Teacher self-efficacy and burnout: Determining the directions of prediction through an autoregressive cross-lagged panel model

TY - JOUR

T1 - Teacher self-efficacy and burnout

T2 - Determining the directions of prediction through an autoregressive cross-lagged panel model

AU - Kim, Lisa

AU - Burić, Irena

PY - 2020/11/1

Y1 - 2020/11/1

N2 - It is often assumed that low levels of teacher self-efficacy (TSE) leads to negative outcomes, including burnout; however, the temporal order of the construct predictions has rarely been examined. We used an autoregressive cross-lagged panel design to examine whether TSE and burnout are concurrently associated with each other, whether TSE predicts future burnout levels, and/or whether burnout predicts future TSE levels. An initial sample of 3002 Croatian teachers (82% female) from across three educational levels (i.e., elementary, middle, and secondary schools) with varying years of teaching experiences (M=5.28, SD=10.50) completed questionnaires on their levels of TSE and burnout (exhaustion and disengagement) at three time points (at approximately six-month intervals). We found that burnout has a more prominent role in predicting future levels of TSE than TSE does in predicting future levels of burnout. These findings challenge the theoretical and empirical conceptualizations assuming that TSE is a predictor of burnout. Policies and interventions that focus on decreasing teacher burnout rather than increasing TSE levels may be best.

AB - It is often assumed that low levels of teacher self-efficacy (TSE) leads to negative outcomes, including burnout; however, the temporal order of the construct predictions has rarely been examined. We used an autoregressive cross-lagged panel design to examine whether TSE and burnout are concurrently associated with each other, whether TSE predicts future burnout levels, and/or whether burnout predicts future TSE levels. An initial sample of 3002 Croatian teachers (82% female) from across three educational levels (i.e., elementary, middle, and secondary schools) with varying years of teaching experiences (M=5.28, SD=10.50) completed questionnaires on their levels of TSE and burnout (exhaustion and disengagement) at three time points (at approximately six-month intervals). We found that burnout has a more prominent role in predicting future levels of TSE than TSE does in predicting future levels of burnout. These findings challenge the theoretical and empirical conceptualizations assuming that TSE is a predictor of burnout. Policies and interventions that focus on decreasing teacher burnout rather than increasing TSE levels may be best.

KW - teacher burnout

KW - self-efficacy

KW - teacher effectiveness

KW - teacher retention

KW - Structural Equation Modelling

U2 - 10.1037/edu0000424

DO - 10.1037/edu0000424

M3 - Article

SN - 0022-0663

VL - 112

SP - 1661

EP - 1676

JO - Journal of Educational Psychology

JF - Journal of Educational Psychology

IS - 8

ER -