Teacher Burnout

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΑΝΟΙΚΤΟ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ ΣΧΟΛΗ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΙΣΤΙΚΩΝ ΣΠΟΥΔΩΝ

ΜΕΤΑΠΤΥΧΙΑΚΗ ΕΙΔΙΚΕΥΣΗ ΚΑΘΗΓΗΤΩΝ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΗΣ ΓΛΩΣΣΑΣ

ΜΕΤΑΠΤΥΧΙΑΚΗ ΔΙΠΛΩΜΑΤΙΚΗ ΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ

FACTORS AFFECTING TEACHERS OF ENGLISH APPOINTED IN GREEK STATE SCHOOLS: TOWARDS ELIMINATING THE IMMINENCE OF TEACHER BURNOUT

ΜΑΡΙΑ ΛΑΛΟΥ

ΓΕΡΑΛΗ- ΡΟΥΣΣΟΥ ΕΛΕΝΗ

ΠΑΤΡΑ ΜΑΙΟΣ, 2008

INTRODUCTION As with many human service occupations, teaching in the modern world is associated with significant levels of burnout. It is true that the incidence of teacher burnout has received major attention over the last twenty years. Though researchers strive to understand its nature and sources, media images of teachers present an overworked, poorly paid, dissatisfied body of professionals whose morale can easily be raised simply by pay increases (Evans, 1998). But the consequences of teacher burnout extend beyond dissatisfaction or tension, as burnout appears to be a main factor in teachers’ decision to leave the profession in many countries. Thus, measuring the levels of burnout in the Greek educational context is necessary in case we wish to employ preventive and restorative strategies to tackle the phenomenon early. In order to investigate the levels of professional burnout in the context of state schoolteachers, the present study aimed to identify the specific factors that exacerbate teacher burnout. Also, of particular importance was the examination of distinct aspects of these teachers’ job such as the sources of stress, their levels of self- efficacy and the degree of satisfaction they experience in their jobs. This paper is divided into two parts. Following the introduction, the first part includes two chapters and provides a brief overview of the pertinent literature and the theoretical background of teacher burnout and stress. More specifically, In Chapter 1, a review of the syndrome of burnout in relation to its origins as a term, the factors that lead individuals to experience it, as well as its consequences is provided. Next, a synthesis of educational research on the particular individual, organizational and leadership factors that do not permit teachers sustain commitment in their job is presented; a special reference is also made to both the process through which teachers experience burnout and to its consequences.

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In Chapter 2, educational literature regarding the origins of teacher stress as well as its correlation to burnout is reviewed. Moreover, we identify the sources and symptoms of teacher stress as well as the way the first stress signs start developing in teachers; in this process, the relationship between stress and job satisfaction and the sources that cause teachers to feel stressed out in relation to feelings of low job satisfaction in their work environment has also emerged and it is, thus, presented in this chapter. The second, practical part reports on questions of methodology and the overall results of the study. More specifically, In Chapter 3, the methodology of this study is considered in detail in order to gain insight into its planning and implementation. In particular, the chapter includes information on the Greek educational context for EFL teachers, an analysis of the objectives of the study along with the type of research employed, and an elaborate section on the types of measurements employed in order to investigate levels of burnout in the sample. A special reference is also made to the type of data analysis employed, the procedure followed towards collecting responses and the possible limitations the particular study faced. In Chapter 4, the findings are analyzed and attention is called to the consequences of the present analysis for future research; additionally, the implications of the particular results with regard to suggestions for future administrative interventions in order to prevent burnout are discussed.

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PART I Chapter 1 Burnout: An Occupational Hazard for Teachers Introduction Burnout emerged as a social problem around the 70s, a time that saw a crisis of overextended, disillusioned human service workers. As a phenomenon, burnout is important as it captures realities of people’s experiences at work. Though it has been portrayed as a taboo topic for more than twenty years, it is nowadays admitted that all professionals might actually be affected at some point in their lives. According to Schamer and Jackson (1996 as cited in Adams, Heath- Camp & Camp, 1999), burnout affects teachers more than any other public service profession; moreover, the teachers’ job is both demanding and challenging as, to quote Croom, (2003) “it draws upon their physical, emotional and intellectual resources” (p. 1). The objective of this first chapter, therefore, will be to broaden our understanding of the determinants of burnout as a general and teacher specific concept.

1. 1 The Origins of the Phenomenon As a concept, burnout was initially used by Freudenberger (1974 as cited in Byrne, 1999) to characterize physically and psychologically depleted health care workers who were in a state of exhaustion due to both intense work and to neglect for their own needs. Freudenberger also introduced the term to explain the individuals’ inability to function effectively in their job as a consequence of prolonged and extensive job related stress.

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Maslach and Jackson (1981 as cited in Byrne, 1999) expanded this original conceptualization by focusing on the work environmental conditions likely to affect individuals. In particular, they attempted to research the way role related stress could lead a person to experience mental fatigue, treat clients in a mechanical way, and experience feelings of diminished ability at work. Based on years of exploratory research, Maslach and Jackson (1981 as cited in Maslach, 1993) defined burnout as a multidimensional construct that embraces three component structures: (i) emotional exhaustion, which refers to feelings of being emotionally drained by one’s contact with people; (ii) depersonalization, which characterizes burned out individuals’ callous response towards people; and (iii) reduced accomplishment, which signifies the decline in one’s feelings of competence and achievement in their jobs. Later, these structures were operationalized through the construct of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a methodological and statistical tool first piloted on the staff of day care centers and then extended to other professions (Hallsten, 1993).

1. 2 Factors Leading to Burnout Maslach (1982 as cited in Boyd and Pasley, 1989) suggested three categories of factors as potential contributors to employee burnout: (i) involvement with people, (ii) one’s personal characteristics, and (iii) the job setting or organizational climate. The first category pertains to relations with one’s coworkers, supervisors, and even social support on the job, which may influence the extent to which individuals experience burnout. People’s personal characteristics such as their age, gender, and family status are variables included in the second category; this also encompasses personality factors MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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like one’s commitment to values, locus of control, hardiness and personal health. The variables involved in the third category relate to characteristics of one’s job setting like workload, time and position in work, as well as agency policies.

1. 3 The Consequences of Burnout For Maslach, Schaufelli & Leiter (2001) the outcomes of burnout relate to issues of job performance and health; regarding one’s job performance, burnout has been associated to forms of withdrawal such as absenteeism, intention to leave, and turnover; in cases where individuals decide to stay in the job, the outcomes include low productivity or effectiveness that may, in turn, lead to reduced job satisfaction or commitment to the organization. In terms of mental health, burnout is linked to issues like: neuroticism; drop in one’s self esteem; anxiety and depression as well as sleeplessness, tension and headaches. Spanoil and Caputo (1979 as cited in Cunningham, 1983) also support this distinction between organizational and personal outcomes, while Burke and Greenglass (2001 as cited in Maslach, Schaufelli & Leiter, 2001) also stressed that the syndrome has a negative spill over to home life.

1. 4 Teacher Specific Burnout The issue of teacher burnout is a catchphrase in educational literature; several studies have identified teachers’ high susceptibility to burnout conditions (Friesen, Prokop & Sarros, 1988; Bibou- Nakou, Stogiannidou & Kiosseoglou, 1999; Fore, Martin & Bender, 2002; Fives, Hamman & Olivarez, 2006; Kokkinos, 2006). For Luckner and Hanks (2003), in particular, it is teachers who, more than any other human service

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workers, are likely to fall victims of the burnout syndrome as their job requires much which seldom gives back; often teachers face complex and frustrating challenges which, unless tackled early, may lead to devastating results. Initially investigated among American teachers, burnout was found to result in reduced teacher- pupil rapport and pupil motivation, diminished teacher warmth and satisfaction, and decreased teaching effectiveness (Millicent & Sewell, 1999). Additionally, studies in Europe, Asia, and Canada have shown its relation to: teachers’ premature retirement (Bauer et al., 2006), absence from work (Cunningham, 1983), and negative influence on students’ lives (Heck, 1988 as cited in Dorman, 2003). An early diagnose of potential burnout sources and symptoms may, therefore, provide for a “well prepared, caring, qualified teacher, which is a most important influence in a student’s education” (Luckner and Hanks, 2003, p. 1).

1. 5 Factors Contributing to Teacher Burnout Vandenberghe and Huberman (1999) state that, as shown by studies in both North America and Europe, conflicting expectations, increased work pressure, impractical innovations like the introduction of the National Curriculum, unsupportive school environments and unmotivated pupils are the main factors to affect the teaching force and lead to absenteeism, low commitment, prolonged illness, undue stress and eventually burnout. Esteve (1989) refers to two groups of causative factors; the primary ones directly influence teachers and include: (i) materials and working conditions; (ii) an increase in pupils’ violent behaviour, especially in secondary schools; and (iii) exhaustion arising from demands placed on teachers such as staff meetings, informing parents, organizing extra- curricular activities and managing multilevel classes. MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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The secondary factors relate to the teachers’ working environment and affect the situation teaching takes place as they include: (i) role changes that may lead to contradictions with colleagues and representatives of the institution; and (ii) their image deterioration due to both the system’s deficiencies and the media attack. Farber (1984 as cited in Friedman, 1999) added some work related factors like: involuntary transfers, isolation from other adults, bureaucratic incompetence and lack of promotion opportunities. For Luckner and Hanks (2003), the causes of burnout lie on the fact that the teachers’ traditional role has changed and social integration places another burden on them as they are expected to compensate for shifts in both society and the family and come up to new challenges like multiracial and multicultural communities. Finally, Fore, Martin and Bender (2002) also suggested the lack of proper staff development training. A most popular distinction between factors is the one among personal, organizational, and the most recently researched leadership factors, explored below.

1. 5. 1 Individual Factors Influencing Teacher Burnout Early attempts to explore the phenomenon have focused on teachers’ individual characteristics as possible predictor variables. These, in particular, include: (i) demographic characteristics, (ii) personality variables, and (iii) work- related attitudes. Research on the significance of background variables on teacher burnout has focused on the following: gender, whereby investigations have shown depersonalization to be higher for male elementary and high school teachers (BibouNakou, Stogiannidou & Kiosseoglou, 1999); age, whereby young teachers were MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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shown to experience more emotional exhaustion than older ones (Byrne, 1999); teaching experience, with reports showing that teachers with more than twenty years of experience exhibited higher stress levels than their younger colleagues (Byrne, 1999); marital status, with Pierce and Molloy (1990 as cited in Byrne, 1999) concluding that married teachers experienced lower depersonalization levels than their childless counterparts; grade of level, with high school teachers found to be more susceptible than elementary ones (Anderson & Iwanicki, 1984 as cited in Byrne, 1999); and, lastly, the type of students taught, with special education teachers found to be more vulnerable to burnout than regular ones (Fore, Martin & Bender, 2002). As regards personality variables, Byrne (1999) identified two factors as most likely to influence teacher burnout: the first is the teachers’ self esteem and the second is the locus of control1. For Byrne (1999), both are important in a person’s ability to withstand job stressors. Huberman (1989), on the other hand, identified routine feelings of being trapped in teaching, difficulties in private life, and even ideological reasons such as views on reform as the main individual variables that cause the phenomenon. Another personality trait that can act as a potential burnout predictor variable is self- efficacy2 (Bandura, 1997 as cited in Fives, Hamman & Olivarez, 2006). Studies have shown low self-efficacy teachers to be emotionally weak and exhibit poor organizational skills and low ego strength (Dorman, 2003).

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Rotter (1966 as cited in Byrne, 1999) distinguished between internal and external control individuals. Those who view events as consequences of their own actions believe in internal control; those, on the other hand, who believe events are beyond their control or due to luck or fate, believe in external control. According to Cedoline (1982 as cited in Byrne, 1999), teachers who manifest external locus of control are more likely to suffer burnout. 2 The term self -efficacy was initially used by Bandura (1997 as cited in Friedman, 2003) to account for a person’s beliefs in their ability to organize and execute courses of action and it is reported as significant in a person’s attempt to achieve their goals. In particular, Bandura found that when teachers report high levels of efficacy they believe that even unmotivated students can learn, they experience better health, high achievement and better social integration skills.

