TITLE:
Using Emotional Intelligence Practices to Mitigate Teacher Stress and Burnout
AUTHORS:
Everett Singleton, Twianie Roberts, Kendra Bradford
KEYWORDS:
Teacher Shortage, Teacher Burnout, Stress, Trauma, Teacher Attrition, Class-room Management, Secondary Traumatic Stress and Emotional Intelligence
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.15 No.3,
March
12,
2024
ABSTRACT: Teacher
shortages continue to be a problem in schools across the United States. The
crisis is especially alarming in hard to staff subjects like Mathematics and
Special Education. Research indicates that the dominant factor that leads to
teacher burnout and attrition is stress. The stress may emanate from workload
demands, classroom management issues or secondary traumatic stress. Many
teachers are experiencing worry, mental stress, impatience, weariness, anxiety,
and issues with sleep, which can quickly lead to burnout. Their inability to
manage ongoing stress increases the likelihood of burnout, negatively impacting
job performance and student achievement. Teachers’ use of emotional
intelligence skills in the classroom can be a preventative against stress and
help them navigate complex circumstances that arise, positively impacting
students. This paper aims to discuss the effects of teacher burnout on the
profession and the use of emotional intelligence in professional development to
build skills among teachers to address stress. The paper proposes a model for
addressing the Emotional Intelligence of teachers as a tool to mitigate teacher
burnout.