Teacher burnout and demographic variables as predictors of teachers’ enthusiasm

Abstract

This study was aimed to investigate the impact of several demographic variables and teacher burnout on teaching enthusiasm. The descriptive correlational model was used. The study sample was comprised of teachers from high schools (9th-12th grades) in Antalya, Turkey during the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. 366 teachers fully completed the questionnaire in 52 high schools. Data were obtained through two scales, namely the Teacher Enthusiasm Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Two models were implemented for teaching and subject enthusiasm, separately. Each model included three demographic variables and three sub-dimensions of teacher burnout as predictors of teachers’ teaching and subject enthusiasm. The binary logistic regression analysis was used in the study. The analysis showed that gender and seniority as demographic variables were found to be significant predictors in the teaching enthusiasm model. The average class size was the only variable which was not significantly effective on teaching and subject enthusiasms. Emotional exhaustion and decreasing sense of personal accomplishment were found to be significant predictors for teaching and subject enthusiasm, while emotional exhaustion was the dominant predictor. Also, depersonalization was not a significant predictor of teaching and subject enthusiasm as sub-dimensions of teacher enthusiasm. That the relations’, which can directly and indirectly define the relationship between enthusiasm and burnout in the literature being greatly ignored forms the justification of the current study.