Book Description
Teacher stress and burnout were identified in the 1970s and 1980s as a phenomenon associated with the culture and climate of the classroom and school. Stress and burnout affects more than an individual's well-being. It has the potential to influence an undesirable classroom environment. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to comprehend the current emotional well-being of middle career educators. This study may be of value to organizations to gain intimate knowledge of this population. In this study the researcher administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Educators Survey (MBI-ES) and the Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) to 50 middle career K-12 teachers. From the fifty participants, fifteen (five elementary, five middle and five high school teachers) were also interviewed and asked six open-ended interview questions. This study found that stress and burnout affect the emotional and physical well-being of middle career educators in their current educational environment and identified the issues that contribute to the feelings of stress and burnout. Additionally, the study discussed how stress and burnout manifest in teacher attitudes, dispositions and behaviors. Despite the causes and impact of stress and burnout among this population, it revealed that teachers in years 10-20 years of the career are still motivated and inspired by students to remain in the classroom and profession. This knowledge can establish a path towards solutions to improve professional well-being along with the classroom and school climate. Students are best served by policies that are related to keeping the most effective teachers in the classroom.