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European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu Volume 3 │ Issue 8 │ 2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.887393 BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY G. Chitra1, N. Balasubramanian2 Principal, Shivaparvathi Mandradiar College of Education, 1 Palayakottai, Tiruppur District, Tamil Nadu, India Former Professor and Head, Dept. of Education, 2 Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India Abstract: Descriptive Survey Method has been adopted to collect the required data from the Principals of the Colleges of Education. In line with Stratified Random Sampling Technique, 50 Principals of Colleges of Education from three districts of Tamilnadu state have been chosen for the study. Burnout Inventory for Teachers (Balasubramanian and Abilash Babu, 2009) was used to collect the required data from the sample chosen with regard to Burnout scores. The sample is comprised of male and female Principals with the age range between 30+ and 50 and above working in rural and urban areas. Descriptive, differential and correlation studies have been adopted to analyze the data. It is found that there is significant difference at 0.05 level between the means on the scores of Depersonalization of the Principals of Colleges of Education located at rural and urban areas. The mean value of the Principals of the urban area has been found to be greater than that of the those of the rural area. Hence, it is concluded that locality of the college has certain influence on the Depersonalization of the Principals. It is also found that there is no significant difference between the means of the scores of the Principals of Colleges of Education on various dimensions of their Burnout irrespective of their sex and marital status as well as the locality and type of college of education. Hence, it is concluded that sex and marital status of the Principals and the location and type of the colleges have no significant influence on the different dimension of Burnout. It is also found that there is significant and positive correlation at 0.01 level among the scores of various components of Burnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education viz. Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, Reduced Personal Accomplishment and the Burnout total score. Hence, it is concluded that there has been significant and positive Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 812 G. Chitra, N. Balasubramanian BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY correlation among the various components of Burnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education. It means that the sense of wearing out, the emotional separation from the clients and the feeling of not achieving the set goals among the Principals are mutually influencing the other. Higher in one component of Burnout will result higher in other components also. Keywords: burnout, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment 1. Introduction Jobs involving some degree of stress, people under stress manage to cope up with the role being played by them. However, some people are unable to cope up with their role performance. They give way to suffer psychologically by repeated exposure to stressful situations. Such people are supposed to be suffering from Burnout, which is a syndrome that results from prolonged exposure to stress. Researches show that Burnout consists of three components viz. Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Reduced Personal Accomplishment. Emotional exhaustion is a chronic state of physical and emotional depletion. Those who are suffering from emotional exhaustion feel drained, fatigued, and no longer able to cope with the demands of their jobs. Depersonalization involves the development of callous, cynical attitudes about one s carrier and work. Those who are experiencing depersonalization feel that nothing they do has any meaning or value- and that others also feel this way, too. Reduced personal accomplishment refers to a tendency to evaluate oneself negatively regarding ones accomplishments at work. Those who are experiencing by it feel they have not accomplished much in the past- and that they will not succeed in the future, either. This paper aims at finding out how the Principals of the Colleges of Education differ among themselves in their burnout related behaviour in terms of certain variables. 2. Need and Significance of the Study The Principals of the Colleges of Education in Tamil Nadu may experience a range of interpersonal and task demands in the carrying out their professional roles and responsibilities in the context of certain conditions in self-financing institutions. The roles and responsibilities of such Principals tend to be quite stressful to perform effectively. However, they respond to situations in which they find that the outcomes are either uncertain or give rise to negative emotional states. The prolonged effect of their responses to such situations may lead them to face adverse effects on their European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 8 │ 2017 813 G. Chitra, N. Balasubramanian BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY commitments. Ultimately, the level of stress experienced by such administrators may reach a level high enough to be named as Burnout. The inherent uncertainty and the importance of outcomes are crucial in the experience of burnout. Numerous researchers (Ganster and Schaubroeck, 1991) have labeled burnout as a type of stress, specifically a chronic affective response pattern to stressful work conditions, requiring higher levels of interpersonal contact. Hence, there is a need for a study investigating how such administrators move in their career and how they differ from each other in terms of certain variables. 