Work Related Burnout and Classroom Management Style of Primary School Teachers
Author: Miljenovic, Sladana
Date: 2022-00-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Mental Health,Teacher Burnout,Physical Health,Teacher Effectiveness,Learner Engagement,Classroom Techniques,Stress Variables,Job Satisfaction,Classroom Communication,Elementary School Teachers,Foreign Countries

The mental health of teachers is extremely important for the quality of the teaching and learning process. The literature points out that only a mentally healthy teacher can fully dedicate himself to work, participate in student activities and make the maximum effort to contribute to the student's mental health, both by his activity and by example. The unpredictability of the teacher's work is reflected in the fact that each school year represents a new, unique experience. With the progress of science and technology, as well as with social changes, these challenges are multiplying. Excessive and long-term stress at work leads to burnout syndrome, which negatively affects the mental and physical health of teachers and leaves harmful consequences for the teaching process itself. We can evaluate the teaching process through the behaviour of teachers whose responsibility is establishing order in the classroom, engaging students in the learning and teaching process, and establishing cooperation with them. The term that summarizes all these activities is called classroom management. The creation of a positive and stimulating atmosphere for learning and teaching is one of the basic indicators of good classroom management. If a teacher is exposed to excessive stress, it reduces the quality of his teaching in two ways. First, it reduces job satisfaction, affecting the time and effort invested in teaching. Second, the communication with students is not satisfactory. The purpose of the research was to establish burnout level of elementary school teachers and to investigate a relationship between the degree of burnout and the dominant style of classroom management. The professional burnout scale (MBI-NL-ES, Schaufeli, Daamen and Van Mierlo, 1994, developed according to the MBI-ES, Maslach and Jackson, 1986) was used to assess the burnout syndrome in a sample of 300 teachers. The professional burnout scale consists of three subscales, which measure three dimensions of burnout -- emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal achievement. To assess the classroom management style, the Inventory for Self-Assessment of the Classroom Management Style of Teachers (Digic, Stojiljkovic, Janjic, 2011) was used, including interactionist, intervening and non-intervening management styles. The results show that the burnout level is related to the dominant classroom management style. Considering the results, the highlighted topics are the sources of stress in the teaching profession, as well as the variety of strategies teachers are using to overcome stressful situations. The concern of the entire educational system for the mental health of teachers is highlighted as an important topic for future research. [For the complete volume, &quot;NORDSCI International Conference Proceedings: 5th Anniversary Edition (Sofia, Bulgaria, October 17-19, 2022). Book 1. Volume 5,&quot; see ED625663.]