"It Is My Calling, and It Is Unsustainable": The Road to Burnout in Independent Schools

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Wednesday 7:45am
  In Poster Session: Lives of Teachers SIG Poster Session

Abstract

This qualitative, phenomenological, multi-site case study explored the experience of burnout among teachers in the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS) in Washington State. The study examined how NWAIS teachers described their burnout experience, independent school culture’s influence on their burnout, and the remedies teachers recommended for alleviating burnout. Sixty-one participants responded to questionnaire items concerning their burnout experience. The findings indicated that participants’ burnout emerged NWAIS school cultural factors including: 1) role overload and conflict, 2) parental pressure, 3) inadequate recognition and compensation, and 4) market forces’ influence on administrations’ expectations of teachers. Recommendations include: 1) teacher access to education about burnout and opportunities for relationship-building and 2) administrators’ collaboration with teachers to implement schoolwide changes prioritizing teacher well-being.

Author

• Shawn Allen, Gonzaga University