Abstract
Recent research on teacher burnout has advanced our understanding of its dimensions and contributing factors. However, the complexity and dynamics of the social working environments in schools has often been neglected in teacher burnout studies, and hence a valid and reliable context-sensitive instrument for studying teacher burnout in terms of social interaction in schools is needed. This study examined the development of the Socio-Contextual Teacher Burnout Inventory (STBI), its validity as well as reliability, among Finnish teachers (n = 2310). The validity and reliability of the items composing the STBI were determined based on the confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that the correlated three-factor solution and second-order-factor solution fitted the data. More specifically, teacher exhaustion, cynicism towards the teacher community and inadequacy in the pupil-teacher relationship were found to be closely related but separate constructs. The results also supported the main hypothesis that teacher burnout can be examined in terms of interpersonal problems in an individual’s transactions with others in the workplace. Therefore the sources of teacher burnout may vary not only between schools but also between the social working contexts within a single school. The instrument introduced in this study is a potentially useful tool for exploring interpersonal teacher burnout.
Highlights
Teacher burnout has been recognised as a serious occupational problem (e.g. Borg & Riding, 1991; Loonstra, Browers, & Tomic, 2009; Kinnunen, Parkatti, & Rasku, 1994; Rudow, 1999)
This study examined the development of the Socio-Contextual Teacher Burnout Inventory (STBI), its validity as well as reliability, among class, subject and special education teachers in Finland
The study aimed at developing a context-sensitive instrument to study teacher burnout by testing the validity and reliability of the Socio-Contextual Teacher Burnout Inventory with a sample of Finnish teachers
Summary
Teacher burnout has been recognised as a serious occupational problem (e.g. Borg & Riding, 1991; Loonstra, Browers, & Tomic, 2009; Kinnunen, Parkatti, & Rasku, 1994; Rudow, 1999). In comparison with other academic client-related professions, teachers have been found to surpass the average levels of stress (Travers & Cooper, 1993). They have been found to experience high levels of exhaustion and cynicism, both of which constitute the core dimensions of burnout (Kalimo & Hakanen, 2000; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). School as a complex working environment that includes multiple social contexts impose at least partly unique demands on teachers’ occupational well-being (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2010; Pyhältö et al, 2011). This study reports on the development of an instrument for measuring teacher burnout within the social contexts of a teacher’s working environment. The developed instrument builds on one of the most commonly used Maslach and Jackson’s (1981) burnout inventory
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