Ways to Tackle Educator Burnout

Teacher Burnout | What Can We Do?

By Stephanie Clagnaz, Ed.D. | LEDBetter

The National Education Association recently reported that 84% of teachers do not have time in their workday to complete essential components of their jobs. A 2022 Gallup Poll indicated that 44% of K-12 teachers reported feeling burned out often or always. Furthermore, the report shows that about half of all teachers are not given enough time for grading and lesson planning; that constantly changing curriculum is not adequately implemented; that training in new initiatives is lacking; and that essential support is rarely provided. Teachers are exhausted, have little work/life balance, and the situation is getting worse: increasing student needs; growing parent demands; student behavior issues; state and national mandates; and overall, too much work to complete in too little time. This leads to burnout and teachers leaving the profession, contributing to a teacher shortage, in some cases for underserved children who need qualified professionals the most.  

The NEA defines teacher burnout as “a condition in which an educator has exhausted the personal and professional resources necessary to do the job.” Alexandra Robbins suggests in an Education Weekly article that schools and districts must start to address the root causes of burnout: insufficient classroom resources, support staff and administrative support; lack of input into decisions; unpaid overtime; high-stakes testing; and lack of disciplinary and other policy enforcement. If schools fail to address these issues, they risk losing teachers, many of whom teach in shortage areas that are difficult to replace. Additionally, a Pennsylvania State University study found that there is a “cascading effect” of teacher burnout: it adversely affects teacher-student relationships, classroom management and climate, leading to lower student proficiency on mandated learning standards.

In reality, educator burnout is not the fault of teachers. It is more of an indication of an institution failing to support teachers appropriately. Rather than viewing burnout as a shortcoming of teachers, we must look at the essential supports of which teachers are often deprived.

Related articles:

• The Time Crunch | Too much work, too little time. How can educators win their race against the clock?

• A Difficult, But Necessary Change

• Teacher Burnout Statistics: Why Teachers Quit in 2024

• Teachers Aren’t Burnt Out. They Are Being Set Up to Fail

• Leaders: It's Time to Rethink Teacher Burnout

• Addressing Teacher Burnout: Causes, Symptoms, and Strategies

• Teacher Burnout Statistics: Why Educators Quit

Experts at LEDbetter can provide professional development support for teachers and school leaders to help minimize teacher burnout:

• Contemplate our new Holding Space program, in which our experts lead collegial sessions across schools and districts to address stress and mental health issues for educators. Holding Space launches this month on alternating Wednesdays.

• Contact us for more information about personalized sessions that increase teacher capacity in dealing with marginalized student groups, such as students with disabilities and English language learners.

• Consider our sessions that make teachers and leaders more culturally responsive and increase their ability to create welcoming, affirming environments that reduce stress for educators.