Good bye burnout, hello me: individual strategies of self-care among Saskatchewan teachers
Date
2012-01-25
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Teachers with less than five years teaching experience have a high attrition rate. This high rate has financial, organizational and instructional consequences, such as school divisions that must recruit and train replacements, and students who lose the value of being taught by teachers who have gained experience in the profession. Self-care is a factor that curbs attrition, however, little is known about the personal and professional strategies of self-care for teachers. The Delphi method was used to identify and understand the self-care strategies used by Saskatchewan schoolteachers. Fourteen participants with five or more years of teaching experience and from nine different school divisions in Saskatchewan contributed to the study. Each participant responded through two rounds of online questionnaires about his or her self-care practices. Self-care is associated with well-being and it is the individual teacher that can take steps to cultivate and maintain personal health. Data were analyzed using SurveyMonkey and NVIVo 9 qualitative analysis software programs, and Skovholt’s theoretical model of self; strategies and themes were identified. A visual representation of participant’s responses was developed. The most common self-care strategies identified were talking with friends and family, healthy eating, discussing events from the classroom with support system at school, drinking water, and volunteering. The findings are described alongside implications for teachers and other helping professionals as well as future research.
Description
Keywords
Education, Attrition, Self-care, Stress, Emotional labor
Citation
Degree
Master of Education (M.Ed.)
Department
Educational Psychology and Special Education
Program
School and Counselling Psychology