week 2 quantitative paper

Abstract 1:

Bibliographic Citation

Savas, A. C., Bozgeyik, Y., & Eser, İ. (2014). A Study on the Relationship between Teacher Self Efficacy and Burnout. European Journal of Educational Research, 3(4), 159-166.

Authors’ Qualifications

Ahmet Cezmi Savaş PhD, Yunus Bozgeyik PhD, and İsmail Eser PhD

Research Concern

As pointed out by the researchers, teacher competency is important, but the impact of teacher well-being and self-efficacy cannot be ignored when determining teacher effectiveness. More importantly a growing number of teachers are experiencing burnout within the teaching profession. While other research has been conducted on job burnout in other employment sectors, the same paradigms do not seem to hold true for teaching. Moreover, it is hypothesized through data gathered in the literature that not all teachers experience burnout syndrome. Therefore, the researchers in this article are primarily focused on characteristics that protect teachers from burnout and the relationship between self-efficacy and burnout syndrome.

Research Purpose Statement and Research Questions/Hypotheses

The main purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and teacher burnout in order to see if a positive, negative, or no correlation existed.

Therefore, the researchers attempted to answer the question of is teacher burnout caused by low levels of self-efficacy in teaching?

Precedent Literature

Vast amounts of research in teacher self-efficacy and job burnout have already been conducted. Tuğrul and Çelik (2002) assert that the problems teacher come across in school settings can lead them to experience job burnout syndrome. Furthermore, the researchers then identify a commonly used job burnout of model based on the works of Maslach & Jackson (1981) which holds job burnout consists of three dimensions; the most important of these dimensions, exhaustion develops as a result of experiencing excessive work-load and it is related stress. This literature citation helps to frame the focus for the remainder of the introduction which focuses on how job burnout is derived from stress related factors: fatigue, tension, addiction, and depression. Next, the researchers refine the focus of their study to include precedent literature on the topic of self-efficacy, and they point out how self-efficacy is tied to job burnout. Following the researcher’s assertions, they define efficacy as the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to carry out a role (Balcı, 2005, p. 197). Finally, the authors funnel down into their topic and research question by citing the work of Bandura (1997) who puts forward that teacher self-efficacy can have a positive effect on teacher motivation and performance. From this literature review, the researchers make their claim for the purpose and usefulness of their study.

Research Methodology

The model used for data collection in this study was correlational research survey design model. As stated in the journal, the correlational research design is utilized to see whether there is a relationship between two variables after they are measured quantitatively (Savas, Bozgeyik, & Eser, 2014). The population included in the research includes teachers working in various primary and secondary state schools in the center of Gaziantep, Turkey. The sample consisted of 163 randomly chosen teachers from the population during the 2014-2015 academic year. The table below shows the distribution of the sample.

Two questionnaires were developed in order to gather data. One of the questionnaires was designed based on the model from Maslach and Jackson (1981) to determine teacher burnout. The other questionnaire was based on the work of Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk (2001) to address teachers’ perception of self-efficacy.

Instrumentation

As previously mentioned, two questionnaires were used as the data gathering instrument. The first sought to understand teacher burnout. This questionnaire used three subscales: exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment to frame the findings. The other questionnaire sought to understand teachers’ perception of self-efficacy in the subscales of efficacy in student engagement, efficacy in instructional strategies and efficacy in classroom management subscales.

Findings

As mentioned in the journal, the data of the study was analyzed by SPSS programme. The data were analyzed through calculation of means, frequencies, correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analysis (Savas, Bozgeyik, & Eser, 2014). The results revealed that classroom management was the area teachers felt they had the greatest amount of self-efficacy in. Moreover, burnout levels were low compared to perceived efficacy levels. However, the teachers did report perceiving themselves high in the area of exhaustion meaning that teachers believed they are worn-out rather than burnout, but this only remained true for teachers with high self-efficacy. Teachers with low self-efficacy more often reported feeling as if they were burned out.

Conclusions

The authors of this study revealed that teachers with low self-efficacy levels experienced burnout more than their colleagues with high teacher self-efficacy levels. Through these findings the researchers conclude that improving teacher self-efficacy levels is critical for making schools more effective. Furthermore, the authors connect their findings with that of Karahan and Balat (2011) who found a negative relationship between teacher self-efficacy and burnout for teachers in private schools. This further proved the validity of their study. Therefore, the pointed conclusion is that in order to improve schools, teachers must have high self-efficacy.

Suggestions for Further Research

Based on the conclusion from this study that high levels of teacher self-efficacy lead to greater classroom performance, more research will need to be conducted to determine ways to improve teacher self-efficacy. Furthermore, the authors suggest that this data should also come from a qualitative perspective in order to yield the greatest possible conclusions.