Learned Resourcefulness and Burnout Levels of English Teachers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between some individual characteristics, learned resourcefulness and burn out on the one hand and the relationships between burn out and learned resourcefulness on the other. The participants in this research included 163 English teachers teaching in the schools located in Malatya. The participants were asked to anonymously fill out a questionnaire involving three parts which respectively investigated their background, burnout level and learned resourcefulness (Rosenbaum's Learned Resourcefulness Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory). The findings indicated that more than half of the teachers possess moderately high level of learned resourcefulness and they are experiencing burnout at moderate level in three aspects of MBI. In addition, the analysis suggested an inverse relationship between learned resourcefulness and the three burnout subscales: as learned resourcefulness increases, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and lack of personal accomplishment decrease. Furthermore; the independent variables (age, gender, and marital status) were not found to be significant in learned resourcefulness and any of the burnout dimensions. "The school type" is the only variable which was found to be significant in the three burnout sub-dimensions. Results are discussed in the light of current literature and suggestions were provided.

The Challenge EFL Teachers Face in Turkey: Burnout

“…The variables in these studies constitute the common factors that pave the way for the formation of burnout. These are gender, age, marital status, contract type, teaching experience, job dissatisfaction, low selfefficacy beliefs, shareholders, the school's physical environment, and its sociocultural environment, heavy workload, students' attitudes and demands, institutional demands, financial problems, absence of social activities, education policy, total teaching experience in the institution, weekly course load, monthly income, working departments, living area (small or big city), absence of problem-focused techniques, lack of professional learning activities, the type of university and school, feeling psychological pressure, feeling of disappointment, administrative issues, personal characteristics (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness) and low self-esteem, reduced personal accomplishment (positive and negative feelings), depersonalization (caring, seeing students and colleagues as objects or work to do, feeling of being accused), teachers' written corrective feedback preferences, control, lack of rewarding, role of community for fairness and values, academic factors (longer hours of teaching, and lower academic levels of the students), administrative duty and administrative factors (lack of institutional support, academic support of the colleagues, ideal working conditions), lack of professional development activities, working with the same levels of learners and lack of resourcefulness skills (Atmaca, 2017;Bal, 2019;Ceylan & Mohammadzadeh, 2016;Demirel & Cephe, 2015;Deneme, 2021;Erdağ & Tavil, 2021;Genç, 2016;Güneş & Uysal, 2016;Hismanoğlu & Ersan, 2016;Karanfil & Yeşilbursa, 2021;Kazimlar & Dollar, 2015;Kimsesiz, 2019;Köksal et al, 2018;Kulavuz-Önal & Tatar, 2017;Özkara, 2019;Savas et al, 2014;Ulum, 2019;Unaldi et al, 2013). As seen in these studies, various demographic, professional, and psychological characteristics were explored in burnout research with a diverse group of educators, including academicians based on the burnout feelings of instructors from universities, teachers from high schools, secondary schools as well as primary schools.…”

“…To concentrate on burnout, many studies have been carried out, and since burnout is a context-specific phenomenon, the results have varied. The causes, consequences, and relationships between burnout and other aspects of teachers' life have been sought in various research studies in the national and international arena (Atmaca, 2017;Ceylan & Mohammadzadeh, 2016;Genç, 2016;Erdağ & Tavil, 2021;Kimsesiz, 2019;Özkara, 2019;Öztürk, 2013).…”