IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

Combating Teacher Burnout and

Restoring
the Dignity of the Teaching
through Professional Development
Course 10

Myrna F. Espinosa
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

Objectives
At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:

1. Identify concerning issues that relate to teacher

burnout and professional learning;
2. Propose approaches and strategies to fuel passion and
purpose in the teaching profession; and
3. Reflect on professional journey and identify personal
goals toward continuing growth.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

Is it burnout? When asked to identify persistent challenges to

the teaching profession, burnout usually comes up. But is it
really burnout?
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

Occupational burnout is almost a natural occurrence in the

professional world. Fairly common among human service-
oriented professions, such as teaching, burnout grew ever
increasingly severe and rampant. Aggravated by COVID-19,
burnout has certainly led teachers to feel exhausted, cynical,
and inefficient in the workplace. It has caused a considerable
crisis in terms of experienced teacher attrition, where teachers
turn away from practice and pursues non-teaching careers—or
where teachers ultimately just lose the passion to teach.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

It is an understated fact that burnout is both a professional

and a personal issue. Youki Terada’s online article “Burnout
Isn’t Inevitable” in 2018 identifies three ways where schools
can help teachers feel a little less stressed. Among these is a
very basic but often neglected role of “foster(ing) a positive
school culture” characterized by a “nurturing school
environment, built upon positive relationships among students
and teachers” (Terada, 2018). Herman, in a 2018 study, affirms
this when he said that there is a “need to consider methods
that create nurturing school environments not just for
students, but for the adults who work there.”
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

It could help when teachers take ownership of the feeling,

acknowledge its roots, and eventually overcome it—for no other
reason than the love for the profession. To begin, it is best to
look within. This entails assessing the beliefs that made one a
teacher in the first place. Oftentimes, it is an opportunity to
renew love for learning.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

What’s love got to do with burnout and teaching?

Everything. In the article, Fueling Teacher’s Passion and
Purpose, Renga, Peck, Wu, and Erickson stressed on the
importance of finding and rekindling joy in this profession
through constant recharging and rejuvenating. This article
shares Dan Liston and Jim Garrison’s three kinds of love that
drive good teaching:
• the need to acquire good knowledge;
• the need for friendship and community; and
• the love of purpose or mission.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

These three are essentially at the core of well-meaning

approaches to Professional Development (PD). Considering the
impact of the pandemic, current approaches to PD seem to lack
the tenacity to address the three and are instead overly focused
on improving credentials and complying with standards set by
regulating agencies, which are not entirely bad but could still
be more meaningful and motivating. Reeves (2021) asserts that
there is much to learn from the pandemic if we are to reshape
teacher learning.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

These constitute reforms in teacher-training that are mainly

characterized by personalization (away from homogenization),
deliberate practice, and taking action, among others.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

Clearly, there is a link between PD and burnout. And that

link surfaces when teachers and school administrators
acknowledge that there is a more pervasive type of
dissatisfaction which Santoro discovered as demoralization.
“Demoralization is a form of professional dissatisfaction that
occurs when teachers encounter consistent and pervasive
challenges to enacting the values that motivate their work”
(Santoro, 2018). While seemingly severe, demoralization is not
irreparable.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

As a moral type of dissatisfaction, it may be recovered by

appreciating it as “a problem of professional ethics”(Santoro,
2018). Teachers usually possess a “vision of good work”, but
they often feel conflicted about doing it, fearing that it may not
be what is demanded by their clients—students, parents, and
community. The teaching context essentially becomes the
central site of demoralization, and where contextualized
approaches to PD could help save.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

While burnout is typically upheld as a personal issue, it is

something that may be addressed by looking at a wider
educational context. What do teachers need now to combat
burnout and renew love for teaching and learning? This entails
looking at and reflecting on specific factors that cause burnout
among teachers. The following readings offer an empirical base
for understanding the roots that lead to teacher burnout, in
various educational contexts, including the Philippines.
As you read these factors, ponder on the steps that either
you or your school has taken to address them.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

Looking at and reflecting on specific factors that cause burnout

among teachers

FACTOR 1: The COVID-19 Pandemic

FACTOR 2: Teachers have no time and say in professional
learning
FACTOR 3: The Super Teacher Complex
FACTOR 4: The Gen Z Challenge
FACTOR 5: Growth and Resilience Mindset
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

Point for reflection:

1. Have you considered taking a pause to breathe and identify
what YOU actually need now?

2. What steps have you personally taken, if any, to personalize

your professional learning path?

