Elementary school principals assess services of school psychologists nationwide

A one-page questionnaire was sent to 400 elementary school principals nationwide to assess their opinions regarding services of the school psychologist. These elementary school principals indicated that the school psychologist was found to be most helpful when providing the traditional services of psychological testing, personality and emotional assessment, consultation, and screening. Changes in school psychological services desired by the elementary school principals were more time from the school psychologist and an increase in individual and group counseling, preventive mental health, and inservice training. If elementary principal opinion is to be regarded, gross alterations to existing services of the school psychologist are not indicated by the results of this study.     

Existential fulfillment and burnout among principals and teachers

The aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence of burnout in primary education teachers and primary school principals and to explore the relationship of existential fulfillment to self‐reported burnout scores. Random samples of 215 teachers and 514 principals participated in a cross‐sectional study using an anonymous, mailed survey. Two questionnaires were used in both studies. The Dutch version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for teachers was used to assess the teachers’ and principals’ burnout level. Second, existential fulfillment was measured by the Längle, Orgler and Kundi Existence Scale. The results of the present study indicated that teachers’ and principals’ existential fulfillment is related to their burnout level. Lack of existential fulfillment was an important burnout determinant. Unfortunately, this concept has been neglected to date. Existential fulfillment may be a significant and usable point of departure for devising psychological interventions aimed at teachers and principals.     

The impact of resilience on role stressors and burnout in elementary and secondary teachers

The role of a teacher is becoming increasingly complex, and it is more important than ever that teachers develop resilience to overcome stress and burnout. A conceptual framework to explain the ability of resilience to decrease role stress and burnout was developed and tested. Participants included 415 teachers (174 elementary, 241 secondary) who taught in three adjacent school districts in the Midwest of the United States. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey that included measures of resilience, role stressors, and burnout. Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual framework, and invariance analysis examined the equivalence of relationships across elementary and secondary teacher groups. Results generally supported the conceptual framework, and commonly experienced pathways were found to be invariant across groups. This study emphasizes the importance of resilience in helping to reduce perceived teacher stress and feelings of burnout.     

Teacher Burnout and Lack of Reciprocity1

Results are presented of a study on burnout among 249 Dutch elementary and secondary school teachers. The current study considers burnout in terms of the exchange of investments and outcomes at interpersonal (teacher-student) and organizational (teacher-school) levels. In addition, demographic (age and gender) and work-related factors (school type, teaching experience, number of hours employed) are included. Findings show that when teachers invest more than they get back from their school, they report higher levels of emotional exhaustion. As expected, at the interpersonal level, low outcomes from students are related to higher burnout levels; whereas at the organizational level, low investments are related to higher burnout levels. These findings are discussed in terms of the extent to which psychological contact is more intimate or impersonal in both types of relationships.     

Self-Efficacy in Eliciting Social Support and Burnout Among Secondary-School Teachers

A nonrecursive model with relationships between perceived lack of social support, perceived self-efficacy in eliciting support at the workplace, and the 3 successive burnout dimensions–emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment–was tested in a sample of 277 secondary-school teachers in The Netherlands. Results showed that teachers' perceived lack of support from colleagues and principals had a significant effect on their self-efficacy beliefs in eliciting support from them, while these self-efficacy beliefs were shown to predict their level of burnout. The hypothesized feedback loop was also confirmed: Teachers' level of burnout predicted the extent to which they feel lack of support. An additional effect of the personal-accomplishment dimension of burnout on perceived self-efficacy was suggested. It was concluded that perceived self-efficacy in eliciting support at the workplace is a usable construct in the prediction of teacher burnout. Future directions in research are suggested.     

The Relationship between Religiosity and Burnout of Principals: The Meaning of Educational Work and Role Variables as Mediators

The present study focused on the phenomenon of burnout amongst high school principals within three sectors: state-secular, state-religious, and ultra-Orthodox. Based on the cognitive approach of Lazarus (1996), the purpose of the work was to examine the relationship between religiosity and burnout, via mediator variables namely the meaning of the educational work and role variables (status, workload, wage, difficulties with teachers, and demands of parents). The sample consisted of 69 principals of three populations representing the structure of the Jewish educational system in Israel: 25 principals of the state-secular education sector, 23 of the state-religious education sector, and 21 of the ultra-Orthodox education sector. The data, collected through questionnaires, were analyzed by structural equation models. The findings which confirmed the main hypotheses, should encourage researchers and practitioners to focus more attention on understanding the phenomenon of burnout in a socio-cultural context.     

