Burnout among teachers - Students' and Teachers' perceptions compared

The aim of this study was to explore students' and teachers' perceptions of teacher burnout in relation to the occurrence of disruptive student classroom behaviour and the teachers' competence to cope with this kind of behaviour. First, the study shows that the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Coping with Disruptive Behaviour Scale and the Perceived Disruptive Behaviour Scale could be adapted to students to report perceived burnout symptoms among their teachers, the occurrence of perceived disruptive student behaviour and the students' perception of their teachers' competence to cope with disruptive student behaviour. Second, students' perceptions do not differ according to their age. Third, we found that there was a significant difference between the perceptions of male and female students in respect of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, but not in respect of personal accomplishment. Fourth, according to the students' perceptions, a considerable percentage of variance in each of the three burnout dimensions was explained by teachers' competence to cope with student disruptive behaviour and perceived disruptive student behaviour. Finally, with respect to the teachers' self-reports, it appeared that teachers' and students' reports differed significantly with respect to depersonalization, personal accomplishment and the competence to cope with disruptive student behaviour. The hierarchical regression analyses of the teachers' data showed that the competence to cope with disruptive student behaviour significantly contributed to depersonalization and personal accomplishment, whereas the teachers' age was significantly related with personal accomplishment. Although the students' perceptions and the teachers' self-reports on the teachers' well-being differed on some dimensions, the students' information may contribute valid information on some aspects of teachers' mental health and classroom processes.