Burnout and its Predictors: Testing a Model Among Public School Teachers

Abstract

The present research assessed the predictors of burnout using a hypothesized model of burnout and its predictors. The sample of 1693 public school teachers from six districts of Punjab was employed. A self-developed instrument Emotional Burnout Scale (EBS; ? = .81) was used for assessing burnout rate among teachers with its three dimensions, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment; also authors developed an Institutional Factors Measuring scale to measure predictors of burnout (? = .80). It comprised six school-related factors including personal, administrative, environmental, insecurities, material goods, and training. These factors, along with demographic variables like marital status, experience, qualification, job status, school level were used to predict the three dimensions of burnout. The results showed paths in predicted direction among proposed model; the personal factor strongly predicted emotional exhaustion whereas environmental factor was found to be a strong predictor for depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment in teachers. Implications for practice are discussed.