Factor structure and reliability of burnout among Emirati and Palestinian teachers.

Abstract

To assess the construct validity and magnitude of burnout among Emirati and Palestinian teachers, a total of 357 Emirati and 261 Palestinian teachers responded to the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Separate exploratory factor analyses clearly identified four factors for the Emirati sample and three factors for the Palestinian sample but with more complex structure than that for the Emirati sample. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the four-factor model for Emirati sample and the three-factor structure for the Palestinian sample but some difficulty arose with Items 5, 15, and 22. Coefficients alpha for the four subscales ranged from .59 to .85 for Emirati teachers and from .58 to .88 for the Palestinian sample. Palestinian teachers reported stronger feelings of emotional exhaustion than Emirati teachers did. The two groups of teachers reported similar feelings about personal success and similar attitudes toward their students and their jobs.