3. How do these choices impact your practice and how do they

make you feel, in general?

4. How does PD contribute to combating burnout?

 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

What forms of support and opportunities do teachers need for

their professional learning and growth?

Teaching in the Philippines is considered the noblest

profession. This makes teachers who are on the brink of
extreme exhaustion hold on a little tighter. The love which they
have always shown their students remains at the core of both
their personal and professional decisions. But in cases where it
seems like the dignity which has fueled their passion has left, it
is very likely that there are some opportunities and measures
that had not been exhausted.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

Here are some creative ideas.

• Reflecting on former achievements by revisiting their existing

professional portfolios
• Developing a Vision Board/Road Map for short-term and
long-term professional goals
• Inserting Intentional Wellness Sessions with Colleagues
within the Unit/Department
• Recognizing the reasons for the burnout
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

• Listing doable PD tasks that revolve around Liston and

Garrison’s three kinds of love that drives good teaching:
▪ the need to acquire good knowledge;
▪ the need for friendship and community; and
▪ the love of purpose or mission.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

In “Putting the professional back in professional

development”, Ron Huberman advocates giving teachers a voice
in their professional learning journey. This means exploring a
multi-dimensional approach to PD—including a personalized
approach to their professional learning paths.

Huberman, R. (2018). Putting the professional back in

professional development.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

For this purpose, we are categorizing PD into two: Personal

and Professional. This table may be accomplished to help
visualize the kinds of approaches and support that one needs
in the profession.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

Insert text here

Insert text here

 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

1. How do you feel while watching the video? Demoralized? Insulted?

Provoked? Why do you feel this way? How about after watching the
video?
2. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? How did you feel
in these situations? How did you get out of such situation?
3. Why do you think teaching, despite being “the noblest of the
professions”, seem extremely underappreciated in most places?
4. In a scale of 1-10, 10 being the most appreciated, how appreciated do
you feel – by your students? By your peers? By your family? How does
this affect you in your daily practice?
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

1. Is it fair to judge any profession by what (how much) one makes in

that profession?
2. Do you believe that teaching is the noblest profession? Or do you
think it is largely romanticized?
3. Recently, the teaching profession has been confronted by a number of
issues, ultimately challenging teachers’ love and passion for teaching.
How do you think can the government help restore the dignity of
teachers who are at varying degrees of burnout/exhaustion?
4. What personal strategies that allows you to stay dignified amidst the
challenges in the profession could you share with the rest of us?
5. How do you feel at the moment as a teacher?
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

What specific measures, which you have learned from this training, would
you personally consider to combat burnout and pursue professional
growth? To answer, list down 3 things that could may be explored in your
local personal context (such as forming a Local Teachers’ Club aimed at
wellness and curbing burnout, reaching out to the other divisions for
establishing a Community of Practice (CoP) in Math, Reading, etc.) and
which you are willing to declare in your Action Plan.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

This is a snapshot of an activity taken from one of the DepEd Learning Modules,
written at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Vercide, in his blog, wrote an
article provocatively titled “The Culture of Stereotyping, Body-shaming, and
Discrimination on DepEd’s Learning Module”. Although there is a lot of layers to
this issue, including the urgency in which these modules were produced, one of
the cores and central controversies surrounding this issue had to do with
teacher preparation. It certainly earned the ire of the personalities implicated in
the content, as well as a lot of Filipino netizens. Part of Angel Locsin’s Official
Statement goes:
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

“What bothers me most is apart from teaching incorrect

grammar to the students, DepEd seems unaffected that the
said teacher is teaching bad conduct and sowing
discrimination among the children,” Locsin added. “Anong
mangyayare sa future kung ang mga kabataan ay tinuturuan
ng pambabastos at pangungutya sa kapwa?” she further said.
The comments that got thrown all around social media are
characterized by hate, condescension, and hasty
generalization. Unfortunately, this is just one of the many
modules identified with erroneous content. What was your
reaction every time a similar issue would go viral? How do you
feel about yourself as a teacher whenever you see a fellow
teacher being accused and disrespected?
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

Why is Professional Development Important?

