Student Behavior Patterns Contributing to Teacher Burnout

Abstract

This article reports on two studies that examined how typical student behavior patterns contribute to predicting burnout among teachers in general (Study 1) and among male and female teachers possessing different pupil control ideologies (Study 2). The sample for Study 1 involved 348 teachers from both religious and secular schools in Israel and 356 of their students. The sample for Study 2 involved 391 elementary and secondary schoolteachers (122 were classified “humanistic” and 119 “custodial”). The teachers sampled completed a questionnaire composed of an adapted version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Pupil Behavior Patterns Scale (Studies 1 and 2), and an adapted version of the Pupil Control Ideology scale (Study 2). The students in Study 1 filled out an open-ended questionnaire. The typical student behaviors—disrespect, inattentiveness and sociability—accounted for 22% of teacher burnout variance for the whole sample and for 33% of burnout variance in teachers in religious schools. Humanistic teachers were affected mainly by disrespect, whereas custodial teachers were affected mainly by inattentiveness. Burnout among male teachers was mainly affected by students' inattentiveness, whereas burnout among female teachers was mainly affected by students' disrespect.