Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 0

Career Burnout in
Education
By- Irfan Iftekhar
 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 1

Career Burn-out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options

Author

Author Affiliation
 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 2

Introduction

A study was conducted two years before, in which nationwide surveys were done by the National

Education Association, in this survey it was found that more than 78 percent of teachers have

gone through burn-out effects due to stress. Only since that time research into this field are being

carried out only to unearth other problems interlinked with it. The American dream, prepared in

the 19th century, promises success, wealth, contentment and fame. This dream was given the

shape of words in 1931.

American Dream is all about success in the United States, a success which means making money

and then translating it into happiness, gains, status or fame. It also means material well-being by

advancing more than one's forbearers. It also means a carrier which allowed visible progress,

making more money (J. Richards, 2008). Teaching, like other professions, has been a profession

which is kept in high esteem and it has developed over time. But it is unfortunate that teachers

now been not given the status that they should have been, with less salary, low respect and lesser

rewards compared to other professions, while teachers have equal qualifications and wisdom.

The Term Burn-out

It was in 1960's that the term burn-out was first used. It described effects of drug and alcohol

abuse. Then, a New York-based psychologist by the name of Herbert Freudenberger, described
 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 3

his own experience by using it, during too much work, as he not only served as a psychologist

but also in the night he worked at a clinic treating drug addicts. That is when in the year 1973 he

explained his experiences of a syndrome which was mentioned by him and also named by him in

a psychological journal. The term burn-out has been defined by researchers in many ways, they

made use of this word to describe stress and its related syndrome. "An array of symptoms

accompany 'burn-out,' including physical depletion. "Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness,

disillusionment, and by development of negative self-concept and negative attitudes [sic] toward

work, people involved in the work, and life itself" were pointed out by Ayala Pines and Elliot

Aronson. At its peak the burn-out effect makes it extremely hard to cope with. The incidences of

burn-out among teachers has received due attention now when researchers claimed that this burn

out is the major reason of teachers' migration from teaching profession to some other profession

(Halberg et.al 2007).

Education and Social Injustice

The teachers have always faced various effects of unfortunate social conditions. In 1996 two

important inequalities in the US educational system was pointed out by William Proefiedt,

schools' per student expenditures and the income of the family. Those schools which are located

in posh areas can sustain greater expenses per student than those which are located in poor areas,

furthermore, the wealth distribution, like any where in the world, has always been uneven and

this faulty distribution of wealth has reached such a peak that it is now inviting revolutions in

many parts of the globe. Equal opportunity in education, an old dream, now seems to be
 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 4

sacrificed on the altars of ideas central to the American Dream. When the teachers ponder about

such inequalities in the education system, they turn disillusioned and

most turn disgusted, and the result is another sort of burn-out which remains unseen and mostly

untold. No research worth its name has ever been carried out in the history of education in

America about this fatal burn-out effect which tears the teacher down from inside.

Challenges of Burn-out

Most of the teachers know about the problems mentioned earlier but these problems are just a

few of challenges faced by educators. The condition of teachers in the private sector is far better

in the Western countries while the condition of the public sector teachers are far better than

private sector in most of the Asian and African countries. The conclusion one arrives at after

studying literature is that without any doubt the conditions have worsened over the years. When

the condition of the educators goes downhill how can one expect the overall quality of education

go uphill? How may Edisons, Einsteins, Gates, Steves, has the contemporary education

produced? It is referred by Gold and Roth, on their specific study which illustrates in general the

message conveyed to the public (Jacobs et.al 2003). During the 1940's it was quite different, the

problems at the time faced by the teachers were innocent, like gum chewing, loud noises inside

the classroom, running in the halls or whistling etc, but today the scenario is entirely different.

Now the teachers are faced with such students who bring arms to the schools, use drugs and

alcohal and even go on a killing spree which sometimes includes the teacher too.
 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 5

Research Studies

In America, educational burn-out was recognized in 1970. and with it came scientific data,

causes were mapped, problems identified, lack or recognition revealed and students rowdies

came into knowledge. What was wrongly said at that time by researchers that burn-out in

teachers has been a part of profession for centuries (Jackson et.al 2003). Which is absolutely

wrong according to history, either history is wrong in this case or the researchers are wrong, the

chances of the latter being wrong is very high as they have been wrong many times. With the

influx of data gathered a decision was made with regards to teachers, these were:

1. Teachers quality of life should be improved

2. Teachers should not be subjected to prolonged occupational stress

3. Anything that impair teacher and student relationship should be avoided

A fundamental challenge in education is reflected by teachers' burn-out, it has to be addressed if

quality in education is required, the education system in Amrica, both elementary and secondary

both will benefit from it. Teachers have now come out of their shells and have suggested various

means and techniques to help this effect cured, and also prevent the burn out.

More research is needed to get substantial results.

Research Strategies

This study is aimed at adding to the scientific knowledge about how to prevent and combat

career burn-out in education. In order to achieve it, a group of teachers who practice
 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 6

Transcendental Meditation or TM are compared with another groups of such teachers who do not

practice Transcendental Meditation. the entire faculty of bodies of different schools in these

groups of teachers at Southeastern Iowa. All meditators are working at the same school which is

private and 'non-meditators' are not included. The two other schools consist of one public school

and one Catholic private school, it is done in order to ascertain the effect of private versus public

schools. The Transcendental Meditation practicing teachers are compared to private school

teachers, in this case it is the Catholic school, and none of any others like military or elite etc.

In this study the levels of teacher burn-out and its major causes are ascertained as well as school

cultures are examined. On the subject of teacher burn-out, the literature is the basis of the study

as well as some books have also been quite valuable by such famous authors like; D.C. Berliner

and B.J. Biddle (1995), A.J. Cedoline (1982), Joseph L. DeVitis and J.M. Rich (1996), Barry A.

