Creative righting: autoethnographic creative writing as a tool to prevent teacher burnout and attrition

Abstract

Teacher burnout is a key feature of the current international crisis of teacher shortages. Teachers are feeling isolated, marginalised and disempowered. Research on burnout in teachers has focused on attrition and how to avoid it. However, factors contributing to teacher burnout are multi-dimensional and complex. Consequently, any potential solution must be able to address such complexities in a personalised way. The literature tells us that personal reflection and discussing experiences, particularly negative or those that involve conflict, can result in improvements in teacher identity, positive teaching experience, positive mental health, and thus less burnout. In my own case of burnout, I used autoethnographic writing to re-imagine challenging episodes from my career. The creative and reflective processes reinvigorated my passion for teaching so that writing and sharing stories became an unexpected pathway away from burnout and into empowerment. The use of autoethnographic creative writing to tell and reflect upon the challenges of teaching offers a personalised and valuable way to address the complex variables of burnout affecting individuals. Importantly, one does not have to be an expert in creative writing to be effective. More research is needed to determine whether this approach has wider appeal and benefit for educators experiencing burnout.