Exploring the Relationship between Creativity and Burnout among Iranian EFL Teachers

Abstract

Teachers‟ level of burnout and creativity are considered as variables which affect the quality of both teaching and learning in almost any educational context. The present study aimed at investigating the relationship between creativity and burnout among Iranian EFL teachers with respect to gender differences. In so doing, an exploratory/descriptive study was applied with a sample size of 100 male and female classroom teachers. A survey was given to English language teachers in 12 English language institutes from all over the city of Mashhad. Weak correlations were found between creativity and the two dimensions of burnout, i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization. However, a fairly significant correlation was observed between creativity and reduced personal accomplishment. Further, by running two way ANOVA it was revealed that gender did not influence the relationship between reduced personal accomplishment and the creativity index.