Student Misbehavior and School Safety: Consequences for Teacher Burnout in an Era of Increased Accountability

• In Event: Students, Teachers, and Accountability

Abstract

The effects of student misbehavior and school safety on teacher burnout has changed over the waves of the Standards Based Accountability Movement. Accountability systems are stressful, but when student achievement impacts the continued employability of teachers, class disruptions that diminish student learning and teacher effectiveness, exacerbates stress and burnout. Survey data on over 6,000 teachers collected during three waves of school reform are analyzed in a two-level HLM model. Data examine teacher morale following A Nation at Risk and two time periods since the inception of No Child Left Behind. While teachers are increasingly able to cope with reforms per se, disruptive students who diminish teaching effectiveness, heighten teacher burnout and intentions to quit teaching.

Authors

• Anthony Gary Dworkin, University of Houston

• Pamela F. Tobe, University of Houston