A NEW STUDY indicates that 86% of teachers in the country are suffering “moderate to high” burnout rates. 

The research, conducted by Dublin City University, was based on responses from 1,000 primary and secondary school teachers.

‘Personal burnout’ rates were recorded at 86%, while a similar number went on record as experiencing ‘work-related burnout’ during the past 12 months.

Participants were also asked to self-evaluate their mental health, with 28% of respondents rating their mental health as ‘poor or very poor’.

Asked whether they had been provided with any training on strategies to deal with mental health struggles as an occupational hazard, 83% of the total number surveyed said they had not.

42% of respondents said they were “unlikely” to remain in the profession due to a combination of the aforementioned factors.

The authors of the study said the causes of burnout may be down to “systemic and organisational factors” like imbalanced workload, parental duties and challenges managing pupils.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines burnout as a syndrome “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed” and which induces depression and reduced productivity.

Dr Sabrina Fitzsimons, co-author of the report, says the findings demonstrate the need for policies around teacher welfare to be reformed in order to stem the exodus of staff from the sector.

“We must take the poor wellbeing of teachers seriously and therefore there should be a coordinated approach to prioritise and address the structural factors contributing to teacher burnout,” she said.

Another author of the study, Dr Pia O’Farrell, reckons changes to the secondary school curriculum are adding to teacher workload.

“Changes to the Senior Cycle are set to begin implementation from September. These developments are occurring alongside the rapid integration of AI in education, which will significantly impact teachers’ approaches to teaching and assessment in the current Junior Cycle and the upcoming Senior Cycle reforms.”

Researchers employed the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) – a tool that measures emotional exhaustion – to assess the burnout of participants.

The tool asked respondents 19 questions to be answered on a five-point scale, with scores between 0-49 suggesting ‘mild’ burnout. Scores landing in the 50-73 range are classed as indicating ‘moderate; burnout, while anything higher is regarded as ‘high’ burnout implying sever emotional exhaustion.

According to the CBI, the risk of both physical and emotional deterioration increases dramatically in an individual when classed as suffering high burnout.

The findings of the study will be presented at the Educational Studies Association of Ireland conference in Athlone this weekend.