Exploring The Dimensions, Factors, Consequences and Methods of Dealing with The Phenomenon of Teacher Isolation: A Meta-Synthesis

The aim of the present study was to identify the dimensions, factors, consequences, and coping strategies of teacher isolation in global studies. The research approach was qualitative and integrative and the seven-stage method of Sandelowski and Barroso was used for data collection. After searching for keywords in reputable scientific databases, documents related to the research questions and objectives published between 1980 and 2024 were extracted for review. The findings showed that teacher isolation encompasses six psychological, social, educational, physical, professional, and geographical dimensions. Factors such as ineffective professional attitudes, limited specialized knowledge and skills, weak human resource management, curriculum inefficiency, inefficient organizational bureaucracy, school physical environment, social distance, economic problems, psychological elements (such as introversion, competitiveness, self-centeredness, etc.), and cultural-social components (such as generational gap among teachers, sense of social alienation within the school organization, management style, etc.) lead to teacher isolation. Furthermore, the results showed that teacher isolation has psychological consequences (such as anxiety, job-related stress, professional burnout, etc.), social consequences (such as interpersonal conflicts, etc.), educational consequences (such as poor academic performance of students, etc.), and organizational consequences (such as job turnover, etc.).