Occupational burnout and the importance of supervision for primary teachers

Živimo v nepredvidljivem času, kjer je hitro prilagajanje na spremembe in družbene razmere nujno. Način življenja se odvija hitro, pogoje dela pa postaja čedalje težje usklajevati z zasebnim življenjem. Vse manj časa ostaja za družino, druženje, počitek, odnose in za nas same. Učitelji so vsakodnevno deležni novih izzivov, ki so za njih zahtevni in stresni. V kolikor nimajo na voljo ustreznih strategij za soočanje z njimi, lahko zaradi prepleta družbeno ekonomskih razmer, okoliščin dela in življenja, ter osebnostnih značilnosti privede do izgorelosti. Ta pojav ne ogroža le pedagoških delavcev, temveč vpliva na učence in celoten šolski sistem. Supervizija je ena izmed metod poklicnega in osebnostnega razvoja ter nenehnega učenja, ki strokovnjakom nudi priložnost za izgradnjo boljše poklicne identitete in kompetenc. Ponuja jim možnost reflektiranja svojega dela in iskanja rešitev, ki vodijo k bolj zadovoljujočem delu ter boljšemu obvladovanju stresa. Magistrsko delo obravnava supervizijo in poklicno izgorelost med učitelji razrednega pouka. V teoretičnem delu predstavljam poklic učitelja, večji poudarek pa namenjam sindromu izgorelosti in superviziji. Znotraj tega se osredotočam na proces izgorevanja, njegove vzroke in posledice, predstavim supervizijski proces ter njegovo vlogo pri osebnem in strokovnem razvoju učiteljev razrednega pouka. Empirični del sem izvedla v dveh delih. Oba sta bila izvedena s kvantitativno raziskovalno paradigmo. Uporabila sem štiri vprašalnike, katere je skupaj reševalo 213 učiteljev, ki so v šolskem letu 2019/2020 poučevali v javnih osnovnih šolah v Sloveniji. V sklopu prvih treh vprašalnikov je sodelovalo 133 učiteljev razrednega pouka, četrti vprašalnik pa je reševalo 80 učiteljev. Cilj raziskave je bil ugotoviti pojavnost izgorelosti pri učiteljih razrednega pouka in raziskati kakšen pomen učitelji pripisujejo procesu supervizije. Zanimalo me je, ali se pojavljajo statistično pomembne razlike v ogroženosti za izgorevanje glede na spol, starost in delovno dobo učiteljev. Raziskala sem, ali obstajajo statistično pomembne razlike v vrednotenju po dosežkih, deloholičnosti in stopnji izgorelosti po spolu, starosti in delovni dobi. Preučevala sem, koliko učiteljev je že bilo vključenih v razvojno-edukativni model supervizije in ali se pojavljajo statistično pomembne razlike v spolu pri vključitvi v proces. Moj namen je bil ugotoviti, ali so učitelji, ki so bili vključeni v proces supervizije manj ogroženi za izgorevanje in imajo manj znakov storilnostnega samovrednotenja, deloholizma in posledično nižjo stopnjo izgorelosti, kot tisti, ki vanjo še niso bili vključeni. Glede na to, da so anketirani reševali vprašalnike pred uvedbo epidemije in med epidemijo, sem preverila, ali je to obdobje vplivalo na njihovo stopnjo izgorelosti. Ugotavljala sem, ali med učitelji, ki so bili deležni procesa supervizije obstajajo statistično pomembne razlike v doživljanju stresa pred in po procesu supervizije. Ugotovila sem, da je skoraj polovica učiteljev razrednega pouka (46,6 %) izgorelih, kar predstavlja zaskrbljujoč podatek. Izsledki kažejo, da učitelji po koncu procesa supervizije doživljajo manj stresa kot so ga pred začetkom. Povzamem lahko, da so učitelji s procesom supervizije, supervizorjem in organizacijo, v kateri poučujejo, zadovoljni in bi v večini (94 %) priporočali proces tistim, ki ga še niso bili deležni. Razlik v spolu glede ogroženosti za izgorevanje, vrednotenja po dosežkih, deloholičnosti in stopnje izgorelosti zaradi premajhnega vzorca moškega spola nisem uspela dokazati. Dobljeni podatki kažejo, da v delovni dobi učiteljev ni statistično pomembnih razlik v ogroženosti za izgorevanje, v vrednotenju po dosežkih, deloholičnosti in stopnji izgorelosti. Ugotovila sem, da med starejšimi in mlajšimi učitelji ne obstajajo statistično pomembne razlike v ogroženosti za izgorevanje, obstajajo pa razlike v vrednotenju po dosežkih. Mlajši učitelji se bolj vrednotijo po dosežkih kot starejši učitelji. V stopnji izgorelosti in deloholičnosti pa med starejšimi in mlajšimi učitelji ni statistično pomembnih razlik. Pokazalo se je, da med spoloma učiteljev ni statistično pomembnih razlik v odločanju za proces supervizije. Rezultati pokažejo statistično pomembne razlike v ogroženosti za izgorevanje in v deloholizmu med učitelji, ki so že bili vključeni v proces supervizije ter tistimi, ki se procesa še niso udeležili. Učitelje, ki so že bili vključeni v supervizijo, deloholizem bolj ogroža kot tiste, ki se procesa supervizije še niso udeležili. V vrednotenju po dosežkih in stopnji izgorelosti statistično pomembnih razlik ni. Dobljeni podati pokažejo, da epidemija ni vplivala na stopnjo izgorelosti učiteljev razrednega pouka. Ugotovljene so bile statistično pomembne razlike v doživljanju stresa pred in po procesu supervizije. Učitelji po udeležbi razvojno-edukativnega modela supervizije doživljajo manj stresa kot pred začetkom supervizije. Na osnovi ugotovitev lahko povzamem, da se mlajši učitelji bolj vrednotijo po dosežkih kot starejši. Za proces supervizije se odločajo učitelji, ki jih izgorevanje bolj ogroža, so bolj deloholični kot tisti, ki se ga še niso udeležili. Med učitelji, ki so bili deležni supervizije, obstajajo statistično pomembne razlike v doživljanju stresa pred in po procesu supervizije, iz česar sklepam, da supervizija zmanjša doživljanje stresa, ki je lahko eden izmed vzrokov za nastanek izgorelosti.We live in unpredictable times in which rapid adaptation to change and social conditions are essential. We live fast and it is becoming more and more difficult to find the right balance between work conditions and private life. There is less and less time left for family, socializing, rest, relationships and for ourselves. Teachers are faced with new challenges on