| Summary: | The primary purpose of this study was to examine
the relationship between the level of burnout and the
level of needs deficiency of English teachers in
Saskatchewan. Its secondary purposes were to examine
the levels of burnout and needs deficiency of English
teachers in relation to 13 job-related factors, and to
examine the levels of burnout and needs deficiency, as
well as the job-related factors, in relation to 13
background variables. The study assumed a sociological
stance so that it would be of particular interest to
school administrators, who can only hope to improve
teaching conditions if they are aware first of those
factors related to teaching and the teaching profession
which contribute to burnout and needs deficiency.
The sample for the study consisted of 250 of the
949 teachers in Saskatchewan who taught English for
3 or more of the teaching day. The data for the study
were obtained from teachers' answers to a four-part
Teacher Burnout and Needs Deficiency Questionnaire
sent to them in April, 1985. Part II of this questionnaire,
an adaptation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory,
measured English teachers' perceived burnout levels.
Information on teachers' perceived needs deficiency
was obtained from the Porter Need Satisfaction
Questionnaire, which was Part III of the Teacher
Burnout and Needs Deficiency Questionnaire. Oneway
analyses of variance and multiple regression analyses
were used to analyze the data.
The results of the study supported 17 of 23 hypotheses.
The results showed that teacher burnout, particularly
as it is manifested by Emotional Exhaustion and
Depersonalization, is closely related to the inability
of English teachers to fulfill their higher-level needs,
especially their need for self-actualization, through
their jobs. Moreover, the results suggested that
such job-related factors as Role Conflict and Role
Ambiguity, Work Overload and Time Demands, the Lack of
Promotional Opportunities in Teaching, Student Discipline
Problems, the Lack of Participation in Decision Making,
the Low Status of the Teaching Profession, the Lack of
Administrative Support, the Lack of Parental Support,
Public Criticism of Teachers and Education, Staff Conflict,
and Isolation in the Classroom frustrate English teachers'
attempts to fulfill their upper-level Self-actualization,
Autonomy, and Esteem needs, thereby contributing to
their sense of Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization.
The results of this study have important implications
for both administrators and teachers.
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