Burnout among UPM Teachers of Postgraduate Studies. Naemeh Nahavandi

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1 Burnout among UPM Teachers of Postgraduate Studies Naemeh Nahavandi Introduction The concept of burnout has become an issue for a long time. At first it was introduced in health care professions; however, the empirical data shows that teachers are at high risk of burnout as well (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001; Shaufeli & Buunk, 2002). Considering the heavy workload of teachers, it is not surprising to find some teachers either stressed or burnout. Teachers burnout is worth studying due to the fact that teachers who are burnout cannot perform the day-to-day duties of teaching due to the sense of tiredness, frustration and exhaustion. Gough (2000, cited in Croom, 2003) claims that these days the credibility of teachers has been eroded as the public offers competing and often conflicting solutions to the problems of education.the teacher either leaves the situation or stays in the same position but the teacher is unsuccessful or ineffective as a teacher. Researchers point out that it is easier to prevent teacher burnout than it is to reverse it once teacher burnout has developed. Previous studies have found widespread burnout in professions that require face-to-face relations and it has been a major concern in the literature of educational research (Barut and Kalkan, 2002; Halbesleben and Buckley, 2004; Maslach and Jackson, 1981; Schaufeli and Buunk, 2003; Wilkerson and Bellini; 2006). In general terms burnout is defined as a negative psychological experience that is a reaction of people to job-related stress (Maslach, 1982; Beemsterboer & Baum, 1984; Ratiff, 1988, cited in Sari, 2004). Herbert Freudenberger (1974, cited in Duatepe & Akkus, 2004) set up first definition of the term burnout as the state of physical and emotional depletion which results from conditions of work. Maslach and Jackson (1981) developed the Freudenberger s initial explanation of burnout. They asserted that burnout comprises three factors: Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Reduced Personal

2 Accomplishment. Emotional exhaustion, where teachers feel worn-out and drained, and are emotionally overwhelmed and frustrated. Depersonalization is shown through teachers who distance themselves from students and treat students impersonally with negative attitudes or callous responses to people. Reduced personal accomplishment, is where teachers feel inefficient, have low morale, and feel inadequate to achieve their work demands. For Maslach & Jackson (1981) burnout is manifested in the following ways: work overload, lack of control over one s work environment, lack of community among teachers in the school, lack of fairness in work assignments and the uneven distribution or absence of reward. For Mullins (1993, cited in Croom, 2003) the daily job demands placed on teachers are the major causes of unrelieved stress. Sari (2004) points out to other variables such as poor working conditions, staff relationships, unsatisfactory school management and administration, feelings of low status, relationships with students parents and pressure from the school administration, together with business people, local administrators and criticism from the wider community, which he claims affect burnout and job satisfaction negatively ( p. 293). Due to the reason that teaching is a stressful profession, with negative features like, teaching large size classes, conflicts with administration and demanding or unsupportive parents, high level of stress for some period of time may develop burnout characteristics which can lead to less sympathy and reduced patience towards students, failure to prepare lessons adequately and a lack of commitment to the teaching profession and feeling burnout. The above mentioned variables affect most teachers at some point in their professional experiences (Cheek et al, 2003; Dorman, 2003, cited in Duatepe & Akkus, 2004). Although burnout among teachers have been studied with regard to demographical factors, very few (if any) addressed nationality and teaching subject. This study focused on comparing Iranian with non-iranian teachers teaching English and non-english subjects.

3 Objectives The study attempted to investigate: the extent to which Iranian instructors experience personal accomplishment in their work. the extent to which non- Iranian instructors experience personal accomplishment in their work. the extent to which Iranian instructors experience depersonalization in their work. the extent to which non- Iranian instructors experience depersonalization in their work. the extent to which Iranian instructors experience emotional exhaustion in their work. the extent to which non- Iranian instructors experience emotional exhaustion in their work. whether burnout among instructors is influenced by gender. whether burnout among instructors is influenced by teaching subject. Method Sample The population of this descriptive study is teachers from different nationalities (Iranian, Malay, Chinese and Indian). 71 teachers, who have been teaching part time and also perusing their postgraduate studies in UPM University, were requested to fill up 2

