Work stress and burnout affect teachers to a significant extent. The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the impact of relational and organizational factors on teacher burnout in two samples of primary school teachers, one Italian (Naples) and the other Swiss (Cantone Ticino). The hypothesis is that, given the socio-cultural and economic differences of the two contexts, the variables under investigation impact teacher burnout differently. We collected data through a self-reported questionnaire containing the following scales: Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Life Orientation test, organizational identification, colleague support, and workload. The Swiss sample consists of 964 teachers (26% kindergarten and 73.7% primary school teachers); the Italian sample consists of 104 teachers (20% kindergarten and 80% primary schools teachers). Descriptive analyses, mean comparison (
t
test), correlational analyses, and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. There are no significant differences between the two samples with respect to burnout, colleague support, and workload. Correlations between burnout and the variables under investigation are significant in both samples, except for optimism in the Italian sample. Regression analysis shows that optimism and colleague support have an impact on burnout only in the Swiss sample; organizational identification has a stronger impact on burnout in the Italian sample.
The purpose of the study was to test a model of factors predicting teachers’ job and life satisfaction, burnout, dispositional optimism, social support, perceived workload, and self-efficacy. The model extends Lent and Brown’s (J Voc Behav 69(2):236–247, 10.1016/j.jvb.2006.02.006, 2006; J Career Assess 16(1):6–21, 10.1177/1069072707305769, 2008) social cognitive model of the interaction of sources of job and life satisfaction. Specifically, burnout, a condition with a high incidence rate among teachers, was included. The participants were 676 Swiss teachers. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The results revealed the differential effect of the variables considered on teachers' burnout and job satisfaction, as well as their life satisfaction. Dispositional optimism, social support, and perceived workload might reduce the risk of teacher burnout; dispositional optimism, social support, and teacher self-efficacy seem to positively affect job satisfaction; and dispositional optimism alone, together with burnout and job satisfaction, directly relates to teachers’ life satisfaction. Practical implications of these results are discussed.
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