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Additionally, Type A behaviour3, which consists of a hostile, aggressive style, has been found to correlate with high levels of burnout (Burke and Greenglass, 1995); researchers have also suggested that individual coping initiatives4 are important in influencing levels of burnout (Golembiewski & Munzenrider, 1988 as cited in Burke and Greenglass, 1995). In relation to attitudes to their jobs, Hofer (1986 as cited in Rudow, 1999) places burnout after teachers’ disappointment due to unfulfilled expectations regarding discipline issues, pupils’ gratitude or competences, and their motivation to learn. Overall, studies focusing on individual teachers’ characteristics have shown that it is dedicated and committed teachers that are prone to burnout (Friesen, Prokop & Sarros, 1988; Dinham & Scott, 2000).

1. 5. 2 Organizational Factors Influencing Teacher Burnout Apart from the significance of background variables in explaining teacher burnout, researchers have identified occupational, organizational and job characteristics as potential predictor variables (Byrne, 1999; Maslach, 1999). Byrne (1999) summarized the organizational factors likely to affect teacher burnout: these include issues like (i) role conflict arising from conflicting sets of pressures; (ii) role ambiguity which refers to lack of clarity regarding their obligations; (iii) work load, which teachers have cited as a major job stressor and includes issues of paperwork, oversized classes with heterogeneous academically students, imposed time constraints and courses outside their skill; (iv) poor classroom climate, especially the one associated with discipline, 3

For cardiologists Friedman and Rosenman (1974 as cited in Burke & Greenglass, 1995) Type A behaviour is a type of behaviour associated with hostile, aggressive style which, according to their studies, is established as a risk factor for coronary diseases. 4

For Golembiewski and Munzenrider (1988 as cited in Burke & Greenglass, 1995), coping mechanisms relate to behaviours and cognitions people use to resolve stressful situations.

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as well as attitudinal and abusiveness issues; (v) lack of involvement and low decision making power and (vi) the lack of support from peers and superiors. Regarding work setting characteristics, features of the job itself like the quality of supervision, the reality shock, and constraints in teachers’ organizational environment were identified as possible burnout predictor variables (Maslach, 1982 as cited in Burke and Greenglass, 1995). Friedman (2003) also saw burnout as the discrepancy between the teachers’ expectations as impeccable professionals and the actual results in their performance. As concerns occupational characteristics, Farber (1999), identified inconsequentiality between the work teachers’ offer and the lack of reward, resources, and recognition they get upon which the essence of the phenomenon lies. In a review of eighteen studies on the factors that cause teacher burnout Leithwood, Menzies, Jantzi and Leithwood (1999) claim that some of the organizational and individual factors discussed above may actually be influenced by another category, namely the leadership factors.

1. 5. 3 Leadership Factors Relating to Teacher Burnout For Leithwood et al. (1999), specific leadership practices can explain the variation in teacher burnout. These relate to the leaders’ vision in identifying opportunities for development; providing for both intellectual stimulation and individualized support; accepting group goals and assisting towards achieving them; modeling consistent behaviour that does not include favoritism, harassment, or control; building productive school culture that encourages staff collaboration and sharing of values to enhance students’ improvement; fostering expectations on high performance as well

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as on productive school culture; and, finally, enhancing decision making opportunities and reducing authoritarian leadership.

1. 6 How Burnout Develops in Teachers The above-mentioned factors may not affect teachers at the same level or simultaneously. Huberman (1989) argues that almost everyone experiences moments of doubt on whether they should remain in the teaching profession, especially after a period of effort and investment. Veninga and Spradley (1981 as cited in Hamann and Gordon, 2000) identified the burnout cycle as a five-step pattern. At the first level, called the honeymoon stage, a gradual loss of satisfaction, energy and enthusiasm commences. The researchers claim that most teachers experience this level at least once a year and that it can be treated if diagnosed early. Signs of inefficiency, dissatisfaction, fatigue and sleeplessness characterize the second, still treatable level. It is at the third level whereby withdrawal and attitude change commence as chronic exhaustion reverts into anger, depression, and physical illness. At the fourth level, known as the crisis stage, the problems obsess teachers while anger and illness exacerbates; finally, at the last level called the hit- on- thewall, professional incompetence along with physical and psychological dysfunction dominate. According to Farber (1984 as cited in Adams et al., 1999), burnout is an important reason for leaving; this, nonetheless, is the ultimate stage and may never be reached by the majority of teachers who, though suffering from the daily hassles of teaching, remain in the occupation and withstand devastating consequences with harmful effects for both themselves and their pupils. MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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1. 7 The Consequences of Teacher Burnout Generally speaking, as Kelchtermans and Strittmatter (1999) suggest, burnout has practical consequences on the teachers’ performance, commitment, and satisfaction, on pupils’ learning, and, unavoidably, on burdening school as a workplace. Clark (1984 as cited in Travers and Cooper, 1998) adds that the syndrome results in detracting teaching quality, showing less praise to students and less tolerance of their ideas. Cunningham (1983) categorized symptoms according to factors. The organizational ones include aspects like absenteeism, decline in performance and poor interpersonal relations with both students and coworkers. The personal ones relate to teachers’ low commitment and involvement in the job, low tolerance to class disruptions and less sympathy towards students. Overall, Cunningham (1983) claims, burned out teachers are dogmatic, resistant to changes and more reliant on structure and routine. For Seiderman (1978 as cited in Goelman and Guo, 1998) lateness, absenteeism due to illness, and decrease in energy level are the primary signs of burnout and are the aftermath of teachers’ continuous complaints about working conditions, salaries, students’ behaviour, and lack of parental involvement; if these factors continue ailing teachers and are followed by irritability, conflict, and low staff morale, teachers eventually reach the last stage which is resignation. With regard to teachers appointed in Greek state schools, however, it would be an exaggeration to assume that they would abandon their jobs as it is a fact that their positions are permanent and they would rarely give it up for another job.

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Farber and Miller (1981 as cited in Byrne, 1999) found that burned out teachers are less sympathetic to students, show less tolerance for class disruption, and less commitment and dedication to class preparation; Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1978 as cited in Millicent and Sewell, 1999) include diminished job satisfaction, reduced teacher and pupil rapport, decreased pupil motivation and teacher effectiveness in meeting educational goals in the burnout consequences. Initially, these symptoms lead to neurotic and psychosomatic illnesses and later on to absenteeism and early retirement. Finally, for Shirom (2003 as cited in Cinamon, Rich & Westman, 2007), burnout is a reaction to stress that generates negative work outcomes such as absenteeism, turnover, low commitment, and reduced psychological and physical well-being.

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Chapter 2 Stress in Teaching Introduction Stress is a major work problem in nine out of ten places (Brown & Ralph, 1998). Throughout the history of literature, it has been suggested that teachers experience greater levels of stress compared to other professions (Coates & Thoresen, 1976; Brown & Nagel, 2004); studies in the United Kingdom have found that about onethird of teachers surveyed reported their job as stressful or extremely stressful (Brown & Ralph, 1998). Stress, nonetheless, is not a British phenomenon; studies in the United States (Dunham, 1983 as cited in Travers & Cooper, 1996) and Australia (Tunnecliffe, 1986 as cited in Travers & Cooper, 1998) revealed that teaching is the number one stress job. The aim of this chapter, therefore, will be to explore the origins of stress and its correlation to burnout and job satisfaction as well as to examine the sources and symptoms relating to teacher stress.

2. 1 The Origins of Stress As a term, stress became widely used in the social sciences in the 50s after Selye’s (1956 as cited in Pines, 1993) pioneering work that defined it as a nonspecific result of demand upon the body, be the effect mental or somatic. For Selye (1980 as cited in Travers & Cooper, 1998), stress is not automatically negative rather it is distinguished between eustress, which motivates individuals and fosters growth and change, and distress, which can be damaging. The first references to teacher stress began to appear in the mid 70s; Chris Kyriacou (2001) was a pioneer in examining teacher stress stimulated by his personal

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experiences as a teacher in the United Kingdom. Being employed in a disadvantaged community, Kyriacou and his colleagues received a salary enhancement allowance to prevent them from turnover. This enhancement, called the stress allowance, intrigued Kyriacou to research stress among schoolteachers. Based on research of that time Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1978a as cited in Kyriacou, 2001) adopted a most widely used definition which viewed stress as a negative emotional experience triggered by the teacher’s perception that their work constitutes a threat to their well being or selfesteem.

2. 2 Stress and Burnout Like burnout, stress is a complicated issue involving sources and symptoms quite similar to the ones mentioned in the previous chapter; for many researchers, in particular, burnout is seen as a response to chronic stress (Cunningham, 1983; Kyriacou, 1989; Capel, 1989; Dorman, 2003; Kokkinos, 2005). According to research conducted by Farber (1984 as cited in Milicent and Sewel, 1999), job related stress plays an important role in the etiology of burnout, as prolonged stress is associated with the erosion of one’s social, psychological, and technical resources and results in burnout. Smylie (1989) also cites that, initially, work related stress leads to varying levels of psychological tension and frustration and then, in its excessive form, to job burnout. As concerns its symptoms, Gill (1979 as cited in Doohan, 1982) identified the similar signs of stress and burnout which include loss of interest, enthusiasm and concern; energy decrease; sleep and appetite disturbances; mood changes; feelings of guilt and worthlessness; somatic disorders; uncharacteristic behaviour; and difficulty in concentrating. MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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2. 3 Sources Leading to Teacher Stress An early study by Coates and Thorsen (1976 as cited in Millicent & Sewell, 1999) found that sources of teacher stress include time demands; clerical duties and difficulties with pupils; motivating and controlling students; large classes; financial constraints; and lack of educational supplies. Later studies generally confirmed the importance of role workload, difficulties with students and staff relations in explaining stress in teachers (Humpreys, 1996; Millicent & Sewell, 1999). Antoniou, Polychroni and Vlachakis (2006) have recently categorized the major sources of teachers’ occupational stress into (i) factors directly linked to the teaching profession; (ii) administrative factors related to school organization and administration; and, (iii) teachers’ individual differences in coping with stress. Regarding the first category, Kyriacou (2001) identified a number of conditions as the main sources of teacher stress. These include teaching students who lack motivation; maintaining discipline in the classroom; tackling general time pressures and workload demands; being exposed to a large amount of change; being evaluated by others; having difficult or challenging relationships with colleagues, administration, or management; and being exposed to generally poor working conditions. Travers and Cooper (1996) added the lack of promotional prospects as an important source in explaining teacher stress. Based on further findings, Kyriacou (1989) had also supported the importance of certain other factors like covering absent colleagues, striving to maintain standards, the fear of being unpopular, as well as school changes like the introduction of new curricula. In relation to administrative factors, Pettegrew and Wolf (1982 as cited in Adams et al., 2005) identified nine categories of system related stressors as possible causes of teacher stress: role conflict and ambiguity over teachers’ obligations, status,

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objectives, and accountability; management style and non participation in decision making; the lack of peer support that often breeds feelings of isolation to teachers; overload combined with the lack of resources to adequately perform their roles; the lack of supervisory support; task stress due to reports, paperwork, and out school activities. Cox, Boot and Cox (1989) also discussed the impact of the organization and management on teacher stress and identified the following sources: the physical working environment, the school community relations, opportunities conducive to training and career development, the organization of the school regarding the teachers’ role or its size, and, finally, the nature of the work which involves issues of methodology, resources and workload. As concerns teachers’ characteristics, Borg & Riding’s studies (1991 as cited in Brown & Nagel, 2004) have shown the relation of stress levels to age and gender with teachers with greater number of years experience reporting higher stress levels. Additionally, Borg & Riding (1991 as cited in Montgomery & Rupp, 2005) have identified that female teachers tend to report higher stress than their male counterparts. The literature also provides support that an individual's personality characteristics influence the degree to which teachers respond to stressful events. One such trait is Type-A personality which, for Guglielmi and Tatrow (1998 as cited in Montgomery & Rupp, 2005), affects teachers’ ability to establish supportive social networks and respond to stress. For Kyriacou (1989), “stress in the eye of the beholder” (p. 28); in this sense, teachers with a personality disposition to see pressures and demands under their control are less likely to experience stress or any of its devastating outcomes.