行动控制在农村教师工作压力与工作倦怠中的作用:PSI理论的分析视角

采用logistic回归分析,考察了322名农村中小学教师的人口学变量和工作压力、行动控制风格、行动控制策略对其工作倦怠的风险预测能力,并借助结构方程模型进一步分析了各心理变量间的关系,从PSI理论角度诠释了倦怠形成的机制。结果发现:中专、高级职称、中高压力水平、低行动控制策略和状态导向是导致中小学教师工作倦怠的危险性因素;行动导向者的工作压力、工作倦怠及行动控制策略运用水平显著好于状态导向者;工作压力、行动控制风格对工作倦怠的直接效应显著;行动控制风格和行动控制策略在工作压力和工作倦怠间起中介作用。因此,PSI视角下的工作压力-工作倦怠模型能够更有效地解释工作倦怠的形成机制;借助PSI理论构建的干预训练,有助于预防和缓解工作倦怠。     

中小学校长心理授权与工作倦怠的关系研究

选取425名中小学校长进行问卷调查,考察校长心理授权和工作倦怠的现状,并探讨校长心理授权与工作倦怠的关系。结果发现:(1)校长心理授权和工作倦怠问卷的验证性因素分析模型与数据拟合良好。(2)校长心理授权在任职年限上存在显著差异,任职5年以下校长的胜任感和心理授权整体显著高于任职6～10年的校长,任职11年以上校长的自我决定显著高于任职6～10年的校长;(3)关于校长工作倦怠,男校长工作怠慢及工作倦怠整体显著高于女校长,学历为大专及以下校长的情绪衰竭、工作怠慢及工作倦怠整体显著高于学历为本科以上的校长,35岁以下校长的低成就感显著高于41～45岁和46岁以上的校长;(4)校长心理授权各维度与其工作倦怠各维度存在非常显著的负相关;回归分析表明,校长心理授权对其工作倦怠具有显著的负向预测作用。     

中小学教师职业倦怠的现状及相关因素研究

采用修订的Maslach教师职业倦怠问卷对647名中小学教师进行了调查,结果表明: (1)我国教师的职业倦怠整体程度不高,但与我国护士和美国教师相比,其个人成就感明显偏低。(2)男女教师的情绪衰竭和非人性化程度无显著差异,女教师成就感显著高于男教师。 (3)中专学历的教师的情绪衰竭感显著低于大专和本科学历的教师。 (4)小学教师的个人成就感显著高于中学教师,而非人性化程度明显比中学教师低,高中教师比小学和初中教师具有更强的情绪衰竭感。 (5)教龄为5-10年的小学教师和教龄为11-20年的中学教师,最易出现情绪衰竭感。(6)教龄在5年内的初中男教师和教龄在11-20年的初中女教师,可能是职业倦怠的高发人群。     

工作特征对农村中学教师职业倦怠的影响

对20例农村中学教师的深度访谈进行内容分析,发现人际消耗以及社会偏见对职业倦怠起着重要的影响作用。根据访谈的结果编制了教师工作特征的本地化测量工具,对266名被试的测量结果进行因素分析,显示4个因素：缺乏支持和公平感,忙碌感,人际消耗,社会偏见。人际消耗和社会偏见在预测职业倦怠总分和热情枯竭有大于5%的增益方差。人际消耗通过影响精力枯竭造成职业倦怠,社会偏见则通过所有三条路径造成职业倦怠。本研究揭示了影响中国农村中学教师职业倦怠的重要因素——人际消耗和社会偏见     

