On the Relationship between Biographical Variables and Iranian EFL Teachers’ Burnout and Stressors

Abstract

Occupational stress and professional burnout are of great concern in educational jobs. Teachers serve one of the most stressful professions. Prolonged stress at work can lead to burnout which causes absenteeism and job dissatisfaction. This problem will impair the quality of teaching. The aim of this study was to investigate the sources of stress and burnout levels of Iranian English teachers using the Boyle’s stress and Maslach Burnout Inventory. The teachers who are in the higher levels of occupational experience presented higher levels of job stress, apart from marital status, level of teaching, and degree of education. Based on the results of this study, it appeared that Iranian English teachers in this case seemed not to have lost their sense of self-efficacy, competence and achievement. Female and male teachers showed moderate degree of personal accomplishment. Increasing the hours of teaching per week leads to increase depersonalization of the teachers. The other biographic factors have no effect on depersonalization. Increasing the hours of teaching per week increases the emotional exhaustion but there is no relationship with the other variables.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s1p543