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Moreover, apart from personality traits or the environment, coping mechanisms5, which are activated when individuals try to reduce the personal threat and mediate the stress-response syndrome, may influence the degree to which stressful situations affect teacher's emotional and cognitive well-being ((Kyriacou & Sutcliffe, 1978a as cited in Montgomery & Rupp, 2005).

2. 4 How Stress Develops in Teachers For Kyriacou (1989), every teacher has a unique stress profile and any job aspect might actually cause it; in this sense, the sources of stress experienced by a particular teacher will be unique to him or her and will depend on the interaction between his or her personality, values, skills, and circumstances. Also, its consequences may affect teachers at different times and levels. Regarding the process involved from the time teachers’ start neglecting the early stress symptoms up until they reach distress and disequilibrium, Veninga and Spradley (1981 as cited in Nias, 1999) suggest a five-stage model. At the eustress stage teachers experience feelings of being well supported and challenged; at the fuel shortage stage job dissatisfaction and inefficiency show up followed by fatigue, sleep disturbance and escape activities like excessive eating or drinking. At the third stage symptoms like headaches, digestive disorders and anxiety develop; these symptoms become acute at the fourth crisis stage and are accompanied by pessimism, self-doubt,

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Problem-focused and emotion-focused coping are the main mechanisms employed by individuals (Admiraal, Korthagen, & Wubbels, 2000 as cited in Montgomery & Rupp, 2005) to manage or alter the problem that is causing the distress or to regulate the emotional response to the problem. The former consists of confrontational and problem-solving strategies such as defining the problem, generating solutions, weighing the cost and benefits of alternatives, selecting one of them, and taking action. Emotion-focused coping behaviour consists of positive reappraisal and comparisons as well as defensive strategies such as avoidance, minimisation, and distancing.

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and sense of being trapped. By the time teachers reach the hitting the wall stage, external help to provide for recovery is demanded.

2. 5 The Consequences of Stress Kyriacou (1987 as cited in Millicent & Sewell, 1999) claimed that the main negative effects resulting from particular job aspects are anxiety and frustration. Cooper and Payne (1988 as cited in Travers and Cooper, 1998) summarized the manifestations of stress into three categories: the physiological ones relate to features of energy and fatigue; also, in this category, Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1978 as cited in Hintont and Rotheiler, 1998) identified heart problems, headaches, blood pressure, and indigestion while Dunham (1980 as cited in Hintont and Rotheiler, 1998), who conducted surveys on secondary teachers in Europe and West Germany, indicated symptoms like insomnia, back pain, ulcer, and skin rash. The second category of behavioural manifestations relates to issues of absenteeism, resignation, and early retirement; these devastating effects may, for Farber (1984 as cited in Geving, 2007), lead to a crisis in education if we consider the economic cost of sick leaves, the disruption of the academic year, the teachers’ personal suffering, and the consequences on students’ competence. The third category refers to the emotional manifestations of stress such as the teachers’ low self-esteem, along with the signs of dissatisfaction, and anxiety. These manifestations, as Quick and Quick (1984 as cited in Brown and Ralph, 1998) claim, also affect the teachers’ performance and judgment.

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2. 5. 1 Stress and Low Satisfaction6 in Teachers One of the significant manifestations of stress experience at work is low job satisfaction. For Oberlander (1990), satisfaction is an important work aspect as it maintains productivity; dissatisfaction, on the other hand, influences stress levels. The relationship between teacher stress and job satisfaction has been studied rather extensively. In the 60s, early studies on teachers’ concerns and anxieties focused on sources of job dissatisfaction (Kyriacou, 2001); years later, in a detailed analysis of the issues relating to job dissatisfaction, Kyriacou and Sutcliffe (1978 as cited in Travers and Cooper, 1998) identified the following job stressors: poor career structure, misbehaving pupils, inadequate salaries as well as schools’ disciplinary policies, noisy pupils, difficult classes, the effort to maintain standards, and work overload. Following Herzberg’s7 (1959 as cited in Fraser et al. 1998) theoretical distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic factors likely to influence satisfaction, Dinham and Scott (1998) surveyed 2000 teachers in New Zealand, England and Australia to find that the intrinsic factors likely to enhance teachers’ job satisfaction included students’ achievement, teachers’ feelings of self worth, collegial support, positive relations and the opportunity to help students modify their behaviour. The extrinsic ones likely to cause dissatisfaction in teachers were issues like low support and promotion opportunities, media negative images of teachers, workload, increased expectations, as well as educational changes.

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Satisfaction is for Luthans (1998 as cited in Tella et al. 2007) an emotional response to a job situation inferred by the extent to which outcomes meet an individual’s expectations as well as by one’s attitudes to the job itself, to promotion opportunities, to supervisors, and colleagues. 7

Herzberg identified two sets of factors likely to influence one’s job satisfaction; the extrinsic ones, termed contextual hygiene factors, include policies and administration, supervision, interpersonal relations, work conditions and salaries; the intrinsic ones include achievement, recognition, challenges and independence.

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PART II Chapter 3 Methodology Introduction The educational literature abounds in examples of research on teacher stress and burnout with most findings concluding that teaching is a very stressful occupation (Woods, 1999) and the number one profession to suffer burnout (Rudow, 1999). As concerns Greece, research into factors that cause teacher stress and burnout has grown steadily over the last two decades and has been well documented (Antoniou et al., 2000; Kantas & Vasilaki, 1997). Research on EFL teachers, however, is scarce. Such absence is what drove the researcher to investigate levels of burnout among teachers of English employed in Greek state schools. In the sections that follow the methodology adopted in order to examine the extent to which these teachers might suffer from burnout is presented.

3. 1 The Context of the Study Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Greece is considered to be a popular destination for high school graduates as it offers job and financial security, immediate employment after completing one’s studies, flexible timetables and long vacations. Employment in public schools, in particular, has been most sought after by graduates especially since the 90s when the profession saw the opening of many positions in both primary and secondary state schools. The teaching reality, nonetheless, is sometimes far from idyllic for teachers. As indicated in many personal accounts, teachers face several challenges that signify the

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discrepancy between the above-mentioned advantages and the actual working conditions. More specifically, most often teachers of English have to commute daily to two or more schools to complete the obligatory 24 hours weekly schedule8; also, as concerns colleagues in secondary education, it is a fact that they often have to teach other subjects such as History or Geography as well. Additionally, private language schools are held in higher esteem for their contribution in promoting foreign language learning than state schools; as a result, society tends to diminish state schoolteachers’ contribution in foreign language learning. Also, the educational system in Greece is highly centralised with the Ministry of Education determining the syllabus and materials used. Especially teachers in primary education have to cope with obsolete books that render learning and teaching unattractive and call for teachers’ numerous adaptations of the materials. All the above factors pertain to issues teachers in other contexts have ranked as possible contributors to burnout; consequently, it seemed necessary to examine whether such experiences are in any way linked to Greek EFL teachers’ feelings of burnout.

3. 2 The Objectives of the Study The specific purpose of the present study was to examine whether different factors likely to contribute to increased stress and burnout in teachers of English employed in primary and secondary Greek State schools do exist. More specifically, the main objectives were:

8

This weekly timetable applies to teachers employed in primary education and is reduced to 21 hours after colleagues have completed 10 years of teaching experience.

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a) To investigate the extent to which teachers of English experience stress and burnout related symptoms and consequences; b) To determine whether the biographical characteristics of the respondents relate to any of the symptoms and consequences included in the study; c) To determine the possible correlation between school characteristics and participants’ feelings and emotions generated at these settings; d) To explain possible variations of the findings in relation to the teachers’ job characteristics; e) To suggest ways of preventing or treating symptoms based on the findings and the educational literature.

3. 3 The Type of Research To achieve the objectives of the study, an anonymous, self- report questionnaire was developed based, primarily, on the English version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for educators (Croom, 2003). The main reason for adopting this type of research is that questionnaire surveys are ideal for studying attitudes among large samples; they can also be used as systematic assessment techniques as they render possible the comparison of responses with those of other groups (Maslach, 1993). Another reason for choosing such type of research was that questionnaires are relatively economical as they can be distributed to distant locations and save the burden of commuting for conducting other types of research such as interviews (Opie, 2004). It was also assumed that they would be ideal for first time researchers as they are quick to complete and easy to analyse (Rattray & Jones, 2007). Finally, questionnaires would allow the development of causative relationships between variables such as the teachers’ demographic characteristics. MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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3. 4 Hypothetical Questions on the Research The study raised several issues to be examined and tested eight main hypotheses as follows: i.

Stress and burnout are two complex issues ailing teachers worldwide;

ii.

Teachers of English in Greece may exhibit the same levels of stress and burnout as teachers in other contexts ;

iii.

Teachers’ demographic characteristics such as their age, gender, family status are possible predictor variables of stress and burnout;

iv.

Teachers’ personality characteristics such as self- efficacy and self esteem may be related to the way teachers respond to stress and burnout;

v.

Low satisfaction influences the degree at which teachers experience different levels of stress and burnout;

vi.

Mental health issues such as anxiety and nervousness as well as physiological symptoms to stress and burnout may function as predictor variables of teachers who run the risk of experiencing those syndromes.

3. 5 Instrumentation and Measures The most widely used instrument in researching burnout is the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a statistical tool designed by Maslach and Jackson (1981 as cited in Schaufeli, Enzman & Girault, 1993) to measure the three empirically acknowledged dimensions of burnout, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced accomplishment. Though being one of the most reliable and well validated instruments, it was felt that, since the boundaries of the phenomenon may extend to

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other concepts such as teachers’ levels of satisfaction and self- efficacy, it might be preferable to build an inventory that would convey a clearer picture of the way we approached the concept of burnout in the theoretical part. The decision to employ an adapted instrument was based on the premise that it would be beneficial to detect every area in the teaching profession that might cause concern. Another point taken into account was that I was not interested in labeling individuals as burned- out; my basic aim was to shed some light on the issue of teacher burnout by exploring the specific individual, organizational, and leadership factors likely to predict whether teachers of English employed in Greek state schools are presumably at risk for developing burnout. Another premise this research was built on was that it would be beneficial to find which conditions in teachers’ work might need improvement or alteration in order to diminish the possibility of burnout. Based on educational literature summarized in the first section of this paper, burnout seemed to correlate to a number of symptoms and consequences and to measures associated with teacher stress, levels of job satisfaction as well as on feelings of professional self- efficacy. As a result, the questionnaire designed consisted of 42 items referring to all these measures and was divided into three parts following the distinction used in the Maslach Burnout Inventory; in particular, the first part attempted to assess teachers’ levels of exhaustion, the second their feelings of depersonalization, and the third their sense of accomplishment (see Appendix I, Part A). The validity of the adapted instrument was warranted by the fact that the data included in the questionnaire had been also claimed valid in other researchers’ tools (Wellington, 2000 as cited in Opie, 2004); as concerns the need to achieve a degree of reliability for the questionnaire, the tool had been subjected to a “test- retest”

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procedure (Opie, 2004) whereby respondents living in close proximity were asked to retake the questionnaire about three weeks after it was first delivered. The results of this second distribution were similar to the first one and, as a result, the tool was judged to be reliable. Generally speaking, Likert type response scales are considered most appropriate in measuring the respondents’ levels of agreement or disagreement with the items and the intensity at which they experience each factor (Rattray & Jones, 2007). As a result, each item in the first and second parts was accompanied by a five point scale ranging from one (never) to five (almost always); similar five point scales were used in the third part though ranging from one (completely disagree) to five (completely agree). The neutral point was considered important in developing the scales, as we did not want to bias the respondents’ answers (Rattray & Jones, 2007) (see Appendix I, Part A). To prevent boredom and ensure that respondents would be more engaged from the beginning, we chose to present demographic data at the end (see Appendix I, part B). A wide range of variables was assessed using items that, as identified in literature, are considered causal determinations of teacher stress and burnout. These included job related variables such as the number of years in the current position and in teaching in general and the type of school the respondents are appointed at (Capel, 1989); demographic variables such as the teachers’ gender, age, marital status and the number of children at home (Fives, Hamman & Olivarez, 2007); organizational variables such as the number of different classes or subjects taught per week (Capel, 1989); and personal variables such as the teachers’ educational level and level of training (Rudow, 1999).

