Wellness Paradigms in Predicting Stress and Burnout Among Beginning Expatriate Teachers

Research indicates that the current teacher shortage is in part due to stress and burnout. A topic that has not been examined is beginning expatriate English medium teachers (EMTs) with 5 years or less of teaching experience in the United Arab Emirates and the relationship between using individualized, self-initiated wellness paradigms and stress, job burnout, and intent to leave the teaching profession. The transactional model of stress and coping, Maslach\u27s multidimensional theory of burnout, and the health promotion model were used to evaluate the moderating effects of the EMTs\u27 burnout and stress levels on their wellness and intent to leave. In a quantitative, correlational design, multiple linear and moderated multiple regression were used to analyze data from a sample of 165 EMTs employed in schools in the United Arab Emirates. Results indicated that spiritual growth was a significant, negative predictor of intent to leave. EMTs\u27 burnout and stress levels did not have a moderating effect on spiritual growth and intent to leave. There was a significant, positive relationship between emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, and intent to leave. These results can foster positive social change by bringing awareness to the stress and burnout that EMTs experience and by proposing that administrators, stakeholders, and school district personnel provide coping mechanisms for teachers to deal with stress, burnout, and intent to leave