Teacher burnout in pre-schools: A cross-cultural factorial validity, measurement invariance and latent mean comparison of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Educators Survey (MBI-ES)

Abstract

Recent development in research on teacher wellbeing has been associated with the interest in assessing teacher burnout with the widely used Maslach Burnout Inventory, Educators Survey (MBI-ES). The increasing application of the MBI-ES, in and out of the Western world, stresses the need to investigate the cross-cultural applicability and factorial validity of the scale. The present study investigated whether (a) the MBI-ES is applicable in a cross-cultural context (i.e., the three-factor model of the scale is equivalent across three low and middle income countries (LMIC)/cultures) and (b) burnout syndrome differs significantly across these cultures and gender. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) did not support the 22-item MBI-ES. Subsequent exploratory factor analysis resulted in significant item reduction. The reduced-item (adjusted) three-factor model fitted the data, and invariant across the three cultures and gender. Significant differences in teacher burnout symptoms were found across these cultures and gender. The alterations made to the MBI-ES further reinforce cultural influences on the assessment of cross-cultural teacher burnout dimensions. Further implications for ECE teacher burnout management in cross-cultural contexts are discussed.