Exploring the Relationship among Gender, Education Level and Iranian Teachers’ Burnout

Burnout is a psychological condition of emotional and mental exhaustion due to extended stressors on the job (Maslach, 1999). Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishments are three dimensions that constitute the burnout syndrome. Many studies have already been conducted to understand the various dimensions of burnout.The main purpose of this study is toexplore the possible relationshipsamong gender, education level and Iranian teachers’ burnout in formal (public schools and universities) and informal(private language institutes) settings among 70(54 male, 16 female) teachers from primary, secondary, high school and university levels in two provinces of Iran (Ardabil and East Azerbaijan). The research method chosen to this study is descriptive survey method of research. Three variables, gender, education level and burnout, are used for the study. Gender and education level are the dependent variables while burnout is the independent variable. The data were gathered through the application of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire and the demographic questionnaire. The data collection process took 3 weeks. The data were analyzed by One-way ANOVA test, one sample t-test and independent samples t-test using SPSS version 19 software.Based on the findings, the level of burnout is higher among female teachers compared to male teachers. The study also found that there was no significant difference between teachers with different degrees (BA, MA and PhD) and burnout level. Implications of the study are discussed, and suggestions for further research are made.

Keywords:

Burnout , gender , education level , teacher