Teacher burnout causes, symptoms & recommended solutions. (c2016)

Abstract

The pressure of being a teacher of students with special needs could eventually drive teachers to burnout, a phenomenon that manifests itself in emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and feeling incapable of personal accomplishment. Burnout has physical and psychological symptoms and affects teachers‟ wellbeing and quality of work. In order to identify the causes and symptoms of teacher burnout, this study was conducted in 5 private schools in Beirut. A qualitative research approach and a multiplecase study design were followed. The instruments were the Mashlach Burnout Inventory- Educators Survey (MBI-ES) that 54 special education teachers responded to, a researcher‟s reflective journal, and semi-structured interviews with 5 Heads of special education departments and 5 teachers of students with special needs. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis was conducted and credibility, trustworthiness and ethical practice were ensured. Findings indicate that Lebanese special education teachers experience high burnout on emotional exhaustion and low burnout on depersonalization and personal accomplishment caused by teaching conditions, minimal support, heavy workload, challenging students‟ behavior, teacher expectations not matching reality, role conflict and ambiguity, and lack of teacher training. Recommendations for dealing with burnout were highlighted.