daily basis which are very demanding and stressful. If they do not have appropriate strategies available to overcome them, they can experience burnout due to the intertwining of socio-economic conditions, working and living conditions, and personality traits. This phenomenon not only threatens pedagogical workers, but also affects pupils and the entire school system. Supervision is one of the methods of occupational and personal development and constant learning that offers professionals an opportunity to build a better professional identity and competences. It enables them to reflect on their work and find solutions that lead to more satisfying work and better stress management. The master\u27s thesis addresses supervision and occupation burnout in primary school teachers. The theoretical part describes the teaching profession and mainly focuses on the burnout syndrome and supervision. Further attention is given to the burnout process, the reasons behind it and its consequences, the presentation of the supervision process and its role in personal and professional development of primary school teachers. The empirical research was carried out in two parts. Both were implemented on the basis of a quantitative research paradigm. Four questionnaires were used and they were filled in by a total of 213 teachers who taught in public primary schools in Slovenia in the 2019/2020 school year. The first three questionnaires were answered by 133 primary school teachers and the fourth questionnaire was filled in by 80 teachers. The aim of the research was to assess the occurrence of burnout in primary school teachers and to establish the importance teachers attach to the process of supervision. The objective was to find out whether there were statistically significant differences in the burnout risk based on gender, age and the length of service of teachers. The research was looking into statistically important differences in performance-based self-esteem, workaholism, and burnout rate based on gender, age and the length of service. The master’s thesis explores how many teachers participated in the developmental-educational model of supervision and whether there were statistically significant differences in terms of gender. The aim was to discover whether those teachers that were included in the supervision process were less likely to experience burnout and show less signs of performance-based self-esteem and workaholism and consequently suffered from a lower burnout rate than those who had not yet been included in the process. Since the respondents filled in the questionnaires before the start of the epidemic and during the epidemic, the goal was to established whether this period had an impact on their level of burnout. The research revealed whether the teachers that participated in the supervision process experienced statistically important difference in the amount of stress before and after the supervision process. According to the results, almost half of the primary school teachers (46.6%) were burnt out, which is a worrying figure. The results show that teachers tend to experience less stress after the supervision process than before the start of the process. Teachers are satisfied with the supervision process, supervisors and the organisation in which they teach and the majority of them (94%) would recommend this process to those who have not yet participated in it. Due to an insufficient number of male respondents it was not possible to assess gender related differences concerning burnout risk, performance-based self-esteem, workaholism and burnout rate. The acquired data reveal that there were no statistically important differences in terms of burnout risk, performance-based self-esteem, workaholism and burnout rate in teachers with different length of service. There were no statistically important differences between older and younger teachers in terms of burnout risk, however, they were differences in terms of performance-based self-esteem. Performance-based self-esteem is more typical of younger than of older teachers. With regard to the burnout rate and workaholism, there were not statistically important difference between older and younger teachers. There were no statistically important differences revealed between male and female teachers concerning their decision to participate in the supervision process. According to the results, there were statistically important differences in burnout risk and workaholism among teachers that had already been included in the supervision process and those that had not yet participated in the process. Teachers that had been included in the supervision were more prone to workaholism than those that had not yet attended the supervision process. There were no statistically significant differences in performance-based self-esteem and burnout rate. The acquired data show that the epidemic did not affect the burnout rate of primary school teachers. There were statistically significant differences in the experience of stress before and after the supervision process. Teachers experienced less stress after they had participated in the developmental-educational model of supervision than before they had started with the supervision. Based on the findings, it can be summarized that younger teachers experience more performance-based self-esteem than older teachers. Those who have chosen to participate in the supervision process are the ones that experience higher burnout risk and are more workaholic than those who have not yet attended the process. There are statistically significant differences in the experience of stress before and after the supervision process among teachers who have participated in the supervision, from which it can be concluded that supervision reduces the experience of stress, which can be one of the causes of burnout