An Investigation of Relations between Experience, Burnout, and Work Engagement: The case of Iranian EFL Teachers

As the success of students is closely relevant to the quality of teachers, teachers’ negative attitudes can result in students’ failure. In fact, Without effective teachers, school administrators become frustrated, class sizes increase, parental concerns grow, and stress level increases [4]. In addition, due to the importance of considering all teacher related variables, and also considering the fact that in the literature related to the area of health psychology, the negative aspects of teaching have been more on the focus of attention [9], this study is also an attempt to include teacher engagement as a positive factor involved. On the other hand, among all the studies conducted in the area of teacher related factors in Iran, not a single study has the researcher found considering work engagement. In order to bridge this gap, this study was an attempt to investigate whether there is a statistically significant relationship between teachers’ years of experience, burnout and work engagement. The results indicated that while experience and work engagement correlated significantly and positively, burnout and instructors’ years of experience associated significantly but negatively. Suggestions are given for both preventive and coping strategies.

Keywords:

Burnout , Work Engagement , Experience