The relationship of elementary teachers' years of teaching experience, perceptions of occupational stress, self-acceptance, and challenging student behavior to burnout symptoms in the United States and Germany.

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Ullrich, A. (2009). The relationship of elementary teachers' years of teaching experience, perceptions of occupational stress, self-acceptance, and challenging student behavior to burnout symptoms in the United States and Germany. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

In the United States, stress and burnout have been identified as contributors to the shortage and attrition of both general and special education teachers (Edmonson, 2006). In Germany, intense political debate has been related to premature retirement of teachers (Weber, 2002). Many teachers retire before the official retirement age of 65 years based on symptoms and diagnoses that may be related to stress and burnout (Bauer et al., 2001). The present study investigated the extent to which elementary teachers in the United States and Germany experience burnout due to occupational stress. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine differences in levels of burnout within teachers, between teachers, and between schools. In both samples from the United States and Germany, results showed little variance in reported burnout symptoms between schools. The independent variables were associated with burnout symptoms in the predicted direction; however, in the U.S. sample years of experience was positively related to burnout, while it was inversely related to burnout in the German sample. These models accounted for one third of the variance in burnout between teachers in the U.S. sample and for two thirds of the variance in burnout between teachers in the German sample. Implications for future research include determining the factor structure of the German CARD version. Implications for practice are related to teacher training, well-designed professional development opportunities, and effective leadership preparation.

Details
Author

Ullrich, Annette

Title

The relationship of elementary teachers' years of teaching experience, perceptions of occupational stress, self-acceptance, and challenging student behavior to burnout symptoms in the United States and Germany.

Physical Description

1 online resource (242 pages) : PDF

Date

2009

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

In the United States, stress and burnout have been identified as contributors to the shortage and attrition of both general and special education teachers (Edmonson, 2006). In Germany, intense political debate has been related to premature retirement of teachers (Weber, 2002). Many teachers retire before the official retirement age of 65 years based on symptoms and diagnoses that may be related to stress and burnout (Bauer et al., 2001). The present study investigated the extent to which elementary teachers in the United States and Germany experience burnout due to occupational stress. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine differences in levels of burnout within teachers, between teachers, and between schools. In both samples from the United States and Germany, results showed little variance in reported burnout symptoms between schools. The independent variables were associated with burnout symptoms in the predicted direction; however, in the U.S. sample years of experience was positively related to burnout, while it was inversely related to burnout in the German sample. These models accounted for one third of the variance in burnout between teachers in the U.S. sample and for two thirds of the variance in burnout between teachers in the German sample. Implications for future research include determining the factor structure of the German CARD version. Implications for practice are related to teacher training, well-designed professional development opportunities, and effective leadership preparation.

Genre

doctoral dissertations

Subjects--Topics

Special education
Education, Elementary
Educational psychology

Degree

Ph.D.

Keywords

Burnout
Cross-Cultural
Elementary Teachers
Occupational Stress
Preventive Coping
Teaching Experience

Subject Area

Special Education

Advisor(s)

Lambert, Dr. Richard
Wood, Dr. Wendy

Committee Members

Yon, Dr. Maria
Wang, Dr. Chuang
Lo, Dr. Ya-yu
Reimer, Dr. Robert

Degree Note

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2009.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Ullrich_uncc_0694D_10024

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:761