Deep Diving over Sensationalising: Looking at research through a lens of kindness and compassion

With the sensationalisation of challenging topics increasing, it is more important than ever to think about how research findings are being used to grab headlines.

There is no escaping the fact that a large proportion of teachers are currently under significant stress – work overload, expanding role ambiguity and increased accountability are just a few of the factors contributing to a significant degradation of their wellbeing.  However, ‘teacher burnout’ is increasingly being used as a catch all term for this issue, and herein lies the first problem.

Burnout is a state typically characterised by 3 component parts: exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy. If we measure these 3 components with validated tools such as the MBI, an individual would be considered to be experiencing burnout if they scored poorly on all 3 elements, moreover, it would also give an idea of the degree of burnout being experienced, rather than simply its presence or absence.

Problematically, in many instances, the presence of any one of these 3 elements is misinterpreted and labelled as burnout, but we have a responsibility to be much more specific in our conclusions if we are to implement truly effective support or change.

The following have been offered as perhaps better descriptors of emerging wellbeing issues resulting from measurement of the 3 elements of burnout:

· Burnout: negative scores on exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy

· Overextended: strong negative score on exhaustion only

· Ineffective: strong negative score on professional efficacy only

· Disengaged: strong negative score on cynicism only

· Engagement: strong positive scores on exhaustion, cynicism & professional efficacy

Such differentiation is important if we are to garner a more nuanced and accurate understanding of the challenges being faced by an individual. Alongside this, it also allows us to see which aspects of the workplace or role may need to be addressed in order to appropriately and effectively support their wellbeing, and that of others.

Educator burnout is, in itself, a specific subset of burnout as we typically know it and it can be measured even more precisely – using the educator specific MBI scale – assessing: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and professional accomplishment. Again, all 3 elements need to be considered, ideally in combination with other measures, in order to fully understand the experience of burnout in educational professionals. 

Rest assured, I’m certainly not trying to diminish or downplay the prevalence or impact of teacher burnout, it is a problem and it needs to be addressed. It is important, however, in service of the profession, and those whose wellbeing may be suffering, to consider the state of play precisely in light of the kind of considerations outlined above. 

Semantics bring about additional issues with the interpretation of research findings. ‘Stress contagion’ has become a popular research focus of late and a ‘contagion’ effect in relation to a variety of psychological states and conditions have been suggested. When applied to teacher burnout, the idea emerges that somehow burnout becomes ‘catching’ in cases where many co-workers are showing similar levels. In a similar vain, research has also found that students of teachers with higher levels of burnout tend to have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This has led to a suggestion that perhaps interaction with a stressed and burned-out teacher takes a toll on students and can affect their physiological stress profile. Here is where a dive into the research becomes important because ‘perhaps’ is the operative, but probably overlooked, word in the preceding statement.

Again, I want to highlight I am not dismissing the research leading to this suggestion. It has scientific legitimacy and features in a peer reviewed publication. Using a multilevel modelling technique, higher teacher burnout was found to be a significant predictor of higher morning cortisol levels in students (a physiological indicator of stress). This may well suggest that high levels of stress in teachers transfers to students but, as the authors themselves point out, causality cannot be inferred and there may in fact be several explanations for the relationship identified; perhaps the students with high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, caused an increase in the stress of the teacher. Neither one of these conclusions are ideal as they somehow seem to apportion some responsibility in either direction and perhaps there was in fact a 3rd variable - some external, contextual shared variable which led to increased stress levels in both parties (the research on teacher burnout contagion also highlights this as a point of caution with regard to drawing sweeping conclusions)! It should also be noted, as it is by the researchers, that the study utilised a relatively small sample, which is less than ideal for the statistical measures applied. The results were also generated from samples taken on one single day, and the same effect was not found with the midday or afternoon cortisol samples which is, in itself, deserving of further examination.

Here is where I think the issue lies – with an implicit blame culture. I personally like to believe that all parties are trying their best. Students are trying their best amidst increasing societal pressures and academic competition, teachers are trying their best despite the numerous stretches that result from budget cuts and ever increasing demands and school leaders and administrators are trying their best to support all members of their school communities, despite juggling a million externally imposed shifting priorities.

When it comes to teacher wellbeing, something needs to change, the data is telling us that, but it is not something to be sensationalised with attention grabbing headlines and buzzwords. It is something to be understood empathetically with due consideration of exactly what is going on for a profession struggling with recruitment and retention, rather than running with a narrative that is in keeping with any particular agenda.

Effective change will require continued research evidence to inform our understanding. We need to look at data, closely, and we should do so through a lens of respect, empathy and kindness to gain an understanding of conditions which may predict (never perfectly) but to a degree, the outcomes we would like to avoid. In this way, we can develop a better understanding of where to target interventions and with whom and, importantly, where to direct further research.

References

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-teachers-arent-burnt-out-they-are-being-set-up-to-fail/2023/05

1. https://www.mindgarden.com/276-burnout

https://www.mindgarden.com/content/34-burnout-solutions

2. Meredith, Chloé, et al. "‘Burnout contagion’ among teachers: A social network approach." Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 93.2 (2020): 328-352.

3. Oberle E, Schonert-Reichl KA. Stress contagion in the classroom? The link between classroom teacher burnout and morning cortisol in elementary school students. Soc Sci Med. 2016 Jun;159:30-7. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.04.031. Epub 2016 Apr 24. PMID: 27156042.