| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this mixed study dissertation was to determine if teachers in North
Dakota public schools show signs of teacher burnout and the extent to which NCLB is a
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major stress factor. The research questions were: To what extent are teachers experiencing
symptoms of burnout? What are the factors of burnout? The research hypothesis was: The
policies of No Child Left Behind are the highest stress factor for teachers in North Dakota
public schools.
This study used an electronic, web-based data collection procedure. This was accomplished
by surveying members of the North Dakota Education Association. The target
population was 2,000 teachers in public schools in North Dakota, with 687 (34% response
rate) participating in this study. The data collected and analyzed basic descriptive statistics
(means and standard deviations) and a one-way ANOVA test. The comments from teachers
on their present job satisfaction were qualitatively coded, themed and reported.
The Maslach Burnout Inventory for educators was used for instrumentation which
included 22 questions forming three sub-scales: Depersonalization, Emotional Exhaustion,
and Personal Accomplishment. A seven job satisfaction variable survey was used to determine
what variables may cause teacher burnout. The seven variables were: principal leadership,
school funding, AYP, salaries, work environment, feedback on teaching and superintendent
leadership.
Conclusions for question one were: teachers in ND do not feel good about their
competency or effectiveness in the classroom: there is low teacher morale; teachers do not exhibit depersonalization or blaming of their students; ND teachers are not cynical; and
teachers have moderate levels of emotional exhaustion and struggle with factors of time on
job and meetings.
Question two conclusions were: female, elementary teachers in large school districts
show the most stress for making AYP, a factor for burnout; the more education a teacher
has the less satisfied they are with the leadership of the principal; which is not the case for
their superintendent. Teachers were satisfied with work environment and feedback on their
job performance.
The Research hypothesis was rejected because teachers do not feel that the NCLB
policies are the highest stress factors compared to those on the MBI-ES survey. The highest
stress factors for North Dakota teachers were salaries and school funding.
Four themes emerged from the survey respondent comments: lack of time, highstakes
testing, financial concerns and control issues. | en_US |
