · Action in Teacher Education · 8 citations

    ABSTRACT As a result of stress, burnout, and attrition, the U.S. has perpetual teacher shortages. While systemic changes are necessary to improve the field of education, teaching as a helping profession is stressful, with multiple job responsibilities and roles. In addition to work-related stress and burnout, teachers are also affected by compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress (STS). This article provides a self-care and wellness framework for faculty at educator preparation programs to embed across coursework and clinical practice, supporting preservice teachers (PSTs) through a preventative approach. We explain each construct and follow up with case studies to illustrate how sig

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  22. Exploring professional quality of life in the context of language teacher attrition

    K. C. Gecewicz, Laurel Hodges, Tammy Greer · 2025 · Foreign Language Annals · 5 citations

    This study investigates the professional quality of life among 124 K‐12 language teachers in the U.S. to explore factors influencing teacher attrition. Participants reported moderate levels of burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction, with secondary traumatic stress levels significantly higher than levels reported by educators in other disciplines. Lower compassion satisfaction and higher burnout correlated with thoughts of leaving, though secondary traumatic stress showed no significant relationship. Demographic factors such as first language and target language were found to influence professional quality of life, and although over half of the participants indicated

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  23. From Stress to Burnout: A Systematic Review of Teacher Occupational Burnout

    · 2025 · International Journal of Advanced Research in Education and Society · 2 citations

    Teacher occupational burnout remains a pressing global issue with profound implications for educational systems. This review synthesizes existing literature to examine its prevalence, consequences, determinants, and theoretical underpinnings. Findings indicate alarmingly high burnout rates globally, driven by the interplay of personal factors (e.g., emotional regulation deficits), occupational stressors (e.g., excessive workloads), and socio-environmental pressures (e.g., societal expectations). Framed by the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and Maslach’s tripartite theory, burnout manifests through emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced accomplishment, undermining teacher we

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  24. Letter from a teacher: A plea for school-university partners to rethink educator burnout and attrition through an ethic of care

    S. Drew, Kate Atwood Heyboer, Betsy J. Paddock, et al. · 2024 · PDS Partners: Bridging Research to Practice · 2 citations

    PurposeGuided by several of the 9 essentials of what it means to be a PDS (NAPDS, 2021), authors share a plea to rethink the teacher burnout-attrition-staffing crisis with a call toward a moral imperative of recentering an ethic of care. Many schools are operating under anti-care practices which directly undermine teacher wellness in part due to secondary traumatic stress, rising workload demands and intensive student needs.Design/methodology/approachReflecting a compilation of teacher voices, including participants from three research studies and the collective decades-worth experience of educator scholars, this paper presents a synthesis of educator burnout and the role of educator wellnes

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