Examining Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Burnout and Self-Efficacy During the Pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences among middle school mathematics teachers’ burnout and perceived self-efficacy levels in terms of gender, weekly lesson hours, school type, years of experience, marital status, and parental status during online education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To examine the differences, a survey research design was used, and the data was collected from 316 middle school mathematics teachers in Turkey through Maslach’s Burnout Inventory and Self-Efficacy Belief in Distance Education Scale. Findings revealed that the characteristics of gender, weekly lesson hours, school type, and marital status had no effect on the teachers’ burnout. However, experienced teachers felt higher burnout than novice teachers. Also, compared to the teachers who had one or more children, the teachers with no children had less burnout. Considering the self-efficacy of the teachers, similar to the burnout, experienced teachers had a lower level of self-efficacy. Additionally, the variable of school type had a significant effect on teachers’ self-efficacy for the benefit of the private school teachers. Yet, the other characteristics such as gender, weekly lesson hours, marital status, and having children did not affect the teachers’ self-efficacy.