When educators are able to learn, their students learn more.
Continuous PD adds new knowledge to the teacher’s skill set
and deepens the competency of the areas where the teacher is
already productive. In order to enhance PD and the battlement
of teachers and their skills, it is important to analyze the keys
to improving teacher professional development. Realizing how
to improve teacher professional development will not only
improve the teacher but the student as well.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

Keys to Improving Teacher Professional Development

1. Focus on Feedback and Reflection

To improve professional development for teachers, there

must be clear focus on the groups attending and what their
needs are. Furthermore, there must be a platform for feedback
and reflection.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

2. Model Best Practices

Research-based and application-based practices serve as a

model for teachers to enhance their personal learning and
teaching strategies. When there are effective strategies being
implemented, students are at a direct benefit. This must go
further than providing PowerPoint slides or review the results
of successful practices. Effective best practices must be
modeled for educators so that the learning can be optimized.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

3. Self Relevant Goals

To improve professional development for teachers, goal

setting must be a part of that process, too.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

4. Make it Interactive

Teachers express the need to collaborate with their peers,

have interactive discussions, and model best practices in a
reflective environment. Professional conferences, and school-
level PD both have the opportunity to make learning interactive
by using multiple platforms to deliver content.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

The Results:

1. Students Have Better Learning Outcomes

Educational technology, school district guidelines, and

curriculum standards are constantly changing, making it
challenging for teachers to keep up with trends and best
practices in the field. Professional development transforms
teachers into better and more apt educators by enabling them
to create relevant and tailored course instructions for today’s
students.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

2. Teacher Learn Better Ways to Teach

When educators discover new teaching strategies through

professional development, they are able to go back to the
classroom and make changes to their lecture styles and
curricula to better suit the needs of their students. However,
these changes are hard to evaluate because they are typically
implemented gradually. Professional development for teachers
makes them more efficient in their presentations and course
evaluations by exposing educators to new delivery methods,
evaluation styles and record-keeping strategies
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

3. Teachers Develop Better Organization and Planning Skills

Professional development training can help teachers to

become better at planning their time and staying organized.
This ultimately makes teachers more efficient and gives them
extra time to focus on students rather than the paperwork.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

4. Teachers Gain Knowledge and Industry Insight

Professional development programs can enable teachers to

expand their knowledge base in different subject areas. The
more professional development a teacher undergoes, the more
knowledge and industry insight he or she gains.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

5. Teachers Want to Continue Their Education

Professional development gives them an opportunity to step

out of their routine – they get to be the student instead of the
teacher. This keeps educators engaged.
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

10 Tips for Teacher Motivation (for the Administrators )

1. Make yourself available
2. Publicly praise teachers
3. Encourage teachers to reward each other
4. Leave some room in the budget for small gifts
5. Encourage teachers to seek out professional development
opportunities
6. Provide opportunities to take breaks
7. Give teachers a voice
8. Empower each teacher’s strengths
9. Recognize key stress times
10.Encourage collaboration
 IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023

• Road Map (may be done using a simple flowchart) with a beginning/start

when they begin their journey with LISQUP (for those engaged with the
LISQUP – Linking Standards and Quality Practice) or any personal and
professional development endeavor(may be short-term or long-term) and an
end when they expect to finish their degrees.
• Action Plan Proposition that:
1. explores existing practices that uphold the dignity of the profession;
2. demonstrate one’s commitment to the profession through reasonable
timeline and goals; and
3. allows for monitoring and reflection of one’s performance in relation to
the PD goals set.
IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS 2023