Overcoming teacher burnout at special needs educational institutions: resources for reflection and on the meaning of life

Abstract

Background. Psychological practice has specified the need to search for resources for overcoming burnout that are reflective and meaningful – that help teachers explore the meaning of their lives – defining corrective and preventive measures for reflective and meaningful regulation. Objective. To study the reflective and meaningful regulation of teacher burnout at special needs educational institution and to evaluate its effectiveness. Design. Twenty teachers from a special needs educational institution in Kursk, Russian Federation, participated in an experimental study. The researchers took measurements at two time points, baseline and follow-up. At baseline, we made a diagnostic assessment of the teachers’ burnout, life principles, and reflectivity and searched for correlations among these indicators. At follow-up, we evaluated the teachers’ burnout after a program of reflective and meaningful training for prophylaxis and overcoming of burnout. Results. We demonstrated empirically that Communicative Reflection, Process of Life, and Locus of Control–Life were personal resources for overcoming teacher burnout at the special needs educational institutions. Conclusion. eflective and meaningful training program for prophylaxis and overcoming of teacher burnout at a special needs educational institution was developed, tested, and found to be effective.