Title: Teacher burnout: a comparison of two cultures using confirmatory factor and item response models

Authors: Ellen-ge Denton; William F. Chaplin; Melanie Wall

Addresses: Department of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, Room 9-309, PH9 Center, 622 W 168th St, New York, NY 10032, USA ' Department of Psychology, St. John's University, Queens Campus, Marillac Hall, Room 107B, Jamaica, NY 11439, USA ' Mailman School of Public Health, Room R211 Unit/Box: 722 West 168th St., New York, NY 10032, USA

Abstract: The present study addresses cultural differences and similarities in teacher burnout. We used the Maslach Burnout Inventory Education Survey (MBI-ES) to develop a latent model of burnout in two cultures; Jamaica W.I. teachers (N = 150) and New York City teachers (N = 150). We confirm a latent three-factor structure, using a subset of MBI-ES items that adequately fit both samples. We tested degrees of measurement invariance (model fit, reliabilities, residual variances, item thresholds, etc.) to describe and compare cultural differences. Results indicate some differences across samples at the structure and item levels. Exhaustion was a more informative construct for differentiating among teachers at moderate levels of burnout, in both cultures. However, depersonalisation was more informative at the more extreme levels of burnout among both teacher samples. Studying the influence of culture on the experience of burnout can further our understanding of burnout and potentially discover factors to prevent teacher burnout.

Keywords: teacher burnout; burnout prevention; New York City; Jamaica; USA; United States; West Indies; culture; Maslach burnout inventory education survey; MBI-ES; cultural comparison; cultural differences; modelling; exhaustion; depersonalisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJQRE.2013.056463

International Journal of Quantitative Research in Education, 2013 Vol.1 No.2, pp.147 - 166

Received: 11 Apr 2013
Accepted: 18 Apr 2013
Published online: 29 Apr 2014 *

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