Effects of Workload on Teacher Burnout in Public Secondary Schools in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Abstract

Teachers’ ought to work in an environment (context) free from too much stress, anxiety, exhaustion to avoid burnout. However, this is not the case in Tharaka Nithi County. Teachers in the county are faced with numerous stressors that could lead to burnout; limiting their abilities to meet teaching obligations. This study examined the influences of workload on teacher burnout in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. The study adopted the descriptive survey design and was founded on the Multidimensional Theory of Burnout and Golembiewski and Munzenrider’s model of burnout. It targeted 104 principals and 6862 teachers from 104 schools in addition to 10 Teachers Service Commission (TSC) officials and 10 Quality Assurance and Standards Officials (QASOs) from Tharaka Nithi County. Out of these, 378 teachers and 31 principals from 31 schools in addition to all the 10 TSC officials and 10 QASOs were sampled using two-stage cluster random sampling, purposively and simple random techniques. Data was collected using questionnaires from teachers, interview guides from TSC officials and QASOs, and data collection forms. Quantitative data from questionnaires were analyzed descriptively by use of frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations as well as inferentially by use of Pearson Correlation. For qualitative data from open-ended questions in the questionnaires, interviews, and secondary data transcripts, content analysis was employed. The findings show that there were positive and significant correlation between teacher burnout in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya (the dependent variable) and workload (r=0.275, P<0.05). Based on the findings it can thus be concluded that workload contributed to teacher burnout. This shows that the various contextual factors contributed to teacher burnout. The study recommends that there is a need to employ more teachers to lessen workload challenges among teachers. Keywords: Workload; Teacher Burnout; Secondary Schools; Tharaka Nithi County; Kenya