3. Review of Related Literature Etzion (1986) studied the burnout and coping among professionals. The findings of the study show that Americans reported feeling more burned out than Israrlis, and women reported feeling more burned out than men. As for coping, women reported using indirect and inactive coping strategies more than men, and Americans reported using them more than Israelis. The pattern of correlation between coping and burnout suggested that active-direct strategies were more effective in coping with stress than the inactive and indirect behaviours. Leiter and Maslach (1988) studied the impact of interpersonal environment on burnout and organizational commitment. The findings of the study show that organizational commitment and burnout were related to interpersonal relationships. High burnout was related to diminish organizational commitment, which was also related to aspects of the interpersonal environment of the organization. Mo and Kim-wan (1991) studied teacher burnout among secondary school teachers. The findings of study show that there is greater burnout among single and newer teachers, graduate teachers, those undergoing more stress and those lacking social support. It is also found that teachers with type A personalities suffered less burnout and the harmful effect of stress. . Parker (1995) studied how burnout is related to absenteeism and job performance in nurses. The findings of the study show that levels of work support and job stress were both significant predictors of burnout. Higher burnout levels were significantly associated with poorer self-rated and supervisor-rated job performance, more sick leave, and more reported absences for mental health reasons King and Sethi (1997) studied the moderating role of organizational commitment on the relationship between role stressors and burnout in information system professionals. The findings of the study revealed that both role stressors were found to correlate positively with burnout. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 8 │ 2017 814 G. Chitra, N. Balasubramanian BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY Greenglass and Burke (1998) studied the factors contributing to burnout in women and men teachers. The findings of the study show that men were significantly higher depersonalization thatn women. It is also found that women experienced significantly more depression, headaches, and role conflict than their male counter parts. Zellars et al., (2000) studied the extent to which dimensions of an individual s personality have differential effects on the three components of burnout among nurses working in a hospital. The findings of the study revealed that specific dimensions of personality do significantly and differentially impact the experience of the three components of burnout. Stordeur et al., (2001) studied the leadership, organizational stress, and emotional exhaustion among hospital nursing staff. The findings of the study show that stress emanating from the physical and social environment, role ambiguity, and active management by exceptional leadership were significantly associated with increased levels of emotional exhaustion. Transformational and contingent reward leadership did not influence emotional exhaustion. Long and Gessaroli (2005) studied the relationship between teacher burnout and perceived coping effectiveness. The findings of the study show that males felt more burnout than females. Unmarried subjects felt high burnout and life dissatisfaction compared with married subjects. Absenteeism was related to burnout , but not to coping factors. Frendi and Murthy (2007) studied on job related stress and burnout in middle and secondary school teachers. The findings of the study revealed that job stress and burnout were positively correlated. 4. Statement of the Problem ‛urnout being a distinctive kind of job related stress negatively affects people s capacity to function effectively due to loss of physical resources for resisting stress. The review of studies related to burnout shows that people who are engaged in certain jobs are especially susceptible to burnout. This is not just a temporary indisposition but an unhealthy condition that causes an idealistic, productive, enthusiastic worker discouraged in their profession besides developing uncongenial relationship with their colleagues and the institutions. Observing the aforesaid phenomenon in mind, the researchers have taken the study entitled ‛urnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education: ‚ Differential Study . European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 8 │ 2017 815 G. Chitra, N. Balasubramanian BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY 4.1 Definition of the Key Term According to Maslach, burnout is a multidimensional construct of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who work extensively with others under considerable time pressures. ‚ccording to Webster s New World College Dictionary (2004), burnout is a state of emotional exhaustion caused by the stress of one s work or responsibility. 