How Burned Out are Our Teachers? A Cross-Cultural Study

Abstract

This cross-cultural study examines the extent to which burnout exists among both Victorian high school teachers and North American teachers in public and separate school systems. The findings reveal that teachers are coping fairly well with job-related demands, and are not experiencing unduly high levels of burnout. However Australian teachers recorded a higher than normal level of burnout as a consequence of lack of job recognition and perceived limited career prospects. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed in terms of the Australian government school systems.