Burnout degli insegnanti e fattori sociale, emotivo e cognitivo. Presentazione di due studi.

Abstract

Currently teachers are required to have many abilities which are not only confined to the didactic knowledge but they also involve other skills such as building significant educational relations with pupils, colleagues, the parents of the students. The success of the educational process and the personal and professional well-being of those who teach also depend on them. These skills bring to light the relational dimension of the role of the teacher, which is classified as a "helping profession". These aid related professions are based on helping, such as, those of nurses, doctors, and psychologists, who work in contact with the suffering and are subjected to constant events of stress (burnout risk). In national and international literature the risk of teachers to incur in the burnout syndrome during their career has been widely studied in relation to protection factors (Albanese et al., 2008; Greenglass, Burke, & Konarski, 1997; Brouwers, Will, & Welko, 2001; Hakanen, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2006; Day & Qing, 2009; Doudin et al., 2009a). In this regard a decisive role is played by social factors (such as the support received in situations of difficulty), emotional factors (such as teachers’ emotional and relational competence) and cognitive factors (in particular, teachers’ conceptions and representations of the development of students’ intelligence and of the role played by the process of teaching-learning). The main results may be described as follows: concerning social factors the lack of support on the part of colleagues and managers have significant effects on burnout. In particular, the social support received in the work environment is a predictor of low levels of depersonalisation and high levels of professional fulfilment. In relation to emotional factors, teachers with low levels of burnout better regulate the emotions than those with high levels of burnout. Finally, in regards to the cognitive factor, some research about this subject focus on the conceptions of constructive intelligence which are related to high levels of professional fulfilment and low levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Moreover, the burnout syndrome has also been analysed in relation to individual variables that characterize teachers (Sirigatti & Stefanile, 1993). The most investigated aspects refer to the role of age and the years of experience. However, the results obtained are not entirely clear. According to some data (Santiniello & Furlotti, 1992; Xin & MacMillan, 1999; Pellegrino, 2000; Baiocco, Crea, & Laghi, 2006), the years of teaching and age are positively related to the levels of burnout; according to others an inverse relationship appears (Maslach & Jackson, 1981b; Friedman & Faber, 1992; Yuen & Chan, 2005). Furthermore, the role played by the specific training for teaching and the university degree, on the risk of burnout is still largely unexplored. The studies that have dealt with the onset of burnout in the teachers’ careers have also shown that in all cultures, although at different levels, is probably due to the characteristics of their context. This professional group shows serious problems of stress and subsequent experience of burnout; as is shown in studies made in Europe (Pedrabissi, Rolland, & Santiniello, 1993; Lavanco, Novara, & Iacono, 2003; Sann, 2003; Schwarzer & Hallum, 2008; Doudin & Curchod-Ruedi, 2008; Aydogan, Dogan, & Bayram, 2009), Australia (Pillay, Goddard, & Wilss, 2005), Asia (Mo, 1991; Chan, 2006; Leung & Lee, 2006; Yong & Yue, 2007) and America (Gold, 1984; Alkhadher & Al-Naser, 2006; Kahn et al., 2006). Therefore, since those who teach, irrespective of their own culture, are exposed to continuous stress, the burnout can be considered as a possible outcome. In the light of what has just been said ”How can this syndrome be avoided or reduced and well-being promoted?” Two exploratory studies will be introduced: one made on 566 Italian teachers of all levels and another focused on a cultural comparison between 34 Italian and 34 Scottish primary school teachers.