4.2 Objectives of the Study The objectives of the study are stated as follows: 1. To study the extent of the Burnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education. 2. To study whether gender difference exists in Burnout among the Principals of Colleges of Education. 3. To study whether significant difference exists in Burnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education with regard to the type and, locale of the colleges. 4. To study whether significant difference exists in Burnout of Principals of Colleges of Education with regard to the demographical variables viz. age and marital. 4.3 Hypotheses of the Study The study is designed with the following hypotheses: 1. There is significant gender difference in the scores of Burnout (Total and Dimensions of Burnout) Principals of Colleges of Education. 2. There is significant difference in Burnout (Total and Dimensions of Burnout) of the Principals of Colleges of Education with regard to the type of the colleges. 3. There is significant difference in Burnout (Total and Dimensions of Burnout) with regard to the demographical variables viz. age and marital status. 4. There is significant correlation among the different dimensions of Burnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education. 4.4 Tool Used for Data Collection Burnout Inventory for Teachers (Balasubramanian and Abilash Babu, 2009) has been used to collect the required data from the sample chosen. Burnout Inventory for Teachers contains twenty five items coming under three major dimensions viz. Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and Reduced Personal Accomplishment constructed in the Likert format. The sum of the responses for all the twenty five items provides an indication of one s burnout. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 8 │ 2017 816 G. Chitra, N. Balasubramanian BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY 4.5 Scope and Delimitations of the Study 4.5.1 Scope of the study It is to note that the findings of the study would be useful to the academic administrators, educationists, teachers, research scholars and the Principals of Colleges of Education to know the existence of Burnout among their fellow colleagues. 4.5.2 Delimitations of the Study In spite of taking adequate care to make the study as precise, comprehensive and objective as possible, certain limitations have adept into the study which are listed as follows: 1. Though the sample selected for the study is on a stratified random sampling basis, it represents a few percent of the total population of Principals of Colleges of Education in Tamilnadu. 2. The sample selected for the study is not a state-wide one, but confined to only three districts of the state viz. Erode, Tirupur and Coimbatore. 3. Burnout is associated with a large number of variables viz. role conflict, job satisfaction, I-W locus of control, stress, probabilistic orientation, emotional competence, psychological well-being, self-efficacy, mental health, etc, Emotional Exhaustion However, the present study has been delimited to include only three dimensions viz. Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and Reduced Personal Accomplishment. 5. Brief Methodology of the Study Descriptive Survey Method has been adopted to collect the required data from the Principals of the Colleges of Education. Adopting Stratified Random Sampling Technique, 50 Principals of Colleges of Education from three districts of Tamilnadu state have been chosen for the study. Burnout Inventory for Teachers (Balasubramanian and Abilash Babu, 2009) was used to collect the required data from the sample chosen with regard to Burnout scores. The sample is comprised of male and female Principals with the age range between 30+ and 50 and above working in rural and urban areas. 5.1 Analysis of Data Descriptive, differential and correlation studies have been undertaken for the purpose of realizing the objectives of the study. Accordingly, mean and SD of the Burnout scores of the Principals have been computed. In addition to descriptive studies, differential European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 8 │ 2017 817 G. Chitra, N. Balasubramanian BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY studies as well as correctional studies have also been taken up availing t tests and Pearson s Product Moment Co-efficient of Correlation Method respectively. The details of the data analysis are given as follows: 5.1.1 Descriptive Study The mean and SD of the Burnout scores of the sample have been computed for the different dimensions as well as for the total Burnout. The distribution of the said mean and SD are as given below: Table 1: Distribution of Mean and SD of the Scores of Different Dimensions of Burnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education S. No Components 1 2 3 4 Burnout Mean S.D. Emotional Exhaustion 16.86 6.70 Depersonalization 18.24 7.92 Reduced Personal Accomplishment 12.64 5.05 Burnout (Total) 47.74 16.91 From the Table 1, it is found that the scores are normally distributed and the values of the SD indicate that the sample is heterogeneous in nature. 