4 questionnaires, one including some demographical questions and the other Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). It is worth mentioning that among 71 respondents 25 (% 35.2) were male and 46 (% 64.8) were female. 32 of the respondents (% 45.07) were non-iranian and the rest (39, %54.93), were Iranian. 39 (%54.93) were English teachers, while other 32 teachers (% 45.07) were teaching other subjects. They were at the age range of 25 to 56. Instruments Maslach Burnout Inventory In order to collect the data for this experiment, a demographical questionnaire and MBI were used to determine the frequency of burnout in respondents. The MBI-ES is a well known instrument used to assess burnout in teachers and educational administrators (Maslach, Jackson & Schwab, 1986). The MBI-ES includes 22 statements which describes the feelings an individual might have as a result of being over-stressed or burned out. Respondents were requested to indicate the frequency at which they experienced these feelings by selecting from a list of six response choices. That ranged from 0 (Never) to 6 (Everyday). As it was mentioned before, the MBI-ES measures burnout on three sub-scales: Emotional Exhaustion Chronic emotional fatigue resulting from counseling and teaching a large number of individuals on a continual basis; Depersonalization An indifferent and negative attitude toward students characterized by the use of disparaging labels to describe students.; and Personal Accomplishment The contribution a teacher makes for the well-being and intellectual advancement of students. Feelings of low personal achievement can lead to burnout. The response scale for personal accomplishment is different from the other two subscales, because the scoring is reversed. That is, a score of less than 32 on the personal accomplishment sub-scale means a high degree of personal accomplishment.

5 Demographic Questionnaire Necessary information about the teachers demographic variables was obtained through a demographic questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions about the participants age, gender, experience, nationality, educational level, and teaching subject. Data Analysis The data were entered and processed by the use of SPSS software version 17 to analyze relationships between the variables. It is worth mentioning that high scores in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization reflect high burnout while high scores in personal accomplishment show a low degree of burnout. The response scale for personal accomplishment is different from the other two levels because the scoring is reversed. The response categories for emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment on the Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey (Maslach, Jackson & Leiter, 1996) are demonstrated in Table 1. Table 1: Response Categories for Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment on the Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey Response category EE DP PA High 27 orover 13 or over 0-31 Moderate Low or over

6 Do Iranian teachers fell more burnout than non-iranian teachers? Table 2: Mean and standard deviation of each of burnout categories among Iranian and non-iranian teachers Nationality N Mean Std. Deviation Sum EE Non-Iranian Iranian Sum PA Non- Iranian Iranian Sum DP Non- Iranian Iranian EE: Emotional Exhaustion DP: Depersonalization PA: Personal Accomplishment As it is shown in Table 2, non-iranian teachers EE mean score is 19.97& Iranian teachers EE mean score is Comparing this mean score with Maslach Burnout criteria, it is known that both non-iranian & Iranian teachers have moderate level of emotional exhaustion. For DP, non-iranian & Iranian teachers mean score are 8.84 & 7.49 respectably. Compared with the above mentioned criteria it is considered moderate as well.considering PA, the mean scores are (Non-Iranian & Iranian 34.33) which shows high level of personal achievement compared with MBI. To compare Iranian and non-iranian teachers in the level of burnout in each of the categories of burnout, independent t-test is used. The result of t-test shows that there is no significant difference between two groups. See Table 3 for the results.

7 Table 3: Comparing non-iranian and Iranian teachers in each category of burnout Nationality N Mean t Sig. (2-tailed) EE Non-Iranian Iranian DP Non-Iranian Iranian PA Non-Iranian Iranian *P<0.05. Although there is no significant difference between Iranian & non-iranian instructors, the mean score for non-iranian instructors in EE & DP is higher than Iranians. Nevertheless Iranian instructors have higher level of personal accomplishment compared to non-iranian instructors. Overall, the table shows that nationality did not have an effect on teachers burnout. What is the relationship between burnout and teaching subject? Table 4: Mean and standard deviation of each of burnout categories in relation to teaching subject Teaching Subject N Mean Std. Deviation Sum EE English non-english Sum PA English non-english Sum DP English non-english EE: Emotional Exhaustion DP: Depersonalization PA: Personal Accomplishment

8 As it is shown in Table 4, English teachers EE mean score is 19.97& non-english teachers EE mean score is Comparing this mean score with Maslach Burnout criteria, it is known that both English & non-english teachers have moderate level of emotional exhaustion. For DP, English & non-english teachers mean scores are 7.90 & 8.34 respectably. Compared with the above mentioned criteria it is considered moderate as well.considering PA, the mean scores are (English & non-english 32.16) which show high level of personal achievement compared with MBI. To compare English and non-english teachers in the level of burnout in each of the categories of burnout, independent t-test is used. The result of t-test shows that there is no significant difference between two groups. See Table 5 for the results. Table 5: Comparing teaching subject in each category of burnout Teaching Subject N Mean t Sig. (2-tailed) EE English Non-English DP English Non-English PA English Non-English *P<0.05. The independent sample t-test shows that there is no significant difference between two groups in EE & PA. But for DP, it is significant. Although there is no significant difference between two groups, the mean score for EE among English teachers is higher than non-english teachers. However, the mean score for DP is higher among non-english instructors. Nevertheless, English instructors have higher personal accomplishment compared with non-english instructors. Overall, the table shows that teaching subject did not have an effect on

