Teacher Efficacy, Burnout, and Retention: An Examination of Instructional Coaching and the Implications as Measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory

Instructional coaching is implemented by school districts for the professional development of staff (Knight, 2007). The purpose of this quantitative study was to gain information regarding the effectiveness of an instructional coaching program to limit teacher burnout and increase teacher retention. Non-tenured teachers from two rural school districts were surveyed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory to determine levels of burnout in teachers who participated in an instructional coaching program versus teachers in a school district that did not offer instructional coaching. Retention data gathered from district administrators were analyzed to determine how instructional coaching impacts teacher retention. A purposive sample was used to select participants based on their nontenure status and placement in a rural district. The findings did not reveal a significant difference between districts based on the availability of an instructional coaching program. These findings are relevant as school districts face an increasingly challenging task to keep teachers in the profession and provide social-emotional support for educators