高中教師職業倦怠現象的理解及其對策

Abstract: In recent years， teacher burnout phenomenon has become one of the most concerned problems among the world educational researchers. The paper mainly discusses the description and causes of burnout among Chinese senior high schoolteachers as well as the countermeasures to prevent it.

Key Words: teacher burnout factorscountermeasures teacher

1. Introduction

Most of the senior high school teachers in China are suffering from their profession. They find the demands of being a professional educator are difficult and at times stressful. They are under great stress from the school and the students’ parents. They are distanced by the grading system that separates teachers from students. Many teachers who have suffered in their career urged the present study on teacher burnout to be born.

2. Literature review

Burnout is a common feeling in a society in which work is like a religion. Experts say young people are more likely to experience burnout than older persons， and a single person is more likely to feel it than a person who takes care of four kids and ailing parents. But what is burnout?

Burnout is a metaphor that describes a particular syndrome which is typically found in human service professions， such as teaching， and is assumed to be linked to the emotional strain of working frequently and intensively with other people. Matheny， Gfroerer， and Harris (2000) noted that earlier research into the phenomenon described burnout as a loss of idealism and enthusiasm for work. Freudenberger (1974)， a psychiatrist， is largely credited with first using the term. Maslach and Jackson refined the meaning and measurement of the burnout construct in the 1980s (Maslach Jackson， 1981; Maslach Schaufeli， 1993) to include three sub domains: (1) depersonalization， in which one distances oneself from others and views others impersonally; (2) reduced personal accomplishment， in which one devalues one’s work with others; and (3) emotional exhaustion， in which one feels emptied of personal emotional resources and becomes highly vulnerable to stressors. In particular， depersonalization may be expressed through poor attitudes towards students and the work environment.So how do you know if you， a loved one， or someone who reports to you is suffering from burnout? Here are the early warning signs.

1) Chronic fatigue-exhaustion， tiredness， a sense of being physically run down

2) Anger at those making demands

3) Self-criticism for putting up with the demands

4) Cynicism， negativity， and irritability

5) A sense of being besieged

6) Exploding easily at seemingly inconsequential things

7) Frequent headaches and gastrointestinal disturbances

8) Weight loss or gain

9) Sleeplessness and depression

10) Shortness of breath

11) Suspiciousness

12) Feelings of helplessness

13) Increased degree of risk taking

3. Understanding of teacher burnout

3.1 Definition of teacher burnout

Teacher stress may be seen as the perception of an imbalance between demands at school and the resources teachers have for coping with them (Esteve， 2000; Troman Woods， 2001). Symptoms of stress in teachers can include anxiety and frustration， impaired performance， and ruptured interpersonal relationships at work and home (Kyriacou， 2001). Researchers (Lecompte Dworkin， 1991; Farber， 1998; Troman Woods， 2001) note that teachers who experience stress over long periods of time may experience what is known as teacher burnout.

3.2 Types of teacher burnout

Scholars define teacher burnout as a condition caused by depersonalization， exhaustion and a diminished sense of accomplishment (Schwab et al. 1986). While teachers who are suffering from burnout tend to describe the sensation in metaphors of emptiness——they’re a dry teapot over a high flame， a drained battery that can no longer hold its charge.

Teachers can be burned out from: a specific school ; a specific subject or grade level; K-12 teaching (moving to higher education， K-12 administration， state level positions); the field of education completely.

3.3 Causes for teacher burnout

Burnout is the result of a long period of stress. Stress comes from the perception of a teacher that the resources available to deal with the stress are not adequate. It is caused by high levels of stress related to inordinate time demands， inadequate relationships， large class sizes， lack of resources， isolation， fear of violence， role ambiguity， limited promotional opportunities， lack of support， etc. (Retrieved from “http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index. php/Teacher_burnout”) For example， “Teachers must face a classroom full of students every day， negotiate potentially stressful interactions with parents， administrators， counselors， and other teachers， contend with relatively low pay and shrinking school budgets， and ensure students meet increasingly strict standards of accountability.”(Wood， McCarthy 2000)

3.4 Manifestation of teacher burnout

In addition to resulting in a number of emotional and physical illnesses， burnout manifests itself in increased job turnover and absenteeism， reduced job satisfaction， mental and physical withdrawal and detachment， increased inter and intra-individual conflict， and a general reduction in individual and ultimately school. For example， feeling like not going to work or actually missing days; having difficulty in concentrating on tasks; feeling overwhelmed by the workload and having a related sense of inadequacy to the tasks given to them; withdrawing from colleagues or engaging in conflict relationships with co-workers; having a general feeling of irritation regarding school; experiencing insomnia， digestive disorders， headaches， and heart palpitations; incapacitation and an inability to function professionally in severe instances.

4. Factors relating to burnout

4.1 Individual factor

While learning a language is essentially an activity among students， an interaction between teachers and students， the language learning process is also affected by the personality characteristics of individual learners and teachers. Those teachers who are suffering from job burnout often lack of responsibility and cruel indifference to the students. This kind of negative work manner causes the teacher to be unable to do the normal work， thus can not obtain the teaching effect.

4.2 Social factor

Examining burnout among teachers from a social exchange perspective resulted in several conclusions. First， social exchange processes are relevant in the exchange relationships teachers maintain with their students， colleagues， and the school. Second， the relationship with students can be regarded as the most salient in this respect， the relationship with the school the least salient and the relationship with colleagues taking an intermediate position. Third， burnout levels tend to be higher when lack of reciprocity is experienced.

4.3 Environmental factor

Results from a questionnaire among 330 senior high school teachers show the environmental factors that related significantly to burnout was teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. The more positive the attitude was， the more the teacher experienced burnout in the category of self-fulfillment.