Constructive Thinking and Burnout among Secondary School Teachers

The present study investigated the relationship between Epstein’s (1998, Constructive thinking: The key to emotional intelligence. London: Praeger publisher.) components of constructive thinking and burnout as experienced by a sample of Dutch secondary school teachers. A postal questionnaire was sent to teachers from randomly selected secondary schools. The response rate was 54.1% (N=433). Four components of constructive thinking significantly contributed to the explained variance in emotional exhaustion (17%), depersonalization (21%), and personal accomplishment (20%). The results of the study suggest that secondary school teachers’ maladaptive thinking processes prevent them from rational thinking during their work, which significantly contributes to the onset of burnout. Burnout intervention programs for teachers are likely to be more effective when the participator’s maladaptive thinking system is taken into consideration. This stems from the idea that personality factors are a probably easier point of departure to tackle burnout symptoms than organizational factors.     

Burnout among Iranian school principals

This study investigated burnout among Iranian school principals. Also, the relationships of sex, years of administration, age, and marital status were considered. The sample were 200 principals (100 men, 100 women) who completed the Friedman School Principal Burnout Scale. Analysis showed principals who completed the scale felt exhausted, aloof, and deprecated. The women scored lower. There were significant correlationships between marital status and years of administration with the scores on burnout.     

The role of educational track in adolescents' school burnout: A longitudinal study

Background Transition from comprehensive school to later educational tracks is challenging for many adolescents. The present three‐wave longitudinal study conducted in Finland considers this issue from the perspective of school burnout. Aims The study investigated the extent to which school‐related burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and feelings of inadequacy) changes during the transition from comprehensive school to an academic or vocational track. Sample The participants of the present study were 658 ninth graders, who filled in questionnaires twice during their final term of comprehensive school and once after the transition to post‐comprehensive schooling. Methods The participants filled in the school burnout inventory and supplied background information on gender and academic achievement. The data have analysed by latent growth curve modelling. Results The results showed that adolescents on an academic track experienced more exhaustion at school than those on a vocational track. Moreover, among adolescents on an academic track both the level of cynicism and inadequacy at school increased across time. In turn, among adolescents on a vocational track inadequacy at school decreased across time while cynicism increased before the school transition and decreased thereafter. Girls experienced more overall school burnout than boys, and adolescents whose academic achievement was lower experienced a higher level of burnout than adolescents who did better at school. Conclusions The results support the stage‐environment fit theory according to which the nature of the environments in academic and vocational education are more important than the transition per se for changes in how adolescents think and feel about school (see Eccles & Midgley, 1989 ).     

The Counselor and the School as a Social Organization

Role relations in the public school are viewed within the perspective of organization theory; the public school is like the prison and the public mental hospital in that neither client nor organization exercises choice concerning client participation in the organization. Based on previous studies of prisons and mental hospitals and on clues provided in a case study of a junior high school, it was predicted that counselors and principals would be less “custodial” in pupil control ideology than teachers. An instrument that measured pupil control ideology along a custodial-humanistic continuum was administered to 945 teachers, 181 principals, and 180 counselors. Results confirmed the predictions. Counselor adaptations to ideological conflict concerning pupil control in both the secondary and the elementary school are discussed. It was speculated that adaptations would function to reduce overt conflict and contribute to organizational equilibrium.     

Principal self-efficacy: relations with burnout, job satisfaction and motivation to quit

The purpose of this study was to explore relations between principals?? self-efficacy, burnout, job satisfaction and principals?? motivation to quit. Principal self-efficacy was measured by a recently developed multidimensional scale called the Norwegian Principal Self-Efficacy Scale. Burnout was measured by a modified version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Job satisfaction and motivation to quit were measured by two scales developed for the purpose of this study, respectively. Participant in the study were 1,818 principals from the population of Norwegian principals. Data was collected by means of an electronic questionnaire. Two structural equation models were tested which specified principal self-efficacy as an exogenous variable and burnout, job satisfaction and motivation to quit as endogenous variables. The data was analyzed by means of SEM analysis for latent variables using the AMOS 18 program. Both models had acceptable fit to data. The results revealed that principal self-efficacy was positively related to job satisfaction and motivation to quit and negatively related to burnout. Burnout and job satisfaction were negatively related. Burnout was positively related to motivation to quit whereas job satisfaction was negatively related. The study highlights important relations between self-efficacy, burnout, job satisfaction and motivation to quit and extends the literature on principal self-efficacy and its relation to other concepts. The results of the study are discussed together with limitations and suggestions for further research.     

