Burnout: Why Are Teacher Educators Reaching Their Limits?

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and psychological exhaustion that occurs as a result of chronic stress at work. In the production sphere, it manifests itself especially acutely due to monotony, physical exertion and the influence of harmful factors. The theoretical foundations of professional burnout are: – Emotional exhaustion – a feeling of fatigue, emptiness. – Depersonalization – cynicism, indifference to colleagues and work. – Decreased personal achievements – loss of confidence, motivation. The stages of development of professional burnout are as follows: 1. Enthusiasm → 2. Fatigue → 3. Exhaustion → 4. Depersonalization → 5. Decrease in achievements. Main symptoms: – Emotional – apathy, irritability, anxiety. – Physical – fatigue, headaches, insomnia. – Cognitive – decreased concentration. – Behavioral – procrastination, isolation. Factors contributing to burnout: – Individual – perfectionism, low self-esteem, lack of work-life balance. – Organizational – excessive workload, unfair remuneration, poor communication. – Social – isolation, pressure from society to succeed. Burnout in the production sector has the following negative consequences: exhaustion, loss of interest, health problems. For the enterprise, this means staff turnover, a decrease in product quality and an increase in injuries, financial losses. The most relevant methods for diagnosing burnout are as follows: individual interviews; observation of employee behavior; analysis of productivity and frequency of sick leave. Of particular note is the Maslach questionnaire (MBI): (Diagnosis of professional burnout. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is one of the most recognized and widely used methods for measuring burnout syndrome in employees of various professional groups and industries. This technique was developed by K. Maslach and S. Jackson in 1981 and tested by a large number of studies confirming its reliability and validity). Professional burnout is a serious threat to the well-being of employees and production efficiency. A systematic approach is needed: diagnosis, prevention, support and a culture of mutual respect. Despite a significant amount of research on professional burnout, there are still a number of issues that require further study, including: – study of the long-term consequences of professional burnout for the physical and mental health of workers; – development and testing of new, more effective prevention and intervention programs adapted to the specifics of different industries; – studying the impact of new technologies and automation on the level of professional burnout of workers; – research on the role of leadership and corporate culture in preventing and overcoming burnout at work.

This special issue of the Journal of Education for Teaching focuses on the practical activities and material conditions of higher education-based teacher educators’ work. The articles address questions of concept and practice, discourse and labour and the ways in which teacher education as an activity of higher education is related to the institutional contexts within which the activity is located. The material conditions of academic work have become the focus of much renewed interest in higher education as a series of intellectual, cultural and economic trends (Hartley 2009) have converged so as to question the roles and responsibilities of teacher educators as a category of academic workers. Generally, research suggests that partnership teacher education, in which universities and colleges work with schools to train teachers, is highly successful and there is plentiful evidence in support of this fact (e.g. Iven 1994; Christie et al 2004; Ellis et al. 2011). However, concerns about changes to initial teacher education towards more school-led approaches persist internationally. Much contemporary policy discourse has been framed around the belief that schools are best placed to train teachers and, while there may be an implied consensus of intention to support beginners in their learning during practice, the discussions do little to suggest that the notion of a research-informed teaching profession is an aim worth addressing. Troublingly, as Christie et al. (2012) recognise, the erosion of the role of higher education in teacher education may not only lead to volatility and reductions in funding and employment opportunities in education departments but is likely, by extension, to impact adversely on research capacity in teacher education institutions. Clearly, research which explores the activities and perspectives of teacher educators, their expertise and yet their increasingly difficult positioning within higher education more generally, has the potential to inform the development of the profession from within and, importantly, the strengthening of an academic culture of teacher education.

Reforming the teacher education system has been a key government policy towards improving school education in India. While recent curriculum and governance reforms articulate a new vision of teacher education that underscores a symbiotic relationship between teacher education and school education, it fails to engage enough with the most important participant of the teacher education system—the teacher educator. Changes to curriculum and governance process in the absence of a pro-active engagement of teacher educators with the reforms can do little to influence the teacher education processes and outcomes. The work of pre-service teacher educators is complex because their responsibilities relate to both school and higher education. The distinctiveness of their work, identity and professional development has always been marginalized in educational discourse. This article analyses select educational documents to examine the construction of work and identity of higher education-based teacher educators. It proposes the development of a professional framework of practice through a collective process, which would help understand the work of teacher educators and offer various possibilities for their professional development.

Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a platform that is recognizable to the development of professionalism among educators as well as the aspects of teaching and learning of educators. A professional learning community, or PLC, is a group of educators that meets regularly, shares expertise, and works collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students. Therefore, an initiative has been taken by the Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia (IPGM) to cultivate PLC among teacher educators in all 27 IPGs in Malaysia. One of the collaborative tools recommended for its application is Lesson Study (LS). LS is seen as a collaborative tool that focuses on student learning and is implemented collaboratively. A study was conducted by applying LS in the Teaching and Learning process (PdP) at Raja Melewar Teacher Education Institute to student teachers in the Post -Education Diploma Program (PDPP) for Philosophy and Educational Development in Malaysia (EDUP2072). The students involved are students majoring in History and TESL. A total of two cycles were implemented and the results of each cycle were shared with fellow teacher educators and given improvements before the implementation of the 2nd cycle. Observations were carried out during the TnL process by seven fellow teacher educators as well as one expert. A reflection session was held immediately after the end of each TnL and discussed. The results of the study found that i. LS can provide an impact on student learning towards better understanding and clarity, ii. Collaboration between teacher educators can produce a healthy culture in the organization and iii. Cultivation of LS among teacher educators can promote the cultivation of PLC in Teacher Education Institutes in Malaysia. Overall LS and KPP should be given focus by all instructional leaders in Teacher Education Institutes and The Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia (IPGM) as a culture and in an effort to develop the professionalism of teacher educators.

With a view to attracting more students and offering flexible learning opportunities, online teaching and learning is becoming increasingly widespread across the higher education sector. It is now found across a wide range of disciplines (e.g., business, health, psychology, accounting, information technology) and program levels (e.g., from associate degrees to doctorate degrees). Online delivery is also strongly represented in the teacher education sector at many universities. Research of online delivery in higher education generally and teacher education specifically has pointed to a range of benefits and challenges associated with this mode of learning. Within the teacher education literature, many aspects of the online preparation of teachers remain poorly understood. More specifically, there is scant literature on the experiences and beliefs of teacher educators in relation to their readiness and preparation for online teaching as well as their beliefs in relation to the appropriateness of online education for preservice teachers. This article responds to this gap in the literature and reports on an exploratory study that worked with academic staff, teaching in a fully online teacher education course, at a mid-size Australian university. Twenty-seven teacher educators completed a 34-item questionnaire that consisted of closed and open-ended questions. With regards to readiness and preparation for teaching online, the majority of teacher educators reported lacking confidence and competence in the technological and pedagogical skills required to teach online. By and large, the study participants were welcoming of individualized “at-elbow” support that seemed to abate some of their fears of online teaching. The teacher educators were generally divided on whether the online classroom was an appropriate method for preparing preservice teachers. This article concludes with several recommendations for consideration by teacher educators who work in an online environment and sets the stage for a more ambitious study.

The implementation of technology enhanced learning in higher education is often associated with changes to academic work. This article reports on a study of staff experiences with curriculum development and teaching in multiple modes of blended and online learning in a Bachelor of Education degree. The findings indicate that the changes experienced by these teacher educators were significant but not wholesale. More specifically, the findings highlight three particular areas of change that impacted on their role as teacher educators: changed pedagogical practices, particularly in staff-student communication, interaction and relationship building with students; increasing workloads associated with flexible delivery; and changed needs for staff capacity building related to issues of quality in technology enhanced learning.

While there has been an increasing number of graduate students who enter teacher education after obtaining a higher research degree (e.g., PhD or EdD), scant attention has been paid to their professional learning as prospective teacher educators in higher education. To fill this gap, this study, informed by the social theory of learning, investigates how three PhD students learned to become teacher educators in a university in China. Drawing on the data from interviews and the participants’ personal reflections, the study shows that the participants engaged in professional learning by interacting with different others (e.g., teachers and teacher educators), negotiating and tuning their enterprise, and developing a repertoire of knowledge and skills in their communities of practice. The study generates some implications for both teacher education and higher education in preparing and developing future teacher educators.