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Mental and Physical Health was assessed using a checklist of symptoms related to stress and burnout (see Appendix I, Part B). As concerns symptoms related to health (Maslach, Schaufelli & Leiter, 2001), respondents were asked to indicate whether they have experienced five different symptoms. Regarding organizational symptoms (Cunningham, 1983), respondents were also asked to indicate the number of days they were absent from work due to such problems. Finally, though difficult to analyse and interpret, two open- ended questions were included in the questionnaire so as to allow for in- depth responses (Rattray & Jones, 2007) (see Appendix I, Part A). Such items yielded qualitative data and were considered important in the construction of the questionnaire, as they allow for free, no preconceived responses that may reflect the respondents’ spontaneity (Opie, 2004).

3. 5. 1 Teacher Burnout Several instruments have measured burnout in teachers; the best-validated ones are the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Educators (Iwanicki & Schwab, 1981 as cited in Croom, 2003) and the Teacher Burnout Scale (Friedman, 1999) both of which have been used in generating items for our instrument. The former consists of 22 items; nine items are used to examine emotional exhaustion in teaching, five items pertain to teachers’ feelings of depersonalization and eight to reduced accomplishment. The latter is a shortened version of the former and consists of five items on exhaustion, five on depersonalization and four on accomplishment. Regarding the Maslach Burnout Inventory, questions 5, 6, 17, 23, 33, and 34 were used as originally found in bibliography (Croom, 2003). The rest of the items of this instrument were omitted for two reasons: first, to ensure that teachers would find the adapted instrument more engaging, as the adapted instrument included more items MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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relating to symptoms and consequences, and second to avoid confusing respondents who might have difficulty discerning between meaning of items included in the original instrument; this is especially true for items 1, 2, and 3 of the original instrument (see Appendix II) which, in the researcher’s view, express overlapping notions and might be regarded by participants as identical in meaning. As concerns Friedman’s (1999) Burnout Scale, we selected items 25 and 28 which indicate feelings of reduced accomplishment and item 20 which denote feelings of depersonalization accordingly. To cover a broader range of factors likely to exacerbate burnout we selected items from a number of relevant studies. More specifically, items 19, 21, and 29 were adapted from Huberman’s (1989) study on factors that exacerbated teacher burnout in Switzerland. Items 7 and 18 were also adapted from Huberman’s (1989) research and pertain to some of the most classical symptoms of burnout. So as to illustrate the work conditions that lead teachers to burnout we also included items 22 and 26, which for Capel (1987 as cited in Rudow, 1999) have been regularly analyzed in literature as two organizational variables likely to explain burnout variables. Finally, items 1, 2, 3, 32, and 38 were selected from a Leithwood et al. (1999) study on 555 teachers and account for the teachers’ capacity beliefs and the way these beliefs explain variations of burnout.

3. 5. 2 Teacher Stress Stress factors likely to influence burnout were adapted from two instruments: the Teacher Stress Inventory (Fimian, 1987) and the Emotional Behavioral Disorder Teacher Stressors Questionnaire (Center & Steventon, 2001). The items pertaining to the former instrument are: items 9 and 10, which, according to findings are likely to MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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predict emotional exhaustion (Friesen, Prokop & Sarros, 1988) and items 41 and 42 that are factors relating to professional distress caused by feelings of low competence and significance in one’s work (Rafferty, Friend & Landsbergis, 2001). The latter instrument was developed to measure teacher susceptibility to occupational stressors. It consisted of thirty-one items from which we selected item 36, as students’ diverse abilities are variables likely to reduce teachers’ feelings of accomplishment (Vandenberghe & Huberman, 1999). Sources of job pressures identified by Travers and Cooper (1996) as antecedents of burnout in a study of teachers in the United Kingdom were also included in the adapted version; these comprised of items relating to discipline problems- item 15, availability of resources- item 27, stress resulting from constant changes in educational policies item- 8, and support from colleagues, administrators and parentsitems 4, 13, 14, 35. So as to account for the personality variables that relate to stress we included item 21, which for Nias (1993 as cited in Woods, 1999) refers to teachers’ level of commitment and is an essential part of their identity.

3. 5. 3 Job Satisfaction Based on the assumption that the Burnout Measure (Schaufeli, Enzman & Girault, 1993) found scores correlation with satisfaction from teachers’ job and life, we included several items pertaining to job satisfaction. Certain items were adapted from the Minessota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Weiss et. al., 1967 as cited in Oberlander, 1990); this 21-item instrument measures employees’ intrinsic and extrinsic levels of job satisfaction in relation to aspects of employment such as advancement opportunities, salary, and job responsibilities. Items 11, 31, and 40 measured aspects of the extent to which teachers are satisfied by such features of their job. Item 37 was MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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selected from Luckner and Hanks’ (2003) questionnaire on job satisfaction of teachers who work with students who are hard of hearing. This item was included on the premise that in almost every class nowadays there are students of various ethnic backgrounds who have a different mother tongue and experience Greek as a second language; such students have to learn yet another language, English, which for them is a foreign one. It seemed probable, thus, that this reality may influence the way our respondents experience burnout.

3. 5. 4 Teacher Self Efficacy Teacher efficacy items were adapted from the teachers’ efficacy scale (Friedman, 2003) and referred to classroom discipline control – item 30, classroom consideration such as showing care for students – item 24, and organizational inclusion in decisionmaking issues – item 12.

3. 6 Piloting the questionnaire The pilot study involved colleagues in the researcher’s immediate working environment. The instrument was piloted on a smaller sample of intended respondents and the participants were asked to answer questions regarding the time necessary for completing the questionnaire, the clarity and wording of the instructions and the questions, the layout of the questionnaire, as well as the content and layout of the cover letter (Opie, 2004). The main aim of piloting the questionnaire was to identify points that need clarity or may not be appropriate. The results of the pilot study were fruitful as we were able

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to see that no items required further explanation and that everyone person included in the piloting phase answered all questions.

3. 7 Procedure Overall, eighty five questionnaires including a cover letter were distributed from mid October to late November giving a response rate of 74 %; of them, about thirty were sent by email to colleagues of the researcher residing in parts of Greece such as Crete, Thrace, Central and Western Macedonia, and Thessaly and the rest were distributed in person in various schools within the prefecture of Larissa. Participants were assured that the data would be kept confidential and used for research purposes only. Participants responded anonymously and were asked to mail the surveys back before Christmas holidays at the latest; this restriction was based on the assumption that, as concluded from longitudinal studies found in educational literature (Fives, Hamman & Olivarez, 2007), data gathered after Christmas usually yield different results and show lower levels of burnout owing to the fact that teachers are privileged to a fifteen day holiday and have the opportunity to take their minds of work troubles for a quite long amount of time. Respondents were asked to indicate the frequency at which they experience the feelings included at the questionnaire by selecting from five response choices.

3. 8 Data Analysis Considering the fact that this was a small scale, time limited research undertaken within the researcher’s own M. Ed. practice, it seemed perfectly appropriate to

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analyse data through descriptive statistics, which may not allow for examining relationships between different variables (Opie, 2004) or for generalizing the results to the whole population of EFL teachers in Greece, but which are sufficient for detecting the existence or not of possible contributors to teacher burnout. The questionnaires yielded quantitative data, which were then converted into percentages and displayed in the form of charts (see Appendix III); it should be noted here that the particular findings are in no way representative of the situation or generalisable to teachers of English found in other contexts.

3. 9 Limitations of the research Since the questionnaire was not empirically based, it might therefore not be taken as a valid indicator of the participants’ levels of burnout. Also, owing to the fact that the researcher based the construction of the particular instrument on similar measures found in bibliography and not on the original burnout inventory, the subscales may have been poorly grouped; as a result, it might be difficult to generalize the findings and relate each item to the three aspects of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced accomplishment discussed in the educational literature. Also, apart from the two open-ended questions, the instrument is comprised of closed questions, which may restrict the depth of questionnaire response and diminish the quality of data collected (Rattray & Jones, 2007). More specifically, the analysis generated cannot provide explanations as to why teachers feel that way and do not allow us to draw conclusions on a wider population of teachers. Consequently, depending on the outcomes, we might need to further our research to explain for the findings.

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Chapter 4 Analysis and Interpretation of the Findings Introduction This chapter displays the actual findings of the questionnaire along with their interpretation in relation to the theories presented in the first part of the paper; generally speaking, the teachers who participated in the study were found to present low average levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and high levels of personal accomplishment.

4. 1 The Participants’ Demographic Variables Overall, complete questionnaires were received from sixty-four teachers appointed in Greek state schools. The mean age of our sample was 37 years, ranging from 24 to 58 years old; about 29 % was between 24 and 30 years old, 44 % was between 31 and 40 years old while the rest were above 40 years old. Teachers were predominantly female (95, 3 %). Regarding the variables of marital status and children, nearly 63 % were married, 32 % were single, and 5 % divorced; about 67 % of our sample had children. Approximately 52 % of them were placed in elementary schools and the rest in secondary ones; of them, 20 % were appointed in junior high schools, another 20 % in senior high schools, and only 8 % in vocational schools. In terms of educational level, apart from the obligatory university degree required in obtaining a position in state schools, 14 % of the participants had completed postgraduate studies and 50 % of them had completed the compulsory in-service training seminars called PEK. The largest group of respondents (53 %) taught in urban areas; teachers appointed in suburban areas made up the minority of the respondents (17 %) while approximately 30 % comprised those working in rural areas. The mean duration of service amounted

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to 11 years, ranging from 1 to 31. 20 % were doing service longer than 15 years, reflecting the above 35 average ages. The mean duration of service in the teachers’ current position was 5. 65. The mean number of reported weekly work in different classes was 6. Finally, 18 % of the respondents employed in secondary schools indicated they also teach History to complete the obligatory weekly timetable.

4. 1. 1 Mental and Physical Health Problems As regards mental issues, 54 % of the respondents indicated they experience anxiety in job, reflecting the below 40 average ages. Also, another 30 % noted they experience nervousness. Concerning physically related problems, only headaches seemed to ail teachers the most, with 42 % of them indicating it as a frequent problem; two thirds of the respondents who checked this item reflected the between 30 to 40 average ages. Finally, stomachaches and sleeplessness did not yield important results. In relation to the number of days teachers were absent from work due to the above-mentioned problems, the mean number of days was 1. 5; this number reflects the below 30 ages.

4. 2 Levels of Emotional Exhaustion in the Sample Emotional exhaustion was investigated through a set of fifteen questions. Tables one to fifteen in Appendix III display the results of the questionnaire regarding this dimension of teacher burnout. Overall, the teachers’ responses showed that the participants in the particular sample reported neither high nor low levels of emotional exhaustion. In this section, we are going to comment on the most important findings.

