Unforgetting Burnout: Reimagining Teacher Identity, Meaning, and Well-being in Agricultural Education

• In Event: Radical Acts of Care in Teaching

Abstract

Burnout in School-Based Agricultural Education affects teacher well-being, professional identity, and rural communities. While often framed as a clinical or organizational problem, this paper argues that burnout is also a philosophical issue rooted in meaning, care, and institutional structures shaping teachers’ lives. In line with the AERA theme of “unforgetting histories and imagining futures,” this analysis reframes burnout as a product of persistent cultural narratives and institutional practices, some overlooked or forgotten in research. By engaging both neglected and celebrated aspects of SBAE’s history, this paper urges a shift from symptom management to interrogating the values and systems shaping professional life. The synthesis calls for research and policy that “unforget” the past and imagine sustainable futures for SBAE.

Authors

• Kenny Chio Saephan, The Ohio State University

• Amanda Michelle Bowling, The Ohio State University