This chapter relates to the ‘professionalisation of teacher educators’ theme in the Call for Papers. The specific topics examined here are the initial disciplines, pathways of becoming these educationists, and the related titles. The empirical data that is used relates to an investigation of English further education (FE) teacher educators (Loo in Professional development of teacher educators in further education: pathways, knowledge, identities, and vocationalism. Abingdon, Routledge, 2020), which draws on 33 participants using a mixed-method approach of a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and Talking Heads (a narrative method). The teacher educators-participants were from higher education institutions, FE colleges and private providers. The data is analysed to seek out the similarities and differences on the three themes of the participants’ initial disciplines, pathways/journeys to becoming educators and their current role titles from the perspectives of their work settings of higher education institutions, FE colleges and private providers. The reason to approach this chapter based on institutions is to ascertain a nuanced picture that has not been researched before. The literature review is structured into three themes: initial disciplines, pathways of becoming teacher educators, and related job titles. Some of the salient sources regarding the initial disciplines include Becher (The significance of disciplinary differences. Studies in Higher Education, 19:151–161, 1994) and Smeby (Disciplinary differences in university teaching. Studies in Higher Education, 21:69–79, 1996) to facilitate the classifications of disciplinary areas. With the pathways theme, publications by Noel (The secret life of teacher educators: Becoming a teacher educator in the learning and skills sector. Journal of Vocational Education and Training 58(2):151–170) and Mayer, Mitchell, Santoro and White (Teacher educators and ‘accidental’ careers in academe: An Australian perspective. Journal of Education for Teaching 37(3):247–260, 2011) are used to typologies the journeys of these educationists. In the last theme on titles, the reference to job titles in the ‘Training to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector’ document by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (Training to teach in the lifelong learning sector, LSIS, 2011) is used. The findings from this empirical data centre on the similarities and differences of the three themes: initial disciplines, journeys and job titles, as viewed from the perspectives of the three different sectors: FE colleges, higher education institutions and private providers. The commonalities may be explained by the collective educational contexts of working in the FE sector, and the differences, by the differing priorities of these educationists working in their diverse organisations. Finally, the findings are reviewed regarding their implications to the related stakeholders and their contributions to the sector.KeywordsEnglandFurther educationTeacher educatorsInitial disciplinesJourneysTitles

Background and objectives: Excessive and prolonged work-related stress has always been a cause for burnout among healthcare professionals. This has led to emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. This survey was conducted to assess the burnout among medical practitioners using the abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory (aMBI) scale. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted as in 1018 (836 female, 180 male, 2 did not specify) nursing professionals across India. A standardized and widely accepted 12-item aMBI scale with three domains of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment was used to assess the burnout in nursing professionals. The distribution of responses for each variable was examined using frequencies and percentages among the sub-groups to find out the burnout levels of various components of the scales. Results: Professional burnout was observed in at least one domain of the aMBI scale in 62.7 % (638) nursing professionals. The burnout was observed in the three domains of aMBI i. e. , emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment in 9.1 % (93), 9.2 % (94), and 31.5 % (321) nursing professionals respectively. A total of 16 (1.6 %) nurses had burnout in all the three domains of aMBI. There was significantly greater burnout observed in nurses in academics (p<0.0001) and those with longer duration (>5 years) of work experience (p, 0.031). However, there was greater but non-significant burnout observed in females (p, 0.163) and younger (<30 years of age) nurses (p, 0.278). Conclusion: The results suggest high level of burnout in nursing professionals and warrant immediate actions to address this issue.

As editors of, and contributors to this collection, we invite you to share in the personal and professional narratives of a diverse group of teacher educators, as they take you through their unique and thought-provoking journeys of professional becoming. This book arose from discussions of our own journeys from primary school teacher to teacher educator, coincidently in our own alma maters, where we undertook our initial teacher education, many years before. We met at the 7th Castle Conference, hosted by the Self Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Education Research Association (AERA) at Herstmonceaux Castle, East Sussex, England, in 2008. There we shared many similar experiences of being primary school teachers, eager to expand our intellectual and pedagogical horizons by undertaking graduate studies, culminating in a doctorate and moving into academia. Over the next 3 years or so, we maintained contact, including visits between our respective universities. As we shared our experiences, we discussed our professional learning as teacher educators, and the challenges and opportunities afforded by the transition from teacher to teacher educator. One outcome of these discussions is this collection of narratives from teacher educators who share their own varied and interesting professional journeys, and contribute meaningfully to the collective wisdom of the profession of teacher education. During our discussions we pondered the questions: What would we have wanted to know at the beginning of our transition into teacher education? How can we provide important insights into what it means to be(come) a teacher educator in times of political, economic, pedagogical and social change, that would be of value to others, particularly those starting out on their own journeys? The collection that follows is a response to those questions.

