Does teacher burnout affect students? A systematic review of its association with academic achievement and student-reported outcomes
Introduction
Students will gain invaluable skills, knowledge, and experience in the classroom. This not only includes access to further study and improved social outcomes via high levels of academic achievement, but also enhanced motivation and even increased wellbeing (Groot & Maassen van den Brink, 2007; OECD, 2016). Importantly, these outcomes are a function of both the student themselves (and the behaviors they engage in) and also their teachers (and the educational environment they create; Richardson, Abraham, & Bond, 2012; Wayne & Youngs, 2003). Research has sought to examine the factors that affect students’ classroom experiences and outcomes. In this regard, theoretical models acknowledge that teacher wellbeing is a prominent factor (e.g., Jennings & Greenberg, 2009; Schleicher, 2018). In the present study, we are interested in understanding whether a particular facet of teacher wellbeing — burnout — may have implications for students’ performance, motivation, and wellbeing. To do so, we extend previous work by offering the first systematic review of teacher burnout, academic achievement, and student-reported outcomes. It is our hope that this will help provide further understanding regarding how to improve the quality of education that students receive.
Burnout was originally conceived in the care-giving professions in the mid-1970s. The term was coined to describe the process of gradual exhaustion and loss of commitment that had been observed in those working in these contexts. Based on these observations, burnout was defined as a psychological syndrome that develops in response to chronic work stress (Maslach & Jackson, 1981). As a syndrome, burnout is defined by three symptoms, namely, reduced professional efficacy (feelings of reduced competence and achievement in one's work with people), cynicism (an unfeeling and impersonal response toward recipients of one's service, care, treatment, or instruction), and emotional exhaustion (feelings of being emotionally overextended and exhausted at one's work; Maslach, Jackson, Leiter, Schaufeli, & Schwab, 1986).
Burnout can manifest in many occupations but is particularly prevalent among teachers (Iancu, Rusu, Măroiu, Păcurar, & Maricuțoiu, 2018). In fact, teaching is considered one of the most stressful professions (Kyriacou, 2001). This is perhaps unsurprising given the many demands and stressors that teachers experience on a day-to-day basis (McCarthy, Lambert, Lineback, Fitchett, & Baddouh, 2016), including student misbehavior, high workloads, and frequent performance evaluations (Kyriacou, 2001). Taken together, these factors provide plenty of opportunity for teachers to be at risk of burnout development (Schaufeli, 2003).
Burnout is associated with numerous negative experiences and outcomes for teachers. This includes changes in mood and wellbeing as illustrated by increased irritability and symptoms of mental ill-health (Capone, Joshanloo, & Park, 2019; Hakanen, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2006). Burnout also affects how likely a teacher is to stay in their job (Billingsley & Bettini, 2019). This is because it can result in increased absenteeism, lower job commitment, and increased turnover intentions (Brouwers & Tomic, 2000). Consequently, burnout will have a multitude of effects for teachers themselves. What is less clear, however, is how being taught by a teacher with high levels of burnout affects student experiences and outcomes.
Theoretical models aimed at understanding how teacher wellbeing can impact the effectiveness of classroom instruction suggest that burnout will affect the experiences and outcomes of students (e.g., Chang, 2009). Of these theories, the Prosocial Classroom Model is perhaps the most relevant to the present study (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009). This theory proposes that teacher wellbeing and socioemotional functioning influence the capacity of teachers to effectively lead educational instruction and manage classroom behaviors. These factors will in turn affect student outcomes such as performance and motivation (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009). More specifically, when teachers struggle with their wellbeing, including when they experience burnout symptoms, they are more likely to have adversarial relations with their students, become annoyed when students do not follow instruction, and to have negative views of their students (Grayson & Alvarez, 2008). These factors will likely have an impact on student experiences and outcomes.
There are also theoretical explanations that lie within burnout theory itself. In this regard, Maslach and Leiter (1999) proposed that teacher burnout, and especially emotional exhaustion and cynicism, will lead to less involvement and effort in lesson planning and less favorable social behavior towards students. It is also possible burnout will lead to other relevant withdrawal behaviors such as absence from the classroom altogether (cf. Taris, 2006). Emotional exhaustion and cynicism will also result in teachers being more critical and providing lower levels of encouragement in response to student success. In turn, students may feel less competent and be less likely to internalize intrinsic motives for studying, collectively reducing the capacity and depth of their learning (and subsequent motivation and achievement). It is also possible that the distance that burnout creates between students and their teacher will have consequences for students’ sense of belonging, relatedness, and wellbeing.