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Especially as concerns items 5 and 6, which were taken from the original Maslach Burnout Inventory for Educators (Croom, 2003), only a 16 % of the participants reported that they quite often feel fatigue before a work day while no respondent indicated the highest scale of almost always (see Appendix III, Table 5); extremely low were the scores for the sixth question as well, with only a 10 % indicating that they feel stressed from having to work with people all day (see Appendix III, Table 6). The rest of the items associated to feelings of emotional exhaustion gave the following results: For Friedman (1995 as cited in Hastings & Bham, 2003), receiving respect is considered important in buffering feelings of emotional exhaustion. The results of the first and third question gave contradictory results with regard to the amount of respect these teachers receive from society. In particular, as regards the first question, 33 % of them suggested that they often feel respected (see Appendix III, Table 1) while another 42 % indicated the neutral point (sometimes). Results on the third item, however, (see Appendix III, Table 3) were indicative of the reduced status the teaching of English in state schools receives from society. More specifically, an alarming 24 % suggested that they rarely feel appreciated, while similar was the percentage (24 %) for the participants who indicated the quite often response; the majority of the teachers (42 %), though, suggested the neutral point. Such findings are in consistency with the conditions described in the previous chapter regarding the teaching context for teachers of English in Greek state schools (see 3. 1). With regard to the second question, educational literature suggests that teachers exhibit signs of emotional exhaustion when they feel they cannot give to students anymore (Vandenberghe & Huberman, 1999). 49 % of our respondents, however,

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indicated that they often feel their job is of value to students, whereas another 25 % indicated that they always feel this way (see Appendix III, Table 2). Moreover, as concerns public opinion and support from parents (Question 4), which are two important contributors likely to exacerbate teachers’ feelings of exhaustion (Friesen, Prokop & Sarros, 1988), it is worth pointing out that the majority of respondents (39 %) indicated the neutral point; also, a significant 27 % said they rarely feel parental support is available to them when needed (see Appendix III, Table 4). While leaving their jobs is one of the classical symptoms of teachers who suffer burnout (Friedman, 2003), findings on the seventh question did not support this symptom; in particular, 58 % of the respondents noted that they would never quit their jobs while another 24 % had rarely thought about a similar reaction as a form of resistance to stress (see Appendix III, Table 7). For Friedman (2003), changes in educational policies (Question 8) are likely to predict teachers’ feelings of emotional exhaustion; in consistency with the overall findings that did not verify emotional exhaustion for our sample, the majority of teachers (38 %) indicated they rarely perceive changes as alarming. Another 24 % said they sometimes feel likewise, while only 24 % of them noted they often feel hypertension due to such changes (see Appendix III, Table 8). It seems that findings in relation to overload (Question 9), which in other contexts was important in predicting emotional exhaustion (Vandenberghe & Huberman, 1999), did not render it an important ailing factor for our teachers. Just a 25 % of them indicated that it is sometimes a demand on them while only a small percentage of 10 % said it always ails them (see Appendix III, Table 9).

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As concerns time pressure (Question 10), lack of time for planning lessons is likely to predict emotional exhaustion (Friesen, Prokop & Sarros, 1988); results on the item where contradictory, though. While 33 % of the teachers noted that time shortage is often a source of stress to them, there was another 30 % who indicated that time pressures is rarely a cause for concern (see Appendix III, Table 10). This may partly be explained by the fact that teachers employed in primary education face less demanding tasks owing to the fact that children at this stage are more or less at the same level of foreign language learning. Things are different for colleagues employed in secondary education, nonetheless, as they often have to adapt material or create their own in order to cater for students of different levels. Findings on the eleventh question verified the fact that teachers of English enjoy limited promotion opportunities; this is especially true for those appointed in primary schools as they are not able to occupy administrative positions. More specifically, 43 % of the respondents said they are never satisfied with the promotion chances offered to them and another 25 % indicated the rarely scale (see Appendix III, Table 11). As a variable, inclusion in decision making (Question 12), is related to the teachers’ organizational efficacy and is likely to predict emotional exhaustion (Friedman, 2003); in consistency with other contexts where participation in decision making was important in reducing the imminence of burnout, the majority of participants (41 %) indicated that they often feel important when it comes to decision making; another 32 % gave the sometimes response (see Appendix III, Table 12). Generally speaking, rapport with administrators is a factor likely to predict emotional exhaustion (Friedman, 2003). The attitude of the majority of the teachers is quite positive regarding the amount of support they get from the head teachers (Question 14). 25 % of the participants noted they could always count on their help;

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another 29 % said such help is only often available to them (see Appendix III, Table 14). Contradictory, though, were the results concerning their perceptions on the amount of support they get from school advisors (Question 13). Keeping in mind that in each prefecture there is usually only one school advisor for the English language, though, it came as no surprise that the majority of teachers (41 %) noted they rarely feel this support is adequate whereas another 21 % said they could never count on the advisor’s help (see Appendix III, Table 13). Finally, as controlling students is an important variable in predicting feelings of exhaustion (Friesen, Prokop & Sarros, 1988), findings on the fifteenth question were indicative of the teachers’ high competence levels; more specifically, 25 % of the respondents indicated they always feel ready to face class problems and another 29 % of them said they often feel this way (see Appendix III, Table 15).

4. 3 Levels of Depersonalization in the Sample Feelings of depersonalization and emotional detachment from pupils were investigated through a set of eight questions. The results of these items are presented in tables sixteen to twenty three in Appendix III. Overall, the teachers’ responses revealed contradictory results as far as their feelings towards their students are concerned. More specifically: The extent to which teachers feel sympathetic or cynical towards their students may predict depersonalization in their feelings (Friesen, Prokop & Sarros, 1988). As regards item 16, 46 %, of the participants said they always show consideration for their students’ problems and another 41 % noted they often feel this way (see Appendix III, Table 16). Similar were also the findings of item 18 that refers to the MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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teachers’ proximity to their students: 50 % of them indicated they are never distant to students and 30 % said they rarely felt this way (see Appendix III, Table 18). Item 17, which is directly taken from the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Croom, 2003) also, gave contradictory results. In particular, while a 29 % indicated that they rarely feel like this job has hardened them emotionally, another 29 % said they sometimes feel that way (see Appendix III, Table 17). As regards the nineteenth item, tensions in class are an important contributor to teacher burnout (Vandenberghe & Huberman, 1999). 43 % of the participants in question indicated they sometimes feel this way and another 24 % noted they often feel irritability; yet, there was another 21 % who said they rarely feel this way (see Appendix III, Table 19). Educational literature suggests that teachers’ perceptions on the kind of students they want (Question 20) may predict feelings of depersonalization in teachers (Friedman, 2003); the majority of participants (43 %) said they sometimes think they would rather have better students, while another 27 % noted they rarely think likewise (see Appendix III, Table 20). Conflict between teachers’ work and family life is likely to explain variations in teacher depersonalization levels (Cinamon, Rich & Westman, 2007). It seems, nonetheless, that the teachers participating in our sample would never allow for such interference as an important 42 % who answered the twenty- first question noted that they rarely let their private life affect their way of treating their students; also, another 25 % said they never felt that way (see Appendix III, Table 21). Role ambiguity, which refers to the individuals’ inability to clarify amongst work related obligations, is important in explaining variations in levels of depersonalization (Rudow, 1999); findings on the twenty- second item revealed contradictory results:

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while the majority of participants (39 %) noted they sometimes feel such kind of ambiguity, a 21 % indicated they often feel this way; yet, there was another 24 % that said they rarely face it (see Appendix III, Table 22). Finally, item 23, yet another one taken from the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Croom, 2003), gave no results indicative of exacerbated levels of depersonalization in the participants. More specifically, an important 57 % noted they never feel their students consider them accountable for their own problems while another 33 % said they rarely feel that way (see Appendix III, Table 23).

4. 4 Levels of Reduced Accomplishment in the Sample This subscale included the majority of items as eighteen questions were used to measure the teachers’ levels of competence and sense of efficacy towards their job. The results of these items are presented in tables twenty- four to forty- eight in Appendix III. Overall, findings showed that the respondents in the particular sample reported mediocre levels of reduced accomplishment. Generally speaking, teachers were found to report relatively high levels of self efficacy; more specifically, as regards item 24, the majority of participants (47 %) said they do not feel their students hold them accountable for their lack of motivation while only 27 % of them indicated the neutral point (see Appendix III, Table 24). Concerning item 30, 59 % of the respondents noted they feel competent when it comes to resolving discipline problems in class whereas only a 25 % indicated the neutral point (see Appendix III, Table 30). Items 25, 26 and 28 relate to the way the teachers’ attitudes towards their jobs and the actual working conditions they experience might influence their levels of burnout (Friedman, 2003). From the results, it seems that while teachers feel certain MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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about their choice of teaching as a job, the realities they face do not satisfy them. In particular, findings on item 25 showed that the vast majority of teachers (42 %) would definitely choose the same job again if they had to (see Appendix III, Table 25). Also, as regards item 28, teachers feel quite competent concerning their performance levels as 30 % of them completely disagreed with the statement that their levels might be declining and a significant 47 % indicated that they generally disagree (see Appendix III, Table 28). Results on item 26, on the other hand, showed that 29 % of the respondents agree that the teaching reality is in conflict with the expectations they had when entering the job while another 38 % indicated the neutral point (see Appendix III, Table 26). As concerns item 29 and in consistency with these attitudes, findings showed that, while 24 % of the respondents disagree with the notion that they might feel trapped in teaching, there was another 21 % of them who said they agree and a significant 37 % who indicated the neutral point (see Appendix III, Table 29). The results on item 27, which concerned the teachers’ perceptions on the availability of means and resources, were contradictory, as well. 25 % of the respondents indicated they rarely feel the means and resources are adequate and a similar percentage (25 %) noted the neutral point; there was, nonetheless, a significant 21 % who completely agreed with the notion that resources are adequate in their teaching contexts and yet another 19 % who said they are quite content (see Appendix III, Table 27). The respondents’ levels of satisfaction were extremely high as regards the fact that they work with children. 45 % of them completely agreed with the statement and another 41 % generally agreed (see Appendix III, Table 31). Satisfaction with salaries, though, gave different results; more specifically, 41 % of the participants

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noted they are completely dissatisfied with their earnings while another 30 % said they are generally dissatisfied (see Appendix III, Table 40). Findings revealed that teachers feel quite confident and competent regarding their teaching and the way this influences their students. More specifically, 41 % of them indicated that they completely agree with the statement that they offer useful things to their pupils and another 51 % noted they generally agree (see Appendix III, Table 32). As concerns items 33 and 34, though, that pertain directly to the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Croom, 2003), results where contradictory once again. While 30 % completely agreed and 49 % generally agreed with the statement that creating a comfortable atmosphere with their students is easy for them (see Appendix III, Table 33), 48 % of the participants indicated the neutral point when asked if their teaching can generally influence their students lives while only 25 % agreed with the statement (see Appendix III, Table 34). Lack of collegial support is a variable likely to predict reduced accomplishment in teachers (Friesen, Prokop & Sarros, 1988). As regards our sample, only 23 % of the participants said they completely agree with the availability of collegial support when needed. The majority of them (29 %) noted they disagree with the statement while another 26 % indicated the neutral point (see Appendix III, Table 35). It seems that mixed level classes, which are a reality in the Greek teaching context, may put extra pressure on teachers of English; in particular, 22 % of the teachers in the sample stated they completely agree with the fact that such diversity in learning levels might pressurize them; also, another 26 % said they generally agree with the statement while the majority of respondents (41 %) indicated the neutral point (see Appendix III, Table 36).

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Another issue that seems to put extra burden on teachers is the fact that Greek classrooms nowadays host a significant number of students from other countries. In particular, 29 % of the teachers indicated they completely agree with this statement and another 21 % said they generally agree. There was another 34 %, though, who noted the neutral point (see Appendix III, Table 37). Generally speaking, teachers feel their aspirations are still the same as when they started working. In particular, 29 % completely agreed and another 21 % generally agreed with the statement; it was the vast majority (38%), however, who indicated the neutral point (see Appendix III, Table 38). Levels of commitment were generally high in our respondents. 50 % of them indicated they completely agree with the notion that their commitment has not been affected and another 31 % generally agreed with the statement (see Appendix III, Table 39). Finally, teachers’ answers regarding their chances of professional development were contradictory, too. Whereas the majority of them (42 %) generally agreed and another 17 % completely agreed with the statement that teaching allows them to grow personally (see Appendix III, Table 41), there was a significant 37 % who generally disagreed with the statement that this job offers them training opportunities; in the same question, another 19 % completely disagreed with the statement while 27 % indicated the neutral point (see Appendix III, Table 42).

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4. 5 Findings Pertaining to the Open- ended Questions Contrary to our expectations that responses to these questions would elicit the teachers’ attitudes and allow for no preconceived replies (see Appendix I, Part A), findings of the qualitative analysis revealed the following: i.

Owing to the fact that these questions were placed immediately after the precoded questionnaire items, the responses were not spontaneous;

ii.

There were some participants who resisted answering these questions;

iii.

Except for a few respondents, the majority of them indicated disciplining students and coping with students with learning disabilities as the most stressful aspects of their job;

iv.

