Burnout in Portuguese Teachers: A Systematic Review

Célia Oliveira,Ana Isabel,João Lopes

doi:10.12973/eu-jer.10.2.693

Abstract

<p style="text-align: justify;">Teachers are one of the professional classes most vulnerable to emotional instability and fatigue associated with their professional activity. The present study is a systematic review about burnout in Portuguese teachers and has two main objectives. The first is to understand the state of the art of the burnout phenomenon in Portuguese teachers from basic education to secondary education. The second is to analyze the types of variables considered in the exploration and understanding of the burnout phenomenon, from a three-dimensional structure: personal, organizational, and classroom. Results show that the set of personal and organizational variables are the most frequently analyzed in studies on burnout in teachers. Nevertheless, the results of the analyzed studies are unclear and inconsistent, highlighting the need for further studies that allow to clarify the role of different variables on burnout in Portuguese teachers. More studies are needed to determine the actual extent of burnout and, consequently, to design educational and psychological interventions to support teachers.</p>

Highlights

The rapid changes imposed on the modern world and the challenges associated with social and economic uncertainty and instability, which characterize Portuguese society today, inevitably generate feelings of insecurity and discouragement in the working classes (e.g., Gomes et al, 2006)
Results show that the set of personal and organizational variables are the most frequently analyzed in studies on burnout in teachers
The present systematic review revealed the scarcity of studies on burnout in Portuguese teachers

Summary

Introduction

The rapid changes imposed on the modern world and the challenges associated with social and economic uncertainty and instability, which characterize Portuguese society today, inevitably generate feelings of insecurity and discouragement in the working classes (e.g., Gomes et al, 2006). Time pressure, bureaucratic work, types of employment contracts, a high number of students per class, and student's misbehavior were found to be the variables that contribute the most to the stress levels among Portuguese teachers (Cardoso et al, 2002; Gomes et al, 2010; Martins et al, 2015; Pinto et al, 2003). These stressors contribute to the wish of Portuguese teachers to leave their teaching profession (e.g., Cardoso et al, 2002; Martins et al, 2015)

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Conclusion