Farber (1991), and C. Maslach, S.E. Jackson, and M.E. Leiter (1996). Besides thirty two

interviews with teachers about the causes and reasons of burn-out, especially in the class room

were conducted over phone and were based on the teacher burn out literature.

Students' Background

As per law of confidentiality the identity of those schools cannot be disclosed. The city of its

location is a small town and parents there belong to middle and lower middle income groups

hence higher education is not common there. Maharishi School of the Age of

Enlightenment,where most students studied, now they have moved to Fairfield. The economic

condition of the parents varies, some with high incomes and some with low and it is due to this
 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 7

income problems that the parents work at Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment as

teachers in lieu of paying the tuition which is high.

Hypotheses

The teachers are responsible for uplifting the quality of education and both remain very much

interconnected. If students are high academic achievers then it is due to the culture of the school

where they study, and in this sense they also provide their teacher a sense of fulfilment. It has

mostly been an unselfish desire to help the learners learn, to educate those who want to be

educated and to help students grow, that the teachers choose teaching as an occupation (S.E.

Hobfall, 1989). Otherwise most teachers have such qualifications due to which they can easily

enter any blue chip organization and earn a lot more. This is a fact which has remain unchanged

since times unknown, and to say that it remain unchanged since this era or year of that, is untrue.

But the one truth that has remained unchanged after the 50's is the fact (Hallberg et.al. 2007).

Mostly the reason for a teacher to choose teaching as profession is the unselfish yearn to help

students learn and grow, to give them the knowledge that they can, and this fact is as present

today as it was anytime in the history of learning, the NEA research which carried out a survey

on teachers first in 1971, affirmed it just as it affirms it now.

Amount of Burn-out

No accurate estimates exist about how many teachers suffer burn-out. The reason is the fact that

there is no universal agreed upon definition that explains when a person is burnet out. Neither
 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 8

there has been any mapping (Hakanen et.al 2006).The cause for this is also the fact that most

teachers feel this happening to them but are unable to diagnose it themselves, hence they remain

silent.

Teachers migration due to burn-out

After survey the teachers listed various challenges including the disruptive behavior of students.

According to them a lot of time is spent on discipline even now attacks on teachers where

medical attention has been needed have become common. It looks like school grounds have

turned into boxing rings. This is also due to this reason that teachers are migrating. They also

accuse students for their physical diseases and depression related syndromes, including

prolonged psychological symptoms, like insomnia and frequent head-ache.

Facing burn-out

Self-actualization and self-esteem is the need of many teachers, in case they think that they are

facing too many obstacles in these areas then the result is burn-outIt was concluded by Anderson

and Iwanicki that the burn-out problem is related to higher order needs and there has been an

increase of this source of burn-out after the mid-sixtees. Similarly burn-out is related to inner

locus of control by McIntyre. When a teacher feels that he or she has internal locus of control

then he or she is less prone to burn-out (Gonzales et.al 2006). There are teachers who for

anything that goes wrong in the class room, ask themselves as to how they failed to prevent it

from happening inside their own environment. But some teachers do not allow it to happen and
 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 9

are in control not to let tensions accumulate. They might get periods of burn-out but they recover

from it soon enough. Some of the time the administrative (Minster et.al 2002). Personnel related

to administration are taken as hinderances in the way of efficient teaching process due to this

reason the teachers claim that it tends to cause problems rather than alleviating them The other

problem faced by the teachers is the not-so-cooperative behavior by the parents, and this is one

aspect which the teachers feel at a loss how to deal with. Most parents would not listen to the fact

that their expectations about their child is unrealistic because their child is not interested in

studying, rather they would say that the teacher is no competent enough or the entire educational

system of the school is not good. This and many other occasions like this make the teacher feel

dejected and they think they are not being given their rightful place in the society for which they

work so hard for so little. The media, which today is responsible for many ills of mankind, is also

responsible in this case too as it is the media which always condemns the teachers and the

school. With so much negative aspects taking place, the teachers face the burn-out effect (Bakker

et.al. 2006).

Suggested solutions to Burn-out problems

Research recommends various measures to face the burn-out effect and to fight it. Richard E.

Barter recommends changes of a funding nature, such as: higher pay and greater production of

teachers, faculty improvement funds for advanced courses in teaching, faculty cultural funds to

provide tickets to opera, theater, etc.

 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 10

According to Richard E. Barter, modifications in the nature of funding like better pay and better

production of teachers, funds improvement for advanced courses in teaching, cultural funds for

the faculties like providing them tickets to opera or sport events etc. There are two types of

recommendations, behavior administration strategies by the teacher and behavior techniques that

needs cooperation with other person (Gan et.al. 2007). It has been recommended by a highly

recognized researcher in the field, Yvonne Gold, that programs relating to physical activities

which include stress reduction by making use of relaxation processes. She has also recommended

getting the inventory of outside activities like eating out and sleeping.

Combating burn-out

Modifying life style, such as eating habits, physical workout and resting are all very helpful in

preventing burn-out effects and also enhance the teachers' capabilities to cope with their work

situation. Although researchers have informed about it but it has been ignored by the system. A

central research question of this study is what were the causes of teachers' burn-out? Was the

problem of burn-out more prevalent among the public schools teachers or private school teachers

and how to combat burn-out? Besides the practice of TM at one school helped combat burn-out,

hence it was known that teacher who practice TM are less prone to burn-out than those teachers

who do not practice it as they show lower levels of burn-out on the three subscales of the

Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES).

 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 11

The teaching profession's major problems have led to various research and studies on burn-out

among the teachers in American schools. Although teaching is a very prominent profession but it

has been under immense social pressure to rectify the social problems of students.
 Career Burn out in Education: Trends, Causes and Options 12

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