An Exploration of the Burnout Situation on Teachers in Two Schools in Macau

• Published in: Social indicators research 2010-02, Vol.95 (3), p.489-502
• Main Authors: Luk, Andrew L., Chan, Bessie P. S., Cheong, Selwyne W., Ko, Stanley K. K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age Differences; Burnout; Casinos; Classroom Techniques; Correlation; Demographics; Demography; Depersonalization; Education; Educational Attainment; Emotional Intelligence; Emotional Response; Environmental Influences; Ethical Instruction; Etiology; Exhaustion; Fatigue; Fatigue (Biology); Foreign Countries; Gender; Gender Differences; Government School Relationship; Hong Kong; Human Geography; Macau; Marital Status; Maslach Burnout Inventory; Microeconomics; Occupational Stress; Principals; Problem Solving; Professional Training; Professionals; Psychological stress; Public Health; Quality of Life; Quality of Life Research; Quality of work; Questionnaires; Religion; Schools; Secondary school teachers; Secondary schools; Social conditions; Social Influences; Social issues; Social Problems; Social research; Social Sciences; Sociology; Stress; Studies; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Burnout; Teacher Characteristics; Teacher Salaries; Teachers; Teaching; Teaching Conditions; Teaching Experience; Teaching personnel; Values; Well Being; Wellbeing; Working conditions; Young Adults; Youth
• ISSN: 0303-8300; 1573-0921
• DOI: 10.1007/s11205-009-9533-7

To explore the burnout situation of teachers in two schools in Macau and to investigate any differences made of demographic characteristics. The relation of burnout on social problem solving and holistic health of teachers is also studied. A self reported questionnaire with the Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory (C-MBI), Chinese Social Problem Solving Inventory (C-SPSI) and the Body-Mind-Spirit Weil-Being Inventory (BMSWBI) were used.Totally 138 teachers participated in the study. With Hong Kong data as a reference, Macau teachers scored in the average range of burnout in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization but scored in the low range of burnout in personal accomplishment. Significance differences were found in some dimensions of burnout in age, marital status, teaching experiences, education background and satisfaction with income. Both C-SPSI and BMSWBI were found to be significantly negative correlated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and positive correlated with personal achievement. The findings identified thosewith greater degree of burnout, to whom more attention should be paid. The study also contributed to the limited literature on the quality of life of teachers in Macau. Finally, the findings added on the data base for comparison internationally among the Chinese population.