Burnout and Its Relationship with Self-Efficacy Among Primary School Teachers: A Field Study in Blida Province, Algeria

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the levels of burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment) and self-efficacy among primary school teachers, and to examine the nature of the relationship between burnout dimensions and self-efficacy.

Methodology: A descriptive correlational design was employed. An accidental sample of 1,082 primary school teachers from the schools of Blida province (Algeria) participated in the study. Data were collected using three instruments: the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Educators (MBI-ES) adapted to the Algerian context by Warda Alaziz (2016), the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001) translated into Arabic by Huda Al-Khalailleh (2011), and a demographic information form. Data were analyzed using Chi-square tests and Pearson correlation coefficients.

Results: The findings revealed varying levels across burnout dimensions: emotional exhaustion was high (56.1% of teachers), while depersonalization was low (50.6%) and a low level of reduced personal accomplishment (i.e., a high sense of personal accomplishment) was observed in 94.7% of teachers. Furthermore, teacher self-efficacy was high (62% of teachers). Most importantly, a statistically significant negative correlation was found between all three dimensions of burnout and self-efficacy (emotional exhaustion: r = -0.334, p < 0.01; depersonalization: r = -0.253, p < 0.01; reduced personal accomplishment: r = -0.356, p < 0.01).

Conclusion: The study confirms that high levels of teacher self-efficacy are associated with lower levels of burnout, particularly depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. The findings highlight the protective role of self-efficacy beliefs against professional burnout. The study recommends integrating self-efficacy enhancement programs into pre-service and in-service teacher training.