Sustainable development is achievable through the concerted efforts to ensure economic, social, and material advancement for the present generation while preserving the rights of future generations to survive. The UN SDG seeks to ensure a high-quality living environment for all individuals by utilizing human enterprises, thereby fostering sustainable economic, social, and technological practices for the evolutionary and developmental progress of humanity. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a pedagogical approach that prepares individuals to make informed choices and undertake actions that promote sustainable utilization of resources for the present and future as well as adopting anthropocentrism. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is essential to quality education and is pursued at all educational levels. Teacher and teacher development is having a crucial role in the dynamics of ESD for moving towards SDGs. In the present techno-driven, ephemeral, socio-economic, and cultural landscape where the educational paradigm is moving from a pedagogical to a cybergogical approach, teachers' roles have to be reframed to equip the learners to meet the changing demands of the 21st century. At present, the curriculum is evolving to a Universal Design System with multiple approaches from a site-bound axiom. It is highly essential to probe into the sustainability of the system of teacher formation and metamorphosis to validate that the teacher education is accountable to accommodate the changing culture of innovation, collaboration, and integration—cultural, disciplinary, and technological. This study examines current practices prevailing in teacher education at both global and local levels, evaluating their corroboration with sustainability—social, economic, ecological, aspirational, and technological. A pluralistic approach, where there is a mixing of quantitative and qualitative paradigms of research, has been utilized. To delve into the existing practices and developments in teacher education, a rigorous review coupled with content analysis has been used. The compatibility of these practices, along with sustainable conceptualization, was derived by collecting data from a sampled group of teacher educators employing a focus group discussion. The outcomes of these techniques were further corroborated using the derivatives obtained from an interview with a group of experts. The educational landscape of India in the post-globalized, post-pandemic era is moving to a rigorous and dynamic shift, objectifying knowledge as the prime economy. In this context, the study also examines the notion of sustainable education, the NEP 2020 framework for teacher education, and the impediments and the suggestive strategies to overcome the same pertaining to Indian teacher education. It underscores the deficiencies in curriculum transactions and proposes avenues for synergising the varied innovative methodologies to make the teacher education system more sustainable by overcoming its fragilities.

In educational settings, educators’ individual perceptions of theories and concepts (e.g. about teaching and learning) are crucial for their professional performance. Thus, regarding education for sustainable development (ESD), it is vital to focus on teacher educators’ (TEs’) perceptions of this concept. As ESD is a comparatively young and dynamic field of research, not all academic lecturers are familiar with it. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that they all have a well-founded or similar understanding of it. In this study, we surveyed TEs’ perceptions of ESD and provided further insight into the understanding and application of ESD in teacher education, thereby contributing to the professional development of TEs in the context of ESD. We characterised the presented perceptions as subjective theories and used the research programme subjective theories (RPST) procedure to describe them. We found that aspects of instrumental and emancipatory ESD and transformative learning were mixed in the subjective theories. Moreover, the TEs in our study presented learning objectives and methods that could be assigned to the key competencies of ESD in higher education. Our results serve to describe TEs more precisely and thus enrich the basis for their involvement in ESD implementation processes and suitable support services.

This study compares the level of teachers’ professional burnout before and after the onset of the prolonged economic crisis in Greece. Scores of burnout components (Emotional exhaustion (EE); Depersonalization (DP) and lack of Personal accomplishments (PA) were used to compare the periods before (1995-2005; 2005-2010) and after (2010-2015; 2015-2020) the onset of the current economic crisis in Greece. There were significant differences (ANOVA) among different periods, in the scores of EE (P=0.006) and DP (P&lt;0.001). Post hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated significant differences in the scores for EE before and after the onset of the economic crisis. EE was increased (P&lt;0.05) after the onset of the economic crisis. In the same manner, DP increased significantly (P&lt;0.0001) in papers published five years after the onset of the economic crisis. The level of PA remained similar during the entire period examined in the present analysis but was consistently well above the norms for this component of burnout compared to other countries. Burnout teachers will have difficulty in coping with changes and innovation, reducing the prospects for them to cope with the new and demanding conditions of their job. This could have a significant effect on teaching effectiveness. This dramatic change in two burnout components of teachers has significant implications for school management. EE is considered as an indication of professional stress and be a precursor of depersonalization which requires monitoring and implementation of possible proactive human resources policies.