One further mechanism may explain how teacher burnout may affect their students. This is via a contagion effect, whereby burnout passes from teachers to their students (Bakker & Schaufeli, 2000). Research in this area has explored the potential for individuals to pick up and imitate emotional cues, and there is evidence that students may be particularly astute in this regard (Sutton & Wheatley, 2003). This possibility means that students will also be at risk of the direct consequences of burnout. This includes reduced achievement (Madigan & Curran, 2020), increased forms of controlled motivation (Zhang, Klassen, & Wang, 2013), and increased depression (IsHak et al., 2013). This possibility also provides an explanation for how teachers can indirectly influence the wellbeing of their students. It is therefore possible that contagion effects could compound the direct effects of burnout from teachers’ behaviors.
There is some empirical support for the aforementioned models in relation to the effect teacher burnout can have on students. In particular, a meta-analysis of the association between teacher burnout and student misbehavior found that all dimensions of burnout were associated with higher levels of disruptive behaviors (Aloe, Amo, & Shanahan, 2014). However, evidence for other student experiences and outcomes is less clear. For example, there is evidence that teacher burnout has no effect on academic achievement (Reyes, Brackett, Rivers, White, & Salovey, 2012) and evidence that it inhibits achievement (Klusmann, Richter, & Lüdtke, 2016). The effects of teacher burnout are also unclear in relation to student-reported outcomes such as motivation, wellbeing, and social perceptions (e.g., Braun, Schonert-Reichl, & Roeser, 2020). Consequently, it remains unclear whether teacher burnout affects academic achievement and student-reported outcomes.
It is against this background that the present study aims to provide the first systematic review of research on teacher burnout, academic achievement, and student-reported outcomes. A focus on student performance and student-reported outcomes is important because reporting the association between two variables from the same source of report (i.e., the teacher) can result in methodological bias (Paulhus, 2002). As such, use of both objective (e.g., test scores) and student-reported outcomes when examining their association with teacher burnout will provide much needed clarity on how teachers’ burnout symptoms manifest and affect the students they teach. This study also provides evidence with regard to whether teacher burnout is something that needs further consideration in educational policy. Finally, we identify potential gaps in our understanding so as to guide future research. In summary, we aim to identify, describe, and summarize all available empirical research in this area to provide greater insight into the implications of teacher burnout for students.
Section snippets
Literature search
First, an extensive computerized literature search was conducted using the following common databases in psychology and education: PsycINFO, PsychARTICLES, MEDLINE, Education Abstracts, Educational Administration Abstracts, and ProQuest Dissertations (see also Mérida-López & Extremera, 2017). The following search terms were used: “teacher” and “burnout” and “student” and “effectiveness OR grade OR performance OR achievement OR motivation OR commitment OR engagement OR satisfaction OR outcome OR
Results
The results of the review are organized around characteristics of the studies; namely the measures of burnout used, the designs of the studies, and the samples recruited. Thereafter, the findings of the studies are discussed based on four types of outcomes: performance (including academic achievement), motivation, wellbeing, and social outcomes. Table 1 provides further details concerning the ways in which these outcomes were operationalized.
Discussion
The aim of the present study was to provide the first systematic review of research on teacher burnout, academic achievement, and student-reported outcomes. By identifying, describing, and summarizing the available empirical research in this area, we hoped to provide insight into the importance of teacher burnout for students. Based on the present findings, we discuss the key findings and critical considerations to come out of the review. In doing so, we highlight the most important challenges
Conclusion
We have provided the first systematic review of research examining the association teacher burnout has with academic achievement and student-reported outcomes. We note that more studies adopting better designs, and examining mediating and moderating factors need to be conducted, and we have provided recommendations for how to do so. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that teacher burnout has the potential to inhibit students’ achievement and motivation. Accordingly, in addition to the
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References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the systematic review.