E-journal of All India Association for Educational Research (EJAIAER)
VOL.20 Nos: 3
& 4 September
& December, 2008
BURNOUT AND STRESS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN RELATION TO THEIR
TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS
Indira Shukla
INTRODUCTION
In
the educational process, the teacher occupies a very important place. A teacher
is the medium through which objectives and plans can be actualized. For this,
the teacher must have sound mental and physical health. There have been many
studies stating that the person’s mental health has direct and significant
relationship with his / her working efficiency. Teaching is a profession where
every day radical changes occur in the educational system. These changes are
likely to increase rather than reduce the level of stress in teachers.
Secondary school teachers experience higher level of stress due to demanding
situation, while dealing with adolescent students. Overcrowded classes, heavy
syllabus and inadequate facilities make teachers’ work more complex. Researches
in service industry like nursing, hotel and police have highlighted that
working personnel experience varying degree of stress and burnout. Correlation
between job satisfaction and performance has been proved in above mentioned
professions. Present study was undertaken to study the burnout and stress among
secondary school teachers in relation to their teaching effectiveness and also
how the perceptions of teachers and their students differed on teaching
effectiveness.
OBJECTIVES
1.To
ascertain the relationship between burnout in terms of (a) frequency and (b)
intensity and teaching effectiveness as
perceived by (i) teachers and (ii) students.
2.To ascertain the relationship between teachers’
experienced stress and teaching effectiveness.
3.To ascertain the relationship between teachers’
experienced stress and their perceived burnout.
4.To
compare the relationship between perceived burnout in terms of (a) frequency
and (b) intensity and teaching effectiveness as perceived by (i) teachers and (ii) students on the basis of teachers’ (a)
qualification, (b) experience, (c) subjects taught, (d) type of school and (e)
age.
5.To
compare the relationship between teachers’ experienced stress and teaching
effectiveness as perceived by (i) teachers and (ii)
students on the basis of teachers’ (a)
qualification, (b) experience, (c) subjects taught, (d) type of school and (e)
age.
HYPOTHESES
1.There is no significant relationship between perceived
burnout of teachers in terms of (a) frequency and (b) intensity and teaching
effectiveness as perceived by (i) teachers and (ii)
students.
2.There is no significant relationship between teachers
experienced stress and teaching effectiveness as perceived by (i) teachers and (ii) students.
3.There is no significant relationship between teachers’
experienced stress and their perceived burnout in terms of (a) frequency and
(b) intensity.
4.There is no significant difference in the relationship
between perceived burnout in terms of (a) frequency and (b) intensity and
teaching effectiveness as perceived by
(i) teachers and (ii) students on the basis of
teachers (a) qualification, (b) experience, (c) subjects taught, (d) type of
school and (e) age.
5.There is no significant difference in the relationship
between teachers’ experienced stress and teaching effectiveness as perceived by
(i) teachers and (ii) students on the basis of
teachers (a) qualification, (b) experience, (c) subjects taught, (d) type of
school and (e) age.
Scope,
limitation and delimitation
For
the present study, teachers teaching std. IX have been selected. Only English
medium secondary school teachers are included in the study. Teaching
effectiveness had been studied by teachers’ self perception of teaching
effectiveness and students’ perception of teaching effectiveness. Other sources
like administrators’ perception and peer groups’ perception had not been
included.
Variables
of the Study
Independent
variables were stress and burnout and dependent variable was teaching
effectiveness.
METHODOLOGY
Descriptive,
causal- comparative survey technique was used.
Sample
Sample
was drawn from eleven secondary schools of Greater Bombay, using stratified
sampling technique. From these eleven schools, a total of 93 secondary school
teachers responded to Stress, Burnout and Teaching effectiveness
questionnaires.
Tools
1.The Maslach Burnout Inventory
(M.B.I.); 2.Teaching Stress Survey (TSS) of M. Mishra;
3. Teaching Effectiveness – Teachers’ Self Evaluation Rating Scale of M.N. D’Silva; and
4.
Students’ Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness Rating Scale of M.N. D’Silva.
Inferential
analysis:
Parametric
statistical techniques used were: Pearson’s Product Moment Co-efficient of Correlation;
One way ANOVA; t-test; and Fisher’s “Z”
FINDINGS
Hypothesis
1
Significant
correlation between teaching effectiveness as perceived by teachers and
teachers perceived burnout due to frequency and intensity of emotional
exhaustion as well as personal accomplishment was established. It was also
established that (a) higher level of emotional exhaustion results in lower
level of teaching effectiveness and (b) higher level of personal accomplishment
results in higher level of teaching effectiveness. Significant correlation
between teaching effectiveness as perceived by students and teachers perceived
burnout due to frequency of personal accomplishment was established. It was
established that higher level of personal accomplishment results in higher
level of teaching effectiveness.