The participants who used their own ideas indicated tests, marking, having to cover long distances to commute to work and even large classes as the most stressful aspects; The second open question, which asked participants to indicate what makes them

feel it is worth teaching despite the difficulties, gave more spontaneous results. More specifically, the vast majority of respondents noted that the reward and the love they get from students is the aspect that motivates them most; others indicated that it is the personal contact with the children and the good relationships they have with them and even the fact that they feel they can touch their lives through teaching that sustain them.

4. 6 Discussion of the Findings Unlike most studies on teacher burnout, this one was different because the items included in the questionnaire used information taken from more than one instrument.

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More specifically, our study was embedded in burnout, stress, job satisfaction, and self efficacy theories; in our case the teachers’ levels of burnout were measured through items found in questionnaires pertaining to all these theories in order to detect any factors potentially related to burnout. It was our first aim to examine whether the items directly linked to burnout or its symptoms verified our second hypothesis that teachers of English in Greece suffer from the same level of burnout and stress as teachers in other contexts. Generally speaking, there were no alarming data regarding findings on burnout items; more specifically, the factors likely to partially verify this hypothesis were: i.

The fact that our respondents do not feel that their expectations upon entering the job are fulfilled by the teaching reality they face;

ii.

The fact that some of them often feel like being trapped in teaching;

iii.

The fact that role obligations are sometimes not clearly defined to them;

iv.

The fact that often teachers feel irritated by discipline issues; this may also partially explain their response that they sometimes wish they had better students than the ones they have now;

v.

The fact that they receive low respect and society recognition as far as their work is concerned;

vi.

And, the fact that a significant number of them believe that they sometimes feel like this job has hardened them emotionally. Regarding the factors likely to put extra pressure on teachers, the factors likely to

stress them were: i.

The fact that they get support neither from the school advisor nor from their students’ parents or even colleagues;

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ii.

The fact that some of them feel that work overload, time pressures to plan lessons and students with learning disabilities put extra burden on them;

iii.

The fact that the means and resources to do their job are not satisfactory;

iv.

And the fact that the vast majority of them consider the training opportunities offered through their job as generally inadequate. Our second aim was to detect whether the teachers’ demographic characteristics

could function as predictor variables of either stress or burnout. The statistical analysis of the questions, nonetheless, revealed that no particular connection could be drawn between such characteristics and these factors. As regards our third aim, which was to detect the respondents’ levels of selfefficacy and self-esteem in relation to burnout, it was generally found that the participants feel quite confident when it comes to participating in decision-making and exerting discipline control. Additionally, it was found that these teachers do not feel they are to blame for their students’ lack of motivation. Our fourth aim was to identify whether factors pertaining to teachers’ satisfaction levels might exacerbate burnout or stress. On the whole, it was shown that while teachers are very satisfied with working with children, they were not content with the fact that they have to cope with mixed level classes whereby students may come from different ethnic backgrounds. Also, teachers exhibited very high levels of dissatisfaction with regard to the low salaries and the limited promotion chances offered. Concerning our fifth aim, that is identifying the mental and physical health issues likely to influence the way teachers experience stress and burnout symptoms, it was shown that: despite their different personal characteristics, almost half of the respondents suffered from either anxiety or nervousness; also, as regards their

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physical health a considerable number of the participants exhibited frequent headaches. The high rate responses to all these factors may not allow us to actually predict whether the participants in question are likely to suffer burnout. Also, as shown from the data received from the two open ended questions, teachers of English in Greece are generally motivated by the fact that they get ample love, reward and appreciation from the students themselves. Thus, considering all the above facts, we should now attempt to make some suggestions concerning the way we can prevent stress and burnout levels from developing in teachers of English in the Greek teaching context.

4. 7 Implications of the Findings Based on the above findings, there are clear implications concerning how administrators may address the issues of stress and burnout in Greek EFL teachers. A number of options are presented below:  More support and interaction from parents, colleagues, administrators and the school advisors alike is required to assist in preventing stress and burnout for these teachers.  Professional development workshops could be recommended in order to offer teachers help on stress management and cater for training opportunities. Also, mentor programs for helping these teachers retain their levels of commitment and sustain their expectations with regard to their job so as to increase the satisfaction they get from teaching are recommended.  Providing assistance with educational policies, paperwork and lesson planning and having a clearly defined role description is a recommendation for helping these teachers feel relieved from stress and burnout symptoms. MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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 Proper placement of students with learning disabilities or streaming according to levels can assist in preventing stress and burnout.  On ministry level, more resources and means to conduct their job and general salary raise are important in increasing their satisfaction with the working conditions.

4. 8 Suggestions for Further Research As is the trend in burnout research, the present study focused on the negative pole of Greek EFL teachers’ work and the factors likely to threaten their well-being. Since our assumptions were not completely verified, however, and as the respondents’ generally exhibited strong levels of commitment and efficacy and relatively low ones of stress and burnout, we feel that it is time to extend our interest to the positive pole of teachers’ well being. According to Schaufelli, Salanova, Gonzalez- Roma and Bakker (2002), burnout is now rephrased as the erosion of someone’s engagement with the job; the emerging trend of this development is to focus on human strengths and optimal functioning and towards a “positive psychology”, in general (Selignman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000 as cited in Schaufeli et al., 2002, p. 73). More specifically, instead of measuring participants’ levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced accomplishment, Schaufeli et al. (2002) suggest a different perspective to burnout that will measure the participants’ engagement and, in particular, their levels of dedication, vigor and absorption to their jobs. In consistency with these suggestions, we also feel that it is high time we turned our interest to Greek EFL teachers’ sense of significance, pride and challenge; their

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levels of energy and resilience to invest effort in their work; and the intrinsic enjoyment they find in their jobs.

CONCLUSION The present study focused on the teachers’ perceptions of the factors that might cause them to feel burned out. In order to collect data on these perceptions we first attempted to summarize educational literature regarding the concept of burnout on a general and teacher specific level. We investigated the particular factors that might cause individuals to feel burned out, we elaborated on its consequences and we discussed the way burnout develops in teachers. Subsequently, we reviewed educational literature regarding the concept of stress and the way this is related to burnout. We discussed its sources and symptoms and we referred to the process teachers undergo from the first time they experience stress symptoms up to the time they reach burnout. We also presented a review of the extent to which stress is linked to reduced teacher job satisfaction. We then analyzed the procedures and measures we employed in order to gather data on the teachers’ perceptions regarding the factors that might cause them to feel burned out. The results of this study suggested that Greek EFL teachers are in general fulfilled with their job and experience high levels of accomplishment, satisfaction and self-efficacy. Hopefully, such positive feelings lead them to experience moderate levels of emotional exhaustion. Attention should be paid, though, to the feelings of depersonalization they experience regarding their relationships with administration and the amount of recognition and respect they get for their job; moreover, of special interest are the findings on the physical and mental health problems that ail them due to mostly undisciplined pupils as well as on the low satisfaction they get regarding inMariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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service training opportunities. These perceptions could be valuable for school administrators who are interested in forming suggestions on the basis of teacher development principles in educational settings and were further analyzed towards the end of the paper.

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REFERENCES Adams, E., Heath- Camp, B., & Camp, W. (1999). Vocational Teacher Stress and the Educational System. Journal of Vocational Education Research, 24 (3), 133- 144. Antoniou, A. S., Polychroni, F., & Vlachakis, A. N. (2006). Gender and Age Differences in Occupational Stress and Professional Burnout between Primary and High- School Teachers in Greece. Journal of Managerial Psychology [OnLine], 21 (7), 682- 690, Retrieved on September 6, 2007 from www.emeraldinsight.com Bauer, J., Stamn, A., Virnich, K., Wissing, K., Muller, U., Wirsching, M., & Schaarschmidt, U. (2007). Correlation between Burnout Syndrome and Psychological and Psychosomatic Symptoms among Teachers. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health [On- Line], 79, 199- 204, Retrieved August 7, 2007 from http://www.springer.com Bibou- Nakou, I., Stogiannidou, A & Kiosseoglou, G. (1999). The Relation between Teacher Burnout and Teachers’ Attributions and Practices Regarding School Behaviour Problems. School Psychology International [On- line], 20 (2), 209217, Retrieved July 18, 2007, from http://spi.sage.pub.com Boyd, B. J. & Pasley, B. K. (1989). Role Stress as a Contributor to Burnout in Child Care Professionals. Child and Youth Care Quarterly, 18 (4), 243- 258. Brown, S. & Nagel, L. (2004). Preparing Future Teachers to Respond to Stress: Sources and Solutions. Action in Teacher Education [On- Line], 26 (1), 34- 42, Retrieved on August 8, 2007 from http://www.wilson.com Brown, M. & Ralph, S. (1998). The Identification of Stress in Teachers. In J. Dunham & V. Varma (Eds.), Stress in Teachers. Past, Present and Future (pp. 37- 56). London: Whurr Publishers. Burke, R. J., & Greenglass, E. R. (1995). Job Stressors, Type A Behavior, Coping

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Doohan, H. (1982). Burnout: A Critical Issue for the 1980s. Journal of Religion and Health [On- Line], 21 (4), 352- 358, Retrieved on Se September 1, 2007 from http://www.emerald-library.com Dorman, J. P. (2003). The Relationship between School and Classroom Environment and Teacher Burnout: a LISREL Analysis. Social Psychology of Education, 6, 107- 127. Esteve, J. (1989). Teacher Burnout. In M. Cole & S. Walker (Eds.), Teaching and Stress (pp. 4- 25). Buckingham: Open University Press. Farber, B. A. (1999). Inconsequentiality- The Key to Understanding Teacher Burnout. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burnout. A Sourcebook for International Research and Practice (pp. 159- 165). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fimian, M. J. (1987). Teacher Stress: An Expert Appraisal. Psychology in the Schools [On- Line], 24, 5- 14, Retrieved July 18, 2007, from http://spi.sage.pub.com Fives, H., Hamman, D., & Olivarez, A. (2007). Does Burnout Begin with Studentteaching? Analyzing Efficacy, Burnout and Support during the Student- teaching Semester. Teaching and Teacher Education [On- Line], 23, 916- 934, Retrieved July 18, 2007 from http://elsevier.com Fore, C., Martin, C., & Bender, W. N. (2002). Teacher Burnout in Special Education: The Causes and the Recommended Solutions. The High- School Journal [OnLine], Oct. / Nov., 36- 44, Retrieved July 18, 2007, from http://muse.jhu.edu Fraser, H., Draper, J., & Taylor, W. (1998). The Quality of Teachers’ professional Lives: Teachers and job satisfaction. Evaluation and Research in education [OnLine], 12 (2), 61- 70, Retrieved on July 18, 2007, from http://spi.sage.pub.com

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Friedman, I. A. (1999). Turning our Schools into a Healthier Workplace: Bridging between Professional Self- Efficacy and Professional Demands. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burnout. A Sourcebook for International Research and Practice (pp. 166- 175). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Friedman, I. A. (2003). Self- Efficacy and Burnout in Teaching: the Importance of Interpersonal- Relations Efficacy. Social Psychology of Education [On- Line], 6, 191- 215, Retrieved on September 1, 2007 from http://wilson.com Friesen, D., Prokop, C. M. & Sarros, J. C. (1988). Why Teachers Burn Out. Educational Research Quarterly, 12 (3), 9- 19. Geving, A. M. (2007). Identifying the Types of Student and Teacher Behaviours Associated with Teacher Stress. Teaching and Teacher Education [On- Line], 23, 624- 640, retrieved on September 1, 2007 from www.sciencedirect.com Goelman, H. & Guo, H. (1998). What We Know and What We Don’t Know about Burnout Among Early Childhood Care Providers. Child and Youth Care Forum [On- Line], 27 (3), 175- 199, Retrieved July 18, 2007, from http://spi.sage.pub.com Hallsten, L. (1993). Burning Out: A Framework. In W. B. Schaufeli & C. Maslach & T. Marek (Eds.), Professional Burnout: Recent Developments in Theory and Research (pp. 95- 113). New York: Taylor & Francis. Hamann, D. L. & Gordon, D. G. (2000). Burnout an Occupational Hazard. Music Educators Journal [On- Line], 87 (3), 34- 39, Retrieved on September 1, 2007 from http://wilson.com Hastings, R. P. & Bham, M. S. (2003). The Relationship between Student Behaviour Patterns and Teacher Burnout. School Psychology International [On- Line], 24, 115- 127, Retrieved July 18, 2007, from http://spi.sage.pub.com