Two other background variables were found to relate to the depersonalization aspect of burnout， teaching higher grade students and having an additional administrative role in school. Two other findings that were found to correlate with higher burnout rates were the number of students with special needs in class (more than 20%) and very little assistance provided to the teacher. Three environmental factors were found to have negative correlation with burnout: the organizational factor， the psychological and the social， with the latter being the most significantly negatively correlated with burnout - i.e. the less social support the teacher experienced， the higher was her level of burnout.

5. Case study

5.1 Data collection

As a young teacher I see teacher burnout a lot in the senior high school that I work in. Recently there was a young teacher who had “given up” back in June， which triggers the heated discussions in the office. The following is the real voice from different teachers in an office of a senior high school.

“想起學生就覺得頭疼!不少人有意無意把教師看成是無所不能的‘超人’——學生成績不好，要找老師;學生品德出了問題，是老師沒教育好;學生磕著碰著，也是老師的責任。這些當然是教師的職業要求，但也不能不分青紅皂白把所有問題都推向老師。”

“幼兒園阿姨、保姆、教書匠、保安、心理醫生，這些都是我們每天在扮演著的多重角色。每天面臨班上幾十個性格不同、狀況各異的學生，繁重的工作讓我感覺自己身心俱憊。”

“當教師難，當中國的教師難，當高三的教師難上加難，一天到晚幾乎沒有一刻不想著學生，神經根本放松不下來。”

From what is discussed above， we can easily sense senior high school teachers are not able to enjoy their lives. Their spare time is taken by the institutions， by the daily labor work. They reduce their teaching into the technique and suffer a lot either in spirit or in moral. And most of them are suffering from burnout of different degrees， just as what has been shown from Table1， which is a diagram for the result of the research among teachers done by some experts from the Internet.

From the cases， we can see that， given that teachers， especially senior high school teachers， must face a classroom full of students every day， negotiate potentially stressful interactions with parents， administrators， counselors， and other teachers， contend with relatively low pay and shrinking school budgets， and ensure students meet increasingly strict standards of accountability， it is no wonder many experience a form of burnout at some point in their careers.

I think there are more demands placed on teachers that can be attributed to teacher burnout. Teachers wear a variety of hats， advocates for their students， social worker， parent educator， and many more. If a beginning， as well as a veteran， teacher do not have the support that they need they may experience burnout and decide to leave the teaching profession.

According to what the interviewees mentioned above， I think some teacher burnout can be attributed to the fact that most teachers are overachievers. They want to do the best job they can in all areas of their life. The need to excel starts to pull that teacher in too many directions. We all want what is best for our students. If we see a need of a student， we try to find a way to satisfy that need， even if it causes extra time. With increased class sizes， the burden becomes too much for one person to bear. This is the point when teachers start to burnout.

6. Preventions of teacher burnout

Researchers point out that it is easier to prevent teacher burnout than it is to reverse it once teacher burnout has developed. Preventative measures can be taken at the organizational level (changes in school environment) or at the individual level (strengthen teachers’ resources resisting stress). Across the various medical professions， a distinction has been made between three levels of prevention interventions:

1) Primary prevention， where the goal is to reduce the incidence of new cases of disorder.

2) Secondary prevention， where the goal is early identification and treatment of symptoms before they turn into full-blown disorder.

3) Tertiary prevention， where persons who have recently suffered from disorder receive some type of intervention to prevent relapse (Conyne， 1991).

The followings are interventions the school system can take to prevent teacher burnout:

1) Offer professional development activities

2) Stress management workshops

3) Relaxation training

4) Time management workshops

5) Nutrition， exercise and coping skills training

6) Improve working conditions

7) Classroom environment

8) Salary issues

9) Accommodate cultural differences

10) Religious events/holidays

(Brenda Dyck: The REBOOTING of a Teacher’s Mind)

Besides， some detailed countermeasures can also be taken for reference:

1) Consult with teachers on matters， such as curriculum development or instructional planning， which directly impact their classrooms.

2) Provide adequate resources and facilities to support teachers in instructional practice.

3) Provide clear job descriptions and expectations in an effort to address role ambiguity and conflict.

4) Establish and maintain open lines of communication between teachers and administrators to provide administrative support and performance feedback that may act as a buffer against stress.

5) Allow for and encourage professional development activities such as mentoring and networking， which may engender a sense of accomplishment and a more fully developed professional identity for teachers.

To sum up， such preventative interventions may either be done at the organizational level， with changes in the school environment， or at the individual level， in which the goal is to strengthen teachers’ resources for resisting stress.

7. Conclusion

This paper is an attempt to gain better understanding of Senior high school English teacher burnout in China， focusing on exploring their life and working state to unravel the reason why so many teachers are under stress， frustration and even get burnout. From all the data in written form， we can pick up the result—it’s normal to feel frustrated， angry， depressed， dissatisfied or anxious occasionally. However， teachers in senior high schools should try their best to get rid of it if it occurs. Actually， in daily life， they can pursue some method to change the present trouble， it is difficult for most of them to change the system， but it is possible for them to get away from the pressed state through the ways above to prevent teacher burnout.

In my opinion， however， I think that the support for teachers is very important in the school system. I also think that working closely with other teachers at the same grade level can be a great support as well. If you are struggling with a particular student and can’t think of anything else to do， having some other people that have fresh ideas can make a huge difference. This has helped me out a lot in my first two years of teaching. Personally I think one of the key ways to avoid teacher burnout is like any other job. You have to make sure you get away from it at times. I see a lot of young teachers just get completely overwhelmed and have doubts about doing their jobs. Here’s a piece of advice， go home and don’t worry and don’t do any school work. Even a day or two can reenergize a person. I also believe that other teachers play a major role in preventing teacher burnout. Have some fun at school!

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