There is is a lot of discussion about what K-12 teachers do and don’t (mostly don’t) receive in terms of training in culturally relevant pedagogy, and it is often traced back to teacher education programs. Too often, we hear administrators complaining about their teachers being unprepared/under-prepared to work with Black students. Likewise, we have witnessed frustration by teachers for the same reasons. This inadequate culturally responsive preparation leads to high burnout and turnover rates among White teachers. Consider this:
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2019 updated definition of burnout includes three dimensions: “Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:
(1) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
Dr. Kelly A. Rodgers
(2) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
(3) reduced professional efficacy” (WHO, 2019) (see Bouchrika).
Specifically, 44% of teachers in K-12 education reported that they very often or always feel burned out at work. This is one of the 14 occupations in the 2022 Gallup Poll on occupational burnout. Very telling is that female teachers (55%) express more burn out than male teachers (44%). (Marken & Agrawal, 2022).