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Hintont, J. W. & Rotheiler, E. (1998). The Psychophysiology of Stress in Teachers. In J. Dunham & V. Varma (Eds.), Stress in Teachers (pp. 95- 119). London: Whurr Publishers. Huberman, M. (1989). Burnout in Teaching Careers. Les Sciences de l’ Education, 5, 47- 69. Humpreys, T. (1996). A Different Kind of Teacher. Dublin: Newleaf. Kantas, A. & Vassilaki, E. (1997). Burnout in Greek Teachers: Main Findings and Validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Work and Stress [On- Line], 11, No. 1, 94- 100, Retrived on April 15, 2008, from http://spi.sage.pub.com Kelchtermans, G. & Strittmatter, A. (1999). Beyond Individual Burnout: A Perspective for Improved Schools. Guidelines for the Prevention of Burnout. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burnout. A Sourcebook for International Research and Practice (pp. 304- 314). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kokkinos, C. M. (2006). Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Maslach Burnout Inventory- Educators Survey among Elementary and Secondary School Teachers in Cyprus. Stress and Health [On- Line], 22, 25- 33, retrived on July 18, 2007 from http://wiley.com Kyriacou, C. T. (1989). The Nature and Prevalence of Teacher Stress. In M. Cole & S. Walker (Eds.), Teaching and Stress (pp. 27- 33). Buckingham: Open University Press. Kyriacou, C. (1998). Teacher Stress: Past and Present. In J. Dunham & V. Varma (Eds.), Stress in Teachers (pp. 1- 13). London: Whurr Publishers. Kyriacou, C. (2001). Teacher Stress: Directions for Future Research. Educational Review, 53 (1), 27- 35.

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Leithwood, K. A., Menzies, T., Jantzi, D., & Leithwood, J. (1999). Teacher Burnout: A Critical Challenge for Leaders of Restructuring Schools. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burnout. A Sourcebook for International Research and Practice (pp. 85- 114). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Luckner, J. L., & Hanks, J. L. (2003). Job Satisfaction: Perceptions of a National Sample of Teachers of Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. American Annals of the Deaf [On- line], 148 (1), 5- 17, Retrieved July 18, 2007 from http://muse.jhu.edu Maslach, C. (1993). Burnout: A Multidimensional Perspective. In W. B. Schaufeli & C. Maslach & T. Marek (Eds.) Professional Burnout: Recent Developments in Theory and Research (pp. 19- 32). New York: Taylor & Francis. Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B. & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job Burnout. Annual Review Psychology, 52, 397- 422. Millicent, H. A., & Sewell, J. (1999). Stress and Burnout in Rural and Urban Secondary School Teachers. The Journal of Educational Research [On- Line], 92 (5), 287-93, Retrieved September 1, 2007 from http://wilson.com Montgomery, C. & Rupp, A. (2005). A Meta-analysis for Exploring the Diverse Causes and Effects of Stress in Teachers. Canadian Journal of Education, [Online], 28 (3), 458- 486, Retrieved on September 6, 2007 from http://wilson.com Nias, J. (1999). Teachers’ Moral Purpose: Stress, Vulnerability and Strength. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burnout. A Sourcebook for International Research and Practice (pp. 223- 237). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Oberlander, L. B. (1990). Work Satisfaction Among Community- based Mental Health Service providers: The Association between Work Environment and Work Satisfaction. Community Mental Health Journal [On- Line], 26 (6), 517- 532, MariaLalou-34020-aggde-May2008

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Retrieved on September 6, 2007 from http://wilson.com Opie, C. (2004). Doing Educational Research. A Guide to First Time Researchers. London: Sage. Pines, A. (1993). Burnout: An Existential Perspective. In W. B. Schaufeli, C. Maslach & T. Marek (Eds.) Professional Burnout: Recent Developments in Theory and Research (pp. 33- 51). New York: Taylor & Francis. Rafferty, Y., Friend, R., & Landsbergis, P. A. (2001). The Association between Job Skill Discretion, Decision Authority and Burnout. Work and Stress, 15 (1), 7385. Rattray, J. & Jones, M. C. (2007). Essential Elements of Questionnaire Design and Development. Journal of Clinical Nursing [On- Line], 16, 234- 243, Retrieved on July 18, 2007, from http://spi.sage.pub.com Rudow, B. (1999). Stress and Burnout in the Teaching Profession: European Studies, Issues and Research Perspectives. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burnout. A Sourcebook for International Research and Practice (pp. 38- 58). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Schaufeli, W. B., Enzman, D., & Girault, N. (1993). Measurement of Burnout: A Review. In W. B. Schaufeli, C. Maslach & T. Marek (Eds.) Professional Burnout: Recent Developments in Theory and Research (pp. 33- 51). New York: Taylor & Francis. Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., Gonzalez- Roma, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The Measurement of Engagement and Burnout: A Two Sample Confirmatory Factor Analytic Approach. Journal of Happiness Studies [On- Line], 3, 71- 92, Retrieved August 7, 2007 from http://www.springer.com

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Smylie, M. (1999). Teacher Stress in a Time of Reform. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burnout. A Sourcebook for International Research and Practice (pp. 15- 37). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tella, A., Ayeni, C. O., & Popoola, S. O. (2007). Work Motivation, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment of Library Personnel in Academic and Research Libraries in Oyo State, Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice [On- Line], Retrieved on September 6, 2007 from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/118 Travers, C. & Cooper, C. L. (1996). Teachers under Pressure. Stress in the Teaching Profession. London: Routledge. Travers, C. & Cooper, C. L. (1998). Costs of Occupational Stress for Teachers. In J. Dunham & V. Varma (Eds.) Stress in Teachers. Past, Present and Future (pp. 5775). London: Whurr Publishers Ltd. Vandenberghe, R., & Huberman, A. M. (1999). Burnout and the Teaching profession. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burnout. A Sourcebook for International Research and Practice (pp. 111). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Woods, P. (1999). Intensification and Stress in Teaching. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burnout. A Sourcebook for International Research and Practice (pp. 115- 138). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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APPENDIX I HELLENIC OPEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES Master’s in Education for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages COVER LETTER Dear Colleagues,

Researching the factors that motivate teachers of English in State Schools is of utmost importance especially if we consider the fact that certain working conditions may affect teachers’ feelings of self- efficacy as well as their satisfaction and motivation levels. The following questionnaire was designed as part of my dissertation for the M. Ed. Program in the Hellenic Open University. Your participation will, hopefully, contribute towards better understanding issues of concern teachers of English can raise regarding their attitudes towards their jobs, relationships to others, expectations and feelings in relation to their working environments. With regard to its completion, I would like to point out that: There are no right or wrong answers; it is your personal opinion that I am interested in. The answers are strictly confidential and no information regarding your identity is required. The data collected will be analyzed and used for purely research purposes. It is very important that you answer all questions. Responding to the questionnaire means you confirm your participation in the research. If you have any queries, do not hesitate to conduct me. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Maria Lalou Krania Elassonas 40001- Larisa Tel. 6972 616993 ma_ [email protected]

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Part A: The following questions concern your attitudes towards your job and the extent to which you feel drained by it. For each one, circle the corresponding answer to state the frequency at which you experience them. 1= never 2= rarely 3= sometimes 4= quite often 5= almost always 1

I feel I’m respected for my work

1 2 3 4 5

2

I feel my job is valuable as a service to others

1 2 3 4

5

3

I feel my work is appreciated by society

1 2 3 4

5

1 2 3 4

5

I feel I can count on my students parents’ support to tackle 4

problems in class In the morning, when I think I have to face another day at

5

work, I feel fatigue

1 2 3 4

5

6

I feel stressed from having to work with people all day

1 2 3 4

5

1 2 3 4

5

When I experience moments of crisis I consider leaving my 7

job I feel hypertension by having to face changes in educational

8

policies

1 2 3 4

5

9

I feel overload by having to take work at home

1 2 3 4

5

10 I feel I don’t have enough time for planning lessons

1 2 3 4

5

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I’m satisfied with the promotion chances offered through my 11 job

1 2 3 4

5

12 I have a voice in decision making at my school

1 2 3 4

5

13 support

1 2 3 4

5

14 I feel I can discuss problems over with the head teacher

1 2 3 4

5

1 2 3 4

5

I feel I can count on the regional school advisor’s professional

I can spend the same time and effort in solving class problems 15 as when I first entered the job

The following questions concern your feelings towards the people you work with. For each one, circle the corresponding answer to state the frequency at which you experience them. 1= never 2= rarely 3= sometimes 4= quite often 5= almost always 16 I’m sympathetic to my students’ problems

1 2 3 4

5

17 I feel this job has hardened me emotionally

1 2 3 4

5

18 I’m distant to my students

1 2 3 4

5

19 I get easily irritated when I face discipline problems in class

1 2 3 4

5

20 I would rather have better students than those I have now

1 2 3 4

5

1 2 3 4

5

Difficulties in my private life affect the way I treat my 21 students

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I feel my role regarding my obligations as a teacher is 22 ambiguous

1 2 3 4

5

23 I feel my students blame me for their problems

1 2 3 4

5

The following questions concern the degree of motivation and satisfaction you experience with your work. For each one, circle the corresponding answer to state the frequency at which you experience them. 1= completely disagree 2= disagree 3= neither agree nor disagree 4= agree 5= completely agree

24 I blame myself for my students’ lack of motivation

1 2 3 4 5

25 I feel I might not choose the same job again

1 2 3 4

5

1 2 3 4

5

27 are adequate

1 2 3 4

5

28 I feel my teaching performance levels are declining

1 2 3 4

5

29 I experience routine feelings of being trapped in teaching

1 2 3 4

5

30 I can resolve discipline problems arising in class

1 2 3 4

5

31 I’m satisfied with working with children

1 2 3 4

5

32 I feel I can offer my students useful things through teaching

1 2 3 4

5

I feel my expectations when entering the job are in conflict 26 with the teaching reality I face I feel the means and resources required to do my job properly

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33 I can create a cosy atmosphere with my students

1 2 3 4

5

34 I feel I can influence my students’ lives through my teaching

1 2 3 4

5

1 2 3 4

5

1 2 3 4

5

1 2 3 4

5

1 2 3 4

5

39 students’ learning as when I first entered the job

1 2 3 4

5

40 I’m satisfied with the salary offered

1 2 3 4

5

41 My job gives me the opportunity to grow personally

1 2 3 4

5

42 I get many training opportunities through my job

1 2 3 4

5

I feel I can count on my colleagues when I need support with 35 class problems I feel under pressure by having to cope with different students 36 with learning disabilities I feel under pressure by having to cope with students from 37 different ethnic backgrounds I feel I have the same aspirations as when I first entered the 38 job I feel I have the same level of commitment to promote my

43. Considering everything, which aspect(s) of your job would you rate as most stressful?.......................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... 44. Which aspect(s) make(s) you feel it is worth teaching, no matter the difficulties?...................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................... ..........................................................................................................................................

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Part B: The following questions are part of the demographic data required for a thorough understanding of the personal factors that might cause teachers feel stressed. 1.

SEX:

Female
Male

2.

AGE: ……… (Years old)

3.

MARITAL STATUS:




Single
Married
Divorced
Widower
Number of Children:.... 4.

Type of School you are appointed at: Primary




Junior High School




Senior High School




Vocational High School
Other: …………………….. 5.

Area School is situated at: Urban




Suburban




Rural




6.

Number of schools you are teaching at this year: ……

7.

Years of Teaching (in general): ………..

8.

Years of Teaching in present position: ………..

9.

Number of different classes per week: ……….

10.

Number of different subjects you are teaching this year: ….. Specify: ……………

11.

Educational Level: University degree

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Post Graduate studies in: …………….. Other: ………………………… 12.

