Teachers are one of the professional classes most vulnerable to emotional instability and fatigue associated with their professional activity. The present study is a systematic review about burnout in Portuguese teachers and has two main objectives. The first is to understand the state of the art of the burnout phenomenon in Portuguese teachers from basic education to secondary education. The second is to analyze the types of variables considered in the exploration and understanding of the burnout phenomenon, from a three-dimensional structure: personal, organizational, and classroom. Results show that the set of personal and organizational variables are the most frequently analyzed in studies on burnout in teachers. Nevertheless, the results of the analyzed studies are unclear and inconsistent, highlighting the need for further studies that allow to clarify the role of different variables on burnout in Portuguese teachers. More studies are needed to determine the actual extent of burnout and, consequently, to design educational and psychological interventions to support teachers.

Teaching has been identified as an environment of extreme physical, mental, and cognitive demand for teachers and is one of the careers where burnout levels are the highest. This qualitative study aims to (i) understand the importance of personal, organizational, and classroom dimensions concerning the Portuguese education system, (ii) and how these dimensions contribute to burnout in Portuguese teachers from different teaching levels. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-six primary and high school teachers. Results offer insights on the impact that different variables have on teachers’ burnout. The content analysis suggests that organization is the most relevant dimension contributing to teachers’ burnout. On the other hand, the classroom category appears to be the most challenging context for teachers to manage. The results highlight the need to consider the dynamics and interdependency between personal, organizational, and classroom dimensions in the development and prevalence of burnout.

Scientific and Professional Journal in Educational Psychology

This study represents the first attempt to explore teachers’ burnout experience during one of the most critical phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. The main goals were to estimate the prevalence of burnout in Iranian men and women teachers and analyse the association of sociodemographic variables on burnout levels. A total of 125 Iranian teachers participated in this study. Results suggest that Iranian teachers perceive high levels of burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 24% of participants reporting high levels of overall burnout. Furthermore, 32% of the sample reported high levels of physical fatigue, 24.8% high levels of cognitive weariness, and 17.6% high levels of emotional exhaustion, suggesting that a considerable number of Iranian teachers are already struggling to deal with their job-related stressors. Significant differences were found for sex, with men reporting higher exhaustion than women. No significant differences were found between other sociodemographic characteristics and burnout. We analyse the results from a cultural perspective and discuss its implications for future research and psychological interventions in schools. Future studies explore how school contextual variables can mediate or moderate the effect of sociodemographic characteristics on teachers’ burnout. Intervention programmes should consider local schools’ characteristics and be sensitive to teachers’ individual needs and consider the added weight of the pandemic to teachers’ daily job-related stressors.