This research study was originally commissioned by ESCalate as part of its agenda for developing induction support for pre‐service teacher educators in England. The study aimed to collect examples of the practices used by Higher Education Institutions in inducting new teacher educators and to analyse induction provision from the perspectives of a sample of individuals. The findings indicate that most induction provision occurs within teacher education departments, often at the micro levels of the teaching team. It is therefore best understood as work‐based learning. Whilst the study found some examples of positive induction experiences, it also raises concerns about the consistency, quality and nature of other induction provision in teacher education. Cette étude de recherche lancée par ESCalate faisait au départ partie d'un programme visant à développer la préparation et le support des futurs formateurs d'enseignants en Angleterre. L'étude avait pour objectifs de recueillir des exemples de pratique utilisée par les établissements de l'enseignement supérieur pour préparer les nouveaux formateurs, et, d'analyser l'offre en ce qui concerne leur soutien des formateurs du point de vue d'un échantillon d'individus. Les résultats indiquent que cette offre de soutien a généralement lieu à l'intérieur des départements de formation de professeurs, souvent à des micro‐niveaux de l'équipe d'enseignants. C'est en fait ce qu'on appelle l'apprentissage par le travail. Bien que l'étude ait révélé des exemples d'expérience de soutien positive, elle soulève aussi des inquiétudes quant à la constance, la qualité et la nature de certaines offres de soutien en ce qui concerne la formation des enseignants. Diese Forschungsstudie wurde ursprünglich von ESCalate entwickelt als Teil ihres Programms zum Aufbau einer Einführungsunterstützung für die Ausbilder von Referendaren in England. Die Studie zielte darauf, Beispiele von Praktiken zu sammeln, die von Institutionen höherer Ausbildung bei der Einführung neuer auszubildender Lehrer verwendet wurden, sowie darauf, das Einführungsprogramm aus der Perspektive verschiedener Individuen zu analysieren. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, daß die größte Berücksichtigung für Einführungen innerhalb der Ausbildungsabteilungen für Lehrer zu finden ist, oft bei den untersten Ebenen des Lehrerteams. Es sollte daher am besten als arbeitsbasiertes Lernen verstanden werden. Während die Studie einige Beispiele positiver Erfahrungen bei der Einführung feststellte, erhob sie auch Bedenken über die Beständigkeit, Qualität und Beschaffenheit sonstiger Berücksichtigung von Einführungen bei der Lehrerausbildung. Este estudio de investigación fue encargado en un primer momento por ESCalate como parte de su programa para desarrollar el apoyo a la introducción para los educadores de docentes antes del ejercicio de su formación en Inglaterra. La finalidad del estudio es recoger ejemplos de las prácticas utilizadas por las Instituciones de Educación Superior a la hora de introducir nuevos educadores de docentes y analizar la provisión de la inserción a partir de los puntos de vista de una muestra de individuos. Las conclusiones indican que la mayor parte de la provisión de inserción se produce en los departamentos de educación de docentes, con frecuencia en microniveles del equipo de enseñanza. Se entiende mejor, por consiguiente, como aprendizaje basado en el trabajo. Aunque el estudio ha hallado algunos ejemplos de experiencias de inserción positivos, también plantea preocupaciones sobre la consistencia, calidad y naturaleza de otra provisión de introducción en la educación de los docentes.

Teacher educators struggle to balance heavy teaching loads, research, writing, and institutional service. This qualitative study uses institutional ethnography to question how college leadership understand the significance of academic scholarship in the professional lives of college-based teacher educators in Israel. Data from interviews with eight college position holders shed light on the working lives of college-based teacher educators and how they are positioned as researcher-writers in an institution where scholarship expectations are blurry. Findings reveal three themes: the importance of academic activity for institutional prosperity, the difficulties in academic scholarship experienced by teacher educators, and the support the institution provides to encourage and maintain academic activity. The discussion contemplates the tensions between institutional and individual teacher educator advancement. The complexity of the institutional structure deserves attention to achieve institutional aims and attend to individual faculty’s professional needs and desires. The implications of this study are significant for leadership in teacher education and higher education around the world, prompting leaders to rethink ways of supporting faculty involved in research and writing alongside teaching and additional roles. Balancing conflicting roles, providing clear expectations, and maintaining an ongoing dialogue between teacher educators and leadership regarding professional development needs can lead to institutional prosperity alongside individual professional advancement.