FACTORS PREDICTING BURNOUT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

Teacher burnout affects student achievement and imposes financial burdens on districts and states. This study explores factors predicting burnout, focusing on direct effects of role ambiguity, conflict, and work overload, as well as indirect effects via affective organizational commitment and teaching satisfaction. Additionally, it examines moderating effects of perceived social and supervisor support. A sample of 414 special education teachers in Saudi Arabia completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and scales for various stressors and supports. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using AMOS revealed that: (1) role overload had a significant direct effect on emotional exhaustion (β = 0.389, t = 5.184, P < 0.01), reduced personal accomplishment (β = 0.211, t = 3.797, P < 0.01), depersonalization (β = -0.161, t = -3.392, P < 0.01), and total burnout (β = 0.173, t = 5.828, P < 0.01); (2) role conflict was directly related to decreased accomplishment (β = 0.350, t = 4.194, P < 0.01) and total burnout (β = 0.135, t = 3.465, P < 0.01); (3) role ambiguity affected emotional exhaustion (β = 0.230, t = 4.506, P < 0.01), reduced accomplishment (β = 0.305, t = 3.862, P < 0.01), depersonalization (β = 0.137, t = 2.738, P < 0.01), and total burnout (β = 0.271, t = 7.045, P < 0.01); (4) teacher satisfaction mediated the impact of role overload on emotional exhaustion (β = 0.103, t = 2.573, p < 0.05); (5) affective organizational commitment facilitated the effects of role overload on emotional exhaustion (β = 0.143, t = 2.367, p < 0.05), role conflict on burnout (β = 0.204, t = 6.811, p < 0.05), and role ambiguity on total burnout (β = 0.316, t = 2.715, p < 0.05); (6) perceived social support moderated the effects of stressors on burnout components, such as reducing role overload’s impact on emotional exhaustion (β = -0.226, t = -7.500, p < 0.01); and (7) supervisor support moderated effects of role overload on burnout components, like reducing its impact on emotional exhaustion (β = -0.256, t = -8.868, p < 0.01). These findings suggest that enhancing teaching satisfaction and commitment could mitigate burnout, adding theoretical insights into stressors–burnout relationships among special education teachers in Saudi Arabia.