Middle School Teachers Burnout

Middle School Teachers, Burnout, Age and Race/Ethnicity

Burnout has been described as a state of fatigue or frustration brought about by an individual's devotion to a cause or way of life (or profession) that has failed to meet expectations (Vredenburgh, Carlozzi, & Stein, 1999). It further represents a state in which individuals expect little reward and compensation along with considerable punishment from work because of a lack of valued reinforcement, controllable outcomes, or personal competence (Vredenburgh, et al, 1999). The problem is viewed as significant in a number of fields, especially in education, where research suggests that many teachers leave the profession within a few years of entering (Betancourt-Smith, 1994).

The purpose of the proposed research study is to examine the issue of teacher burnout in a sample of public Middle School teachers and to consider the question of how (and whether) teachers' age and race or ethnicity are related to burnout. Betancourt-Smith (1994) examined the attrition of minority and non minority teachers at-risk for burnout and found that minority teachers were particularly at-risk, but that other variables (e.g., age, perceived administrative support, marital status, socioeconomic class) also impact upon the risk status of teachers and burnout profiles.

Friedman (1993) also studied this issue, and found that younger as opposed to older teachers tend to experience burnout at a level sufficient to motivate

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ations across educational settings. Byrne (1998) commented that the research on teacher burnout at the middle school level is relatively limited and tends to be positioned not in the context of ethnicity or race, but more specifically with respect to such factors as age, school-specific variables and influences, and other demographic variables describing disparate populations of teachers. There is little work evident in the literature that specifically addresses the question of race or ethnicity. However, Betancourt-Smith (1994) does believe that minority group teachers are particularly at-risk for experiencing early professional burnout. This appears to be related to the difficulties many minority group teachers experience in finding teaching assignments that are contextualized within a nurturing, supporting, collaborative school community. Other factors that have been identified as negatively impacting on minority teachers include a lack of adequate financial and other resources for meeting school goals and objectives or meeting students' needs. A lack of adequate parental and community involvement may also negatively impact upon minority teachers in urban schools that are overcrowded, underfunded, understaffed, and phys

Category: Psychology - M