9 instructors burnout. What is the relationship between burnout and gender? Table 6: Mean and standard deviation of each of burnout categories in relation to gender Gender N Mean Std. Deviation Sum EE Male Female Sum PA Male Female Sum DP Male Female As it is shown in Table 6, male teachers EE mean score is & female teachers EE mean score is Comparing this mean score with Maslach Burnout criteria, it is known that both male & female teachers have moderate level of emotional exhaustion. For DP, male & female teachers mean scores are 7.16 & 8.61 respectably. Compared with the above mentioned criteria it is considered moderate as well.considering PA, the mean scores are (male & female 33.87) which show high level of personal achievement compared with MBI. To compare male and female teachers in the level of burnout in each of the categories of burnout, independent t-test is used. The result of t-test shows that there is no significant difference between two groups. See Table 7 for the results. Table 7: Comparing male and female teachers in each category of burnout Gender N Mean t Sig. (2-tailed) EE male Female DP male

10 Female PA male Female *P<0.05. Independent sample t-test shows that there is no significant difference between two groups. Although there is no significant difference between male and female instructors, the mean scores for females in EE & DP are higher than men. But male instructors feel higher personal accomplishment in comparison with female instructors. Generally speaking, the table shows that teachers gender did not have an effect on their burnout. Findings, Discussion & Implications The aim of the present study has been to weigh relationships among burnout and instructors gender, teaching subject and nationality. Based upon the data of this study, burnout is not such a serious problem for UPM teachers of postgraduate studies. All the participants felt moderate level of burnout, in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and high level of personal accomplishment. Even though no significant mean difference was observed between men and women teachers and burnout levels, females burnout level was detected higher mean score than their male counterparts. This finding is in contrast with Scwab s (2001) who had sighted that male instructors experience higher burnout than females. In addition non-iranian instructors have higher level of burnout in comparison with Iranian Instructors. Taking into consideration the teaching subject, burnout level among English instructors in the dimension of EE is higher than non-english instructors. But males, Iranians & English instructors have higher levels of personal accomplishment. Due to the fact that students experience the immediate impact of teachers performance, teachers burnout needs lots of consideration. Therefore giving importance to what affects teacher burnout should be serious for policy makers, educational administrators, institutes and schools principals. As some researchers point out: It is not only up to teachers and head teachers to figure out and work for what they hope for: it is up to parents, students, policy makers, labour and business leaders,

11 politicians and the media as well. Rebuilding and redefining education and its relationship to the world out there in other words, is a job for citizens and society as a whole. (Hargreaves and Fullan, 1998, cited in Sari 2004, p.301) To decline teachers burnout, increasing teachers salary, reducing work hours, improving work conditions, providing better work conditions, designing stress management workshops, and an understanding of the symptoms of burnout seem necessary. As Blandford (2000) points out teachers will achieve high job satisfaction provided that they feel they are highly valued people, especially in relation to the work they do. The findings of the survey might be used to generate hypotheses for future research. Future studies are necessary to find out why female, non-iranian & English teachers feel more burnout than other teachers. In addition, further research seems necessary to investigate the impact of individual and organizational factors on burnout among teachers. Limitations of the Study The samples of this study were only 71 teachers. Due to the limited number of the samples, this study cannot be generalized. In this study, besides comparing Iranian and non-iranian teachers, and teaching subject, only male and female teachers in the level of burnout were analyzed. Other variables such as: work experience, age, number of teaching hours and others can be considered by other interested researchers. References Blandford, S. (2000). Managing professional development in schools, London: Routledge.

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13 Psychology, 52, Sari, H., (2004). An analysis of burnout and job satisfaction among Turkish special school Head teachers and teachers, and the factors effecting their burnout and job satisfaction. Educational Studies, Vol. 30, No. 3. Retreived February, 2010 from file: Schaufeli, W.B., & Buunk, B.P. (2002). Burnout and overview of 25 years of research and theorizing. Handbook of Work and Health Psychology (2ed.;pp ). Chichester: Wiley. Schaufeli, W., & Buunk, B. P. (2003). Burnout: An overview of 25 years of research and the organizing. In M. J. Schabracq, J. A. M. Winnubst, & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Handbook of Work & Health Psychology, Schwab, R. L. (2001). Teacher burnout: Moving beyond psychobabble, Theory into Practice, Vol: 12, no: 10. Wilkerson, K. & Bellini J. (2006). Intrapersonal and Organizational Factors Associated With Burnout Among School Counselors. Journal of Counseling & Development, 84; 440.