Training: PEK seminars




Other: …………………………. 13. Health problems you’ve experienced since the beginning of the school year: Headaches




Stomach disorders




Sleeplessness




Anxiety




Nervousness




14. Number of days you were absent from work last year due to such problems: ……………

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APPENDIX II The Maslach Burnout Inventory- Educators Survey (as cited in Croom, A. Items on Emotional Exhaustion in Teaching

1. I feel burned out from my work 2. I feel emotionally drained form my work 3. I feel that I’m at the end of my rope 4. I feel used up at the end of the workday 5. I feel I’m working too hard on my job 6. I feel frustrated by my job 7. Working with people all day is a strain for me 8. I feel fatigued when I get up in the morning and have to face another day on the job B. Items on Depersonalization on Work 1. I feel students blame me for their problems 2. I’ve become callous towards people since I took this job 3. I worry that this job is hardening me emotionally 4. I don’t really care what happens to some students 5. I feel that I treat some students as if they were impersonal objects C. Items on Personal Accomplishment at Work 6. I feel exhilarated after working closely with my students 7. I feel very energetic 8. In my work, I deal with emotional problems very calmly 9. I can easily understand how my students feel about things 10. I have accomplished many worthwhile things in this job 11. I deal very effectively with the problems of my students 12. I feel I’m positively influencing other people’s lives through my job 13. I can easily create a relaxed atmosphere with my students

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APPENDIX III FINDINGS ON ITEMS REFERRING TO EMOTIONAL EXHAUSTION IN TEACHING 1

I feel I'm respected for my work

3%

8%

14% never

33%

rarely sometimes quite often always 42%

2 I feel my job is valuable as a service to others

2% 3%

25%

21% never rarely sometimes quite often almost always 49%

3 I feel my work is appreciated by society

2%

8%

24% 24%

never rarely sometimes quite often almost always

42%

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4 I feel I can count on my students' parents support to tackle problems in class

14%

3%

17% never rarely sometimes quite often 27%

almost always

39%

5 In the morning, when I think I have to face another day at work, I feel fatigue

0%

16%

16% never rarely sometimes quite often

29%

almost always 39%

6 I feel stressed from having to work with people all day

10%

3% 33%

17%

never rarely sometimes quite often almost always

37%

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7 When I experience moments of crisis, I consider leaving my job

10%

6%

2% never rarely sometimes 58%

24%

quite often almost always

8 I feel hypertesion by having to face changes in educational policies

2% 24%

12% never rarely sometimes quite often 38%

almost always

24%

9 I feel overload by having to take work at home

10%

19%

17%

never rarely sometimes quite often 29%

almost always

25%

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10 I feel I don't have enough time for planning lessons

5%

11% never

33%

rarely sometimes 30%

quite often almost always

21%

11 I'm satisfied with the promotion chances offered through my job

8%

3%

21%

43%

never rarely sometimes quite often almost always

25%

12 I have a voice in decision making at my school

3%

11% 13%

41%

never rarely sometimes quite often almost always

32%

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13 I feel I can count on the regional school advisor's professional support

11%

21%

13%

never rarely sometimes quite often almost always

14% 41%

14 I feel I can discuss problems over with the headteacher

3%

14%

25%

never rarely sometimes quite often 29%

almost always

29%

15 I can spend the same effort in solving class problems as when I first entered the job

25%

8% 11% never rarely sometimes quite often

24%

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32%

almost always

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FINDINGS ON ITEMS REFERRING TO DEPERSONALIZATION AT WORK 16 I'm sympathetic to my students' problems 0% 0% 13% never

46%

rarely sometimes quite often 41%

almost always

17 I feel this job has hardened me emotionally

10%

19%

13% never rarely sometimes quite often 29%

29%

almost always

18 I'm distant to my students

14%

3%

3% never 50%

rarely sometimes quite often almost always

30%

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19 I get easily irritated when I face discipline problems in class

10%

2%

21% never

24%

rarely sometimes quite often almost always 43%

20 I would rather have better students than those I have now

17%

0%

15% never rarely sometimes 27%

quite often almost always

41%

21 Difficulties in my private life affect the way I treat my students

16%

0%

25% never

17%

rarely sometimes quite often almost always 42%

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22 I feel my role regarding my obligations as a teacher is ambiguous

5%

11%

21% 24%

never rarely sometimes quite often almost always

39%

23 I feel my students blame me for their problems 0% 10%

0% never rarely sometimes

33%

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quite often 57%

almost always

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FINDINGS ON ITEMS REFERRING TO REDUCED ACCOMPLISHMENT AT WORK

24 I blame myself for my students' lack of motivation

14%

2%

10% completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree

27%

47%

completely agree

25 I feel I might not choose the same job again

10%

2%

16%

42%

completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree completely agree

30%

26 I feel my expectations when entering the job are in conflict with the teaching reality I face

19%

3%

11% completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree

29%

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38%

completely agree

76

27 I feel the means and resources required to do my job properly are adequate

10%

21%

25%

completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree

19%

completely agree 25%

28 I feel my teaching performance levels are declining

6%

0% 30%

17%

completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree completely agree

47%

29 I experience routine feelings of being trapped in teaching

21%

2%

16% completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree 24%

agree completely agree

37%

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30 I can resolve discipline problems arising in class

8%

0%

8% 25%

completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree completely agree

59%

31 I'm satisfied with working with children 0% 3% 11% completely disagree

45%

disagree neither agree nor disagree agree 41%

completely agree

32 I feel I can offer my students useful things through teaching 2% 0% 6% completely disagree

41%

disagree neither agree nor disagree agree 51%

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completely agree

78

33 I can create a cozy atmosphere with my students 0% 0% 21%

30%

completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree completely agree 49%

34 I feel I can influence my students' lives through my teaching

2%

17%

8% completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree

25%

48%

completely agree

35 I feel I can count on my colleagues when I need support with class problems

11%

23%

completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree 29%

11%

agree completely agree

26%

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36 I feel under pressure by having to cope with different students with learning disabilities

22%

2%

6% completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree 46%

24%

completely agree

37 I feel under presuure by having to cope with students from different ethnic backgrounds

2% 29%

14% completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree 34%

21%

completely agree

38 I feel I have the same aspirations as when I first entered the job

2% 29%

14% completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree

21%

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34%

completely agree

80

39 I feel I have the same level of commitment as when I first entered the job 0% 3% 16% completely disagree 50%

disagree neither agree nor disagree agree 31%

completely agree

40 I'm satisfied with the salary offered

5%

2%

22%

41%

completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree completely agree

30%

41 My job gives me the opportunity to grow personally

17%

6% 16%

completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree

40%

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21%

completely agree

81

42 I get many training opportunities through my job

14%

3%

19% completely disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree

27% 37%

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completely agree

82

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APPENDIX I

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APPENDIX II

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APPENDIX III

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To teach is to touch someone’s life forever

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -

I wish to express my indebt ness to my supervisor Dr Eleni Gheralis- Roussos who kindly accepted to guide and support me through this demanding task. Her valuable feedback and insightful advice proved useful for the completion of this paper.

-

My particular gratitude to my friends and colleagues Persephone Stiga and Maria Kotsiomytis for the support and guidance they offered me especially during the first year of my studies in the HOU.

-

My special thanks to my sister Katherine Lalou for her valuable help in analysing and processing the data collected through the questionnaires and my friend Panayiota Dragatoyiannis for assisting me in word- processing parts of the paper.

-

My sincere thanks to all the colleagues who willingly filled in the questionnaires.

ii

NOTE ON ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a Foreign Language

iii

ABSTRACT

The intent of this paper is to describe the burnout problem of sixty- three teachers of English employed in Greek State schools within the context of today’s classrooms. To explore the factors likely to cause disparity between teachers’ expectations and the reality of the educational institutions they work in, a review of the empirical literature on the factors leading to teacher burnout and stress is presented. To determine those teachers’ perceptions on the level of burnout experienced, we used a questionnaire adapted from several instruments such as the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Educators, the Teacher Burnout Scale, the Teacher Stress Inventory, the Emotional Behavioral Disorder, the Teacher Stressors Questionnaire, and the Minessota Satisfaction Questionnaire. The participants responded to scales that assessed the three facets of burnout, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced accomplishment. It was found that these teachers experience low to moderate levels of emotional exhaustion, low levels of depersonalization in relation to students and quite high levels of depersonalization in relation to administration and colleagues, and a high degree of personal accomplishment in their work. The teachers’ personal characteristics, the characteristics of the schools they are employed at, and the years of teaching experience do not seem to influence their responses on each of the three subscales of the questionnaire nor do the years of teaching in the same position, the number of different classes or subjects they have to teach every week or their educational and training level. Finally, suggestions for preventing teacher burnout were presented.

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ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ

Στόχος της εργασίας αυτής είναι να διερευνήσουμε το πρόβλημα της επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης, μέσα στο πλαίσιο της σημερινής σχολικής πραγματικότητας, 63 εκπαιδευτικών Αγγλικής Γλώσσας που εργάζονται σε Ελληνικά δημόσια σχολεία. Για να εξετάσουμε τους παράγοντες που διαφοροποιούν τις προσδοκίες των εκπαιδευτικών σε σχέση με την πραγματικότητα αυτή, παρουσιάζουμε μια ανασκόπηση της βιβλιογραφίας σχετικά με τους παράγοντες που προκαλούν επαγγελματική εξουθένωση και στρες στους εκπαιδευτικούς. Θέλοντας να καθορίσουμε τις αντιλήψεις των εκπαιδευτικών σχετικά με τα επίπεδα επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης που πιθανόν αυτοί να βιώνουν, χρησιμοποιήσαμε ένα ερωτηματολόγιο προσαρμοσμένο από διάφορα όργανα μέτρησης όπως είναι: ο Κατάλογος του Συνδρόμου της Επαγγελματικής Εξουθένωσης και η Κλίμακα Μέτρησης της Επαγγελματικής Εξουθένωσης των Εκπαιδευτικών, ο Κατάλογος του Στρες και το Ερωτηματολόγιο των Πηγών Επαγγελματικού Στρες των Εκπαιδευτικών, το Ερωτηματολόγιο Συναισθηματικής και Συμπεριφορικής Διαταραχής, και το Ερωτηματολόγιο Μέτρησης της Επαγγελματικής Ικανοποίησης. Όσοι συμπλήρωσαν το ερωτηματολόγιο έδωσαν απαντήσεις σε κλίμακες που αποτιμούσαν τις 3 διαστάσεις της επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης, δηλαδή την συναισθηματική εξάντληση, την αποπροσωποίηση και την προσωπική εκπλήρωση. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι οι εκπαιδευτικοί που συμμετείχαν βιώνουν χαμηλά έως μέτρια ποσοστά συναισθηματικής εξάντλησης, χαμηλά ποσοστά αποπροσωποίησης σε συνάρτηση με τους μαθητές τους και αρκετά υψηλά ποσοστά αποπροσωποίησης σε συνάρτηση με τους συναδέλφους τους και τους θεσμικούς παράγοντες, και τέλος υψηλά ποσοστά προσωπικής εκπλήρωσης στη δουλειά τους. Τόσο τα ατομικά v

χαρακτηριστικά όσο και τα χαρακτηριστικά των σχολείων που εργάζονται οι εκπαιδευτικοί, καθώς και η προϋπηρεσία τους δε φαίνεται να επηρεάζουν τις απαντήσεις τους σε καμία από τις 3 διαστάσεις του ερωτηματολογίου. Επίσης οι απαντήσεις τους δε φαίνεται να επηρεάστηκαν από άλλα δημογραφικά στοιχεία όπως τα χρόνια εργασίας τους στα συγκεκριμένα σχολεία, τις διαφορετικές τάξεις ή τα διαφορετικά μαθήματα που κάνουν κάθε εβδομάδα για τη συμπλήρωση του ωραρίου τους, ούτε και από το μορφωτικό επίπεδο ή το επίπεδο επιμόρφωσης τους. Τέλος, παρουσιάστηκαν προτάσεις σχετικά με την πρόληψη του συνδρόμου της επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης των εκπαιδευτικών.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS To teach is to touch someone’s life forever ....................................................................i NOTE ON ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................... iii EFL: English as a Foreign Language ABSTRACTiii ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................iv ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ ...................................................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................vii

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