Teacher burnout: A laughing matter
by McKenzie, Kemberly Elaine, Ph.D., CAPELLA UNIVERSITY, 2009, 133 pages; 3379726

Abstract:

This study employed a quantitative research method and examined the relationship among teacher burnout, job-related stress and humor coping styles in 306 high school teachers from the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. In particular, this study sought to determine if a relationship existed among the three variables by examining if teacher burnout is lower among those teachers that have a higher use of humor coping skills to job related stress as opposed to those teachers with lower use of humor coping skills. A correlational cross-sectional survey research design was employed in this study. Teachers responded to three survey instruments. The Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI), provided data on the teachers' perception of stress as it related to their occupation. Six of the nine demographic items were selected from this instrument for use with this study; the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES) rated levels of burnout on the scales of Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and lower Personal Accomplishments in teachers; the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) measured potentially beneficial and detrimental ways people tend to use humor in their everyday lives. Research hypotheses 1 through 3 were tested using the Pearson bivariate correlation coefficient. The results of this study indicate that teacher reported stress was statistically significantly associated with more emotional exhaustion, more depersonalization and less personal accomplishment. Research hypotheses 4 through 6 only focused on those participants who reported a high level of job-related stress. Specifically, the participants with high levels of reported stress were broken down into those who use humor to cope and those who do not (i.e., dichotomous grouping). This study did not find empirical evidence to support hypotheses 4 through 6 that teachers with high reported stress levels who use humor as a coping mechanism have less emotional exhaustion burnout, less depersonalization burnout or high personal accomplishment burnout than teachers with high reported stress levels who do not use humor as a coping mechanism.

 
AdviserMelissa McIntyre-Brandly
SchoolCAPELLA UNIVERSITY
SourceDAI/A 70-12, p. , Jan 2010
Source TypeDissertation
SubjectsEducational administration; Secondary education
Publication Number3379726
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