A person-oriented approach to sport and school burnout in adolescent student-athletes: The role of individual and parental expectations

ObjectivesThe present study aimed to examine what kind of burnout profiles exist among student-athletes based on their sport and school burnout symptoms. Moreover, it was investigated whether athletes' expectations of success in sport and school, on the one hand, and parental expectations, on the other hand, were predictors of the likelihood of the athlete to show a certain profile, after taking into account the effects of gender, grade point average, type of sport, and level of competition.Design and methodsThe participants were 391 student-athletes (51% females) from six different upper secondary sport schools in Finland, and 448 parents (58% mothers). The athletes filled in questionnaires about burnout and success expectations at the beginning of the first year of upper secondary school. At the same time point, parents were asked to answer a questionnaire on their success expectations for their child. Structural equation modeling and latent profile analysis were used to analyze the data.ResultsFour burnout profiles were identified: well-functioning, mild sport burnout, school burnout, and severe sport burnout. Athletes' and parents' expectations of success seemed to protect against burnout in the same domain, but this protection did not extend to the other domain. Moreover, high success expectations in one domain seemed to increase the risk for burnout in another domain.ConclusionsBurnout needs to be investigated within and across context in order to gain a holistic understanding of student-athletes' wellbeing.     

情绪智力对农村小学校长职业倦怠的影响：领导效能和工作满意度的链式中介作用

为考察领导效能、工作满意度在情绪智力与农村小学校长职业倦怠关系中的链式中介效应,采用情绪智力量表、领导效能量表、工作满意度量表和职业倦怠量表对258名农村小学校长进行调查。结果表明：（1）情绪智力会负向预测农村小学校长职业倦怠;（2）领导效能是情绪智力与农村小学校长职业倦怠之间的中介变量;（3）工作满意度是领导效能与农村小学校长职业倦怠之间的中介变量。因此,领导效能和工作满意度在情绪智力与农村小学校长职业倦怠之间起链式中介作用,这些结果对于农村小学校长职业倦怠的预防与干预具有重要的价值。     

Early school leaving in the lower vocational track: triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data

This study assessed the reasons for very early school leaving of boys in the lower secondary vocational track. A unique combination of quantitative and qualitative data from different sources provided background data on these boys from a national cohort study on their elementary and high school periods. In-depth interviews in which the boys reflect on their early school leaving were conducted. Four case studies are presented in which the boys' own reflections are interpreted in light of the cohort data. It was found that several factors contribute simultaneously to early school leaving; however, the emphasis lies with learning problems, lack of motivation, and problems arising from choosing the wrong vocational track. Specific personal problems also negatively affect the school career. While the boys do not feel alienated from school, they do not enjoy studying and would rather start work. This approach of combining data appears to be worth reproducing.     

Promoting principals' managerial involvement in instructional improvement

Studies of school leadership suggest that visiting classrooms, emphasizing achievement and training, and supporting teachers are important indicators of the effectiveness of school principals. The utility of a behavior-analytic program to support the enhancement of these behaviors in 2 school principals and the impact of their involvement upon teachers' and students' performances in three classes were examined in two experiments, one at an elementary school and another at a secondary school. Treatment conditions consisted of helping the principal or teacher to schedule his or her time and to use goal setting, feedback, and praise. A withdrawal design (Experiment 1) and a multiple baseline across classrooms (Experiment 2) showed that the principal's and teacher's rates of praise, feedback, and goal setting increased during the intervention, and were associated with improvements in the academic performance of the students. In the future, school psychologists might analyze the impact of involving themselves in supporting the principal's involvement in improving students' and teachers' performances or in playing a similar leadership role themselves.     

It may be lonely at the top but it's less stressful: psychological burnout in public schools

This investigation compared levels of psychological burnout and its antecedents and consequences among teachers, department heads, and principals from a single school board. The data showed that increased stress and burnout were associated with decreased administrative responsibilities. Possible explanations for these findings are provided.