Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Psychology, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

Abstract

Wisdom is a concept which has been extensively studied in many researches during recent years. On the other hand, occupational burnout is an issue that has affected teachers’ activities for many years. Occupational burnout is caused by increasing responsibility of teachers over the years. To study the effect of wisdom-therapy on teachers’ occupational burnout, 34 EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers who worked in Hamedan high schools were selected using convenience sampling method and assigned randomly into two groups of experimental and control, each including 17 teachers. Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educator’s Survey developed by Maslach, Jackson, and Leiter (1996) was used for examining teachers’ occupational burnout and using one of wisdom-therapy techniques, teachers of the experimental group received training in ten sessions. Finally, using the mentioned inventory, teachers’ occupational burnout was examined again. The results of ANCOVA revealed that wisdom-therapy had a significant effect in reducing the level of occupational burnout, depersonalization and emotional exhaustion among Iranian EFL teachers. In addition, the results also showed that wisdom-therapy had a significant effect in improving the level of personal accomplishment. Thus, it is suggested that wisdom-therapy techniques be used in education and be part of teachers’ training.

Keywords

Akbari, R., & Tavassoli, K. (2011). Teacher efficacy, burnout, teaching style, and emotional intelligence: Possible relationships and differences. Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics (IJAL), 14(2), 31-61.
Akbari, R., Kiany, G., Imani Naeemi, M., & Karimi Allvar, N. (2008). Burnout coping strategies among Iranian EFL teachers. Applied Research on English Language, 6(2), 179-192.
Bergsma, A., & Ardelt, M. (2012). Self-reported wisdom and happiness. An empirical investigation. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13(3) 481-499.
Betoret, F. D., & Artiga, A. G. (2010). Barriers perceived by teachers at work, coping strategies, self-efficacy and burnout. The Spanish Journal of Psychology13(02), 637-654.
Bruya, B., & Ardelt, M. (2018). Wisdom can be taught: A proof-of-concept study for fostering wisdom in the classroom. Learning and Instruction, 58(3)106-114.
Chang, M. L. (2009). An appraisal perspective of teacher burnout: Examining the emotional work of teachers. Educational Psychology Review, 21(5), 193-218.
Demerouti, E., Mostert, K., & Bakker, A. B. (2010). Burnout and work engagement: a thorough investigation of the independency of both constructs. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 15(3), 209-221.
Fallah, N. (2011). The relationship between emotional intelligence and burnout among Iranian EFL teachers. Journal of Language Teaching and Research2(5), 1122-1129.
Fox, G. (2012). A handbook for special needs assistants: Working in partnership with teachers. David Fulton Publishers.
Ghadimi Moghadam, M., Hosseini Tabatabai, F. & Jome Poor, A. (2005). The study of the prevalence of burnout in primary school teachers. Journal of Transformational Psychology, 5(2), 43-54.
Ghahramani, M., Arastehnazar, Z., & Meemar, M. A. (2011). Effect of locus control on burnout in instructors of Iranian governments’ literal movement, Education, 38(4), 69-84.
Gluck, J. Strasser, I., & Bluck, S. (2009). Gender differences in implicit theories of wisdom Research in Human Development, 6(1), 27-44.
Hall, G.S. (1922). Senescence: The last half of life. New York: Appleton.
Ingersoll, R. M., & Smith, T. M. (2003). The wrong solution to the teacher shortage. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 30-33.
Jamshidirad, M., Mukundan, J., & Nimehchisalem, V. (2012). Language teachers’ burnout and gender. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature1(4), 46-52.
Jennett, H. K., Harris, S. L., & Mesibov, G. B. (2003). Commitment to philosophy, teacher efficacy, and burnout among teachers of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33(1), 583–593.
Jude, M., & Grace, P. O. (2011). Emotional intelligence and locus of control as predictors of burnout among secondary school teachers in Ondo State, Nigeria. European Journal of Social Sciences, 2 (3), 369-378.
Kord Noqabi, R. (2020). The psychology of wisdom. Tehran: Arjmand. Second Edition.
Kord Noqabi, R. (2021). Wisdom-therapy. Tehran: Faravaran. First Edition.
Kunzmann, U. (2004). Approaches to a good life: The emotional-motivational side to wisdom. In P.A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive Psychology in practice (pp. 504-517). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Lee, C.Y., Wu, J.H., & Du, J.K. (2018). Work stress and occupational burnout among dental staff in a medical center. Journal of Dental Sciences, 14(1), 296-301.
Lee, J.C., Chen, C.L., & Xie, S.H. (2013). The influence of school organizational health and occupational burnout on self-perceived health status of primary school teachers. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116(2), 985-989.
Loonstra, B., Brouwers, A., & Tomic, W. (2009). Feelings of existential fulfilment and burnout among secondary school teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education25(5), 752-757.
Lotfinia, H., & Mohseninia, H. (2010). The study of the relationship between personality traits with burnout in primary school teachers in Tabriz. Journal of Education and Evaluation, 11(14), 93-106.
Maslach, C. (2003). Burnout-the cost of caring. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Maslach, C., Jackson, S., & Leiter, M. (1996). Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual. (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: CPP, Inc.
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(5), 397-422.
McMahan, J. (2003). Job stress and burnout among industrial and technical teacher educators. Journal of Vocational Education Research28(2), 125-140.
Minarik, M. M., Thornton, B., & Perreault, G. (2003). Systems thinking can improve teacher retention. The Clearing House76(5), 230-234.
Orwoll, L., & Achenbaum, W.A. (1993). Gender and the development of wisdom. Human Development, 36(3), 274-296.
Reglin, G., & Reitzammer, A. (2008). A dealing with stress teachers. Education, 118(4), 590-597.
Schaufeli, W. B., Daamen, J., & Van Mierlo, H. (1994). Burnout among Dutch teachers: An MBI-validity study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 54(3), 803-812.
Smith, A., Brice, C., Collins, A., Matthews, V., & McNamara, R. (2000). The scale of occupational stress: A further analysis of the impact of demographic factors and type of job HSE research. Association for Science Teacher Education, 25(5), 121-135.
Staudinger, U. M., & Gluck, J. (2011). Psychological wisdom research: Commonalities and differences in a growing field. Annu. Rev. Psychol, 62(6), 215-241.
Sternberg, R. J. (1998). A balance theory of wisdom. Review of General Psychology, 2(4), 347-365.
Vaezi, S., & Fallah, N. (2011). The relationship between emotional intelligence and burnout among Iranian EFL teachers. Journal of Language Teaching & Research, 2(5), 1122-1129.
Webster, J.D. (2003). An exploratory analysis of a self-assessed wisdom scale. Journal of Adult Development, 10 (1), 13-22.
Yang, S. Y. (2008). Real-life contextual manifestation of wisdom. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 67(4) 273-303.
Yong, Z., & Yu, Y. (2007). Causes for burnout among secondary and elementary school teachers and preventive strategies. Chinese Education and Society, 40(5), 78-85.