A Structural Equation Model of Factors Affecting Teachers’ Burnout

Burnout refers to negative changes in an employees’ attitude and behaviour reflecting work tensions. It mostly appears in jobs which involve close human relationships between people in most work hours. The present study with a descriptive and correlational design aimed to identify factors affecting teachers’ burnout. The population comprised all teachers working in four areas of the city of Karaj. A sample of 180 Teachers chosen through cluster multistage random sampling participated in this research. The instruments include demographic questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory (1981) (MBI) and a researcher-made inventory concerning factors affecting burnout. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and path analysis. After establishing the validity (i.e. the correlations between the components) and reliability (i.e. Cronbach α) of the researcher-made questionnaire through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the proposed model was tested. Accordingly, job stress and job attitudes directly affected teacher burnout. In addition, work-family balance, professional development, management support and spousal support affected teacher burnout through job attitudes. This model could explain 35 percent of variance of teacher burnout. The goodness-of-fit indexes were satisfactory. All variables had significant correlations with teacher burnout. It is suggested that teacher burnout can be avoided by implementing programmes concerning the improvement of teacher attitudes if the individual, family and organizational characteristics of the model are considered.