Determinants of Burnout among Teachers: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies

Abstract

We aimed to review the determinants of burnout onset in teachers. The study was conducted according to the PROSPERO protocol CRD42018105901, with a focus on teachers. We performed a literature search from 1990 to 2021 in three databases: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase. We included longitudinal studies assessing burnout as a dependent variable, with a sample of at least 50 teachers. We summarized studies by the types of determinant and used the MEVORECH tool for a risk of bias assessment (RBA). The quantitative synthesis focused on emotional exhaustion. We standardized the reported regression coefficients and their standard errors and plotted them using R software to distinguish between detrimental and protective determinants. A qualitative analysis of the included studies (n = 33) identified 61 burnout determinants. The RBA showed that most studies had external and internal validity issues. Most studies implemented two waves (W) of data collection with 6–12 months between W1 and W2. Four types of determinants were summarized quantitatively, namely support, conflict, organizational context, and individual characteristics, based on six studies. This systematic review identified detrimental determinants of teacher exhaustion, including job satisfaction, work climate or pressure, teacher self-efficacy, neuroticism, perceived collective exhaustion, and classroom disruption. We recommend that authors consider using harmonized methods and protocols such as those developed in OMEGA-NET and other research consortia

Relationship Between Person-Organization Fit and Teacher Burnout in Kindergarten: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

“…This study also showed that there is a significant negative correlation between job satisfaction and teacher burnout. The finding is in consistence with a systematic review of longitudinal studies on determinants of teacher burnout,which found that job satisfaction was the most predictive factor (42). As a positive attitude related to job, job satisfaction can significantly negatively predict teacher burnout (43).…”

What Levers to Promote Teachers’ Wellbeing during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: Lessons Learned from a 2021 Online Study in Six Countries

“…The use of stepwise regression, although an intuitive and interesting approach when dealing with several samples and numerous potential determinants, requires caution in interpretation [ 56 ]. In addition, we were not able to consider all potential wellbeing determinants and possible interaction effects (those implying personality traits or emotion regulation strategies) even though they may play an important role in the process [ 26 , 37 , 73 , 74 ]. Moreover, information on certain categories of teachers or education staff is lacking (e.g., university teachers or school support staff).…”

“…It will allow us to delve further into the subject, confirm or refute the associations presently highlighted, and evaluate trends. To decisively strengthen the body of evidence, longitudinal and intervention studies would also be crucial [ 20 , 37 , 76 ].…”

“…As potential determinants of wellbeing, we considered a list of 31 factors previously linked to a dimension of wellbeing in the general population, or more specifically among teachers [ 20 , 21 , 37 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ], and that were available in the Barometer. In addition to sociodemographic characteristics (age and gender), we considered factors related to private life (household partner; household child(ren); access to healthcare; access to training/prevention resources) and to professional life.…”

“…), and cultures and as such, differences in vocabulary, theoretical approaches and methods render it difficult to capture a clear and global view of the field [ 36 ]. Although plethoric at first sight, data are scattered, both in time and space, and are produced mostly from cross-sectional or short-term longitudinal studies [ 20 ], which are now potentially outdated by the COVID-19 crisis [ 37 ]. Furthermore, available studies focused on a specific category of factors and/or one specific indicator of wellbeing.…”