Hypothesis
2
There
is no significant correlation between experienced stress of teachers and
teaching effectiveness as perceived by teachers. This means that teachers have
a perception that teaching effectiveness is not influenced by the level of
stress. There is no significant correlation between experienced stress of
teachers and teaching effectiveness as perceived by students. This means that
students have a perception that teaching effectiveness is not influenced by the
level of stress of a teacher.
Hypothesis
3
Significant
correlation between teachers’ experienced stress and teachers perceived burnout
due to intensity of emotional exhaustion was established. Correlation is positive
for burnout due to intensity of emotional exhaustion, indicating that higher
level of intensity of emotional exhaustion results in higher level of stress.
There is no significant correlation between teachers’ experienced stress and
teachers perceived burnout due to (i) frequency &
intensity of burnout due to depersonalization, (ii) frequency of emotional
exhaustion, (iii) frequency & intensity of burnout due to personal
accomplishment.
Hypothesis
4
The
difference in relationship between burnout and teaching effectiveness as
perceived by teachers for inexperienced and experienced teachers is not
significant. The relationship between perceived burnout and teaching
effectiveness as perceived by teachers on the basis of teachers’ age differ
significantly for burnout due to frequency of emotional exhaustion between (i) young and middle aged teacher, (ii) middle aged and elder teachers. The relationship between
teaching effectiveness as perceived by teachers and burnout due to frequency of
emotional exhaustion is significant for (i) single
sex and (ii) co-ed schools. There is no significant difference in the
relationship between perceived burnout and teaching effectiveness as perceived
by teachers on the basis of qualification
(qualified and overqualified
teachers).There is no significant difference in the relationship between
perceived burnout and teaching effectiveness as perceived by teachers on the
basis of school type (aided and unaided schools).There is no significant
difference in the relationship between perceived burnout and teaching
effectiveness as perceived by teachers on the basis of subjects taught (subject
group of Language, Social science, Science).The difference in relationship
between burnout due to intensity of emotional exhaustion and teaching
effectiveness as perceived by students for inexperienced and experience
teachers is significant. The relationship between perceived burnout and
teaching effectiveness as perceived by students on the basis of teachers’ age
do not differ significantly. The relationship between teaching effectiveness as
perceived by students and burnout for teachers in (i)
single sex and (ii) co-ed schools do not differ significantly. There is
significant difference in the relationship between perceived burnout due to
intensity of depersonalization and teaching effectiveness as perceived by
students on the basis of qualification (qualified and overqualified
teachers).There is no significant difference in the relationship between
perceived burnout and teaching effectiveness as perceived by students on the
basis of school type (aided and unaided
schools).There is significant difference in the relationship between perceived
burnout due to intensity of emotional exhaustion and teaching effectiveness as
perceived by students on the basis of subjects taught for Language subjects and
Science subjects.
Hypothesis
5
There
is no significant difference in the relationship between teachers’ perceived
stress and teaching effectiveness as perceived by teachers on the basis of teachers’(a) Qualification, (b) Experience, (c) Subjects
taught, (d) Type of school and (e) Age. There is no significant difference in
the relationship between teachers’ perceived stress and teaching effectiveness
as perceived by students on the basis of teachers’ (a) Qualification, (b)
Experience, (c) Subjects taught, (d) Type of school and (e) Age.
CONCLUSION
Teaching
effectiveness as perceived by teachers and burnout due to intensity &
frequency of emotional exhaustion as well as personal accomplishment are
significantly related. Teaching effectiveness as perceived by students and
burnout due to frequency of personal accomplishment are significantly
correlated. Teachers have the perception that teaching effectiveness is not
influenced by the level of stress. Students also have the perception that
teaching effectiveness is not influenced by the level of stress that teachers
perceive. Teachers have shown positive relationship between stress and burnout
due to intensity of emotional exhaustion. Relationship of teaching
effectiveness as perceived by teachers and burnout did not make any difference
between (i)
experienced / inexperienced teachers, (ii) qualified / overqualified teachers,
(iii) aided / unaided school and (iv) subjects taught (Language / Social science
/ Science) with the exception of (i) Age of teachers,
(ii) single sex / co-ed school. Relationship of teaching effectiveness as
perceived by students and burnout did not make any difference between (i) experienced /
inexperienced teachers, (ii) Age of teachers, (iii) single sex / co-ed school,
(iv) aided / unaided school with the exception of (i) qualified /
overqualified teachers and (ii) subjects taught (Language / Social science /
Science). Teachers have shown that their Stress and teaching effectiveness on
the basis of (i) qualification, (ii) experience,
(iii) subjects taught, (iii) type of school and (iv) age
of teachers are not related. Similarly teachers stress and teaching
effectiveness as perceived by students on the basis of (i)
qualification, (ii) experience, (iii) subjects taught, (iii) type of school and
(iv) age of teachers are not related.