Sense of Efficacy and Burnout among General and Special Needs Education Teachers

Abstract

Teacher self-efficacy as defined is the teacher’s belief in his own capability to prompt student engagement and learning even when students are difficult or unmotivated.  It can also be developed and influenced by a lot of factors such as teacher training, teaching experiences, support from colleagues, and personal characteristics. Burnout as defined by the World Health Organization is a syndrome conceptualized resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is further defined as having three dimensions: a. feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, b. increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job, and c. reduced professional efficacy. This research aims to see if there is a significant difference in terms of the burnout experienced by teachers when grouped according to unit. It is also aimed to see if there is a significant difference in the teacher’s sense of efficacy of general education and special education teachers. The results revealed that there is no significant difference in terms of burnout experienced by teachers when grouped according to unit. When the teacher’s sense of efficacy was calculated and analyzed, it revealed that there is no significant difference in the teacher’s sense of efficacy of general education and special education teachers.