5.2 Testing of Hypotheses 5.2.1 Differential Studies In order to test the formulated hypothesis, t tests have been attempted between means of the scores of the Principals of Colleges of Education categorized in terms of their sex and marital status as well as locality and type of the institution on the scores of various dimensions of Burnout. The mean and S.D. of the scores of the various dimensions of Burnout have already been computed. The results are given in the Table 2 European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 8 │ 2017 818 G. Chitra, N. Balasubramanian BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY Table 2: Significance of Difference between the Means of the Scores of different Dimensions of Burnout of the Principals of the Colleges of Education Classified in Terms of their Sex, Marital Status, Locality and Type of Colleges S. Components of No. Burnout Main N Mean S.D. Male 28 16.39 6.45 Female 22 17.45 7.10 Locality of Rural 29 16.31 6.03 College Urban 21 17.62 7.60 Co-Ed. 44 16.77 6.47 Non Co-Ed. 6 17.50 8.87 Married 47 17.00 6.76 Unmarried 3 14.67 6.35 Male 28 17.82 7.40 Female 22 18.77 8.68 Locality of Rural 29 15.97 5.55 College Urban 21 21.38 9.63 Co-Ed. 44 17.73 6.93 Non Co-Ed. 6 22.00 13.50 Married 47 18.11 7.95 Unmarried 3 20.33 8.73 Male 28 12.64 5.69 Female 22 12.64 4.21 Locality of Rural 29 11.45 4.12 College Urban 21 14.29 5.80 Co-Ed. 44 12.61 5.19 Non Co-Ed. 6 12.83 4.21 Married 47 12.62 5.09 Unmarried 3 13.00 5.29 Male 28 46.86 17.16 Female 22 48.86 16.92 Locality of Rural 29 43.72 12.18 College Urban 21 53.29 20.91 Co-Ed. 44 47.11 15.55 Non Co-Ed. 6 52.33 26.35 Married 47 47.72 16.95 Unmarried 3 48.00 16.97 variables Sex 1 Emotional Exhaustion Nature of College Marital Status Sex 2 Depersonali-zation Nature of College Marital Status Sex 3 Reduced Personal Accomplishment Nature of College Marital Status Sex 4 Burnout Total Nature of College Marital Status Sub-variables t 0.54NS 0.65 NS 0.19 NS 0.61 NS 0.41 NS 2.31* 0.76 NS 0.43 NS 0.005 NS 1.91 NS 0.11 NS 0.12 NS 0.414 NS 1.87 NS 0.47 NS 0.023 NS Significant at 0.05 level. N.S.: Not Significant. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 8 │ 2017 819 G. Chitra, N. Balasubramanian BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY From the Table 2, it is found that there is significant difference at 0.05 level between the means on the scores of Depersonalization of the Principals of Colleges of Education located at rural and urban areas. The mean value of the Principals of the urban area has been found to be greater than that of the ones of the rural area. Hence, it is concluded that locality of the college has certain influence on the Depersonalization of the Principals. It is also found that there is no significant difference between the means of the scores of the principals of colleges of education on various dimensions of their burnout irrespective of their sex and marital status as well as the locality and type of college of education. Hence, it is concluded that sex and marital status of the principals and the location and type of the colleges have no significant influence on the different dimension of burnout. Having observed the aforesaid findings, the scholars restated the hypotheses that sex and marital status of the Principals of Colleges of Education and the locality and type of the institution have little influence on the burnout of the principals. 5.2.2 Correlation Studies In order to test the hypothesis There is significant correlation among the different dimensions of Burnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education , an attempt was made to find out the inter correlation co-efficient among the scores of various dimensions of Burnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education. The results are given in the Table 3. Table 3: Correlation Matrix among the Scores of Different Dimensions of Burnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education Components of Burnout B1 B2 B3 B4 B1 – 0.65* 0.48* 0.84* B2 0.65 – 0.65* 0.92* B3 0.65* 0.65* – 0.79* B4 0.92* 0.92* 0.79* – *Significant at 0.01 level B1: Emotional Exhaustion; B2: Depersonalization; B3: Reduced Personal Accomplishment; B4: Burnout – Total; From the Table 3, it is found that there is significant and positive correlation at 0.01 level among the scores of various components of Burnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education viz. Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, Reduced Personal Accomplishment and the Burnout total score. Hence, it is concluded that there has been European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 8 │ 2017 820 G. Chitra, N. Balasubramanian BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY significant and positive correlation among the various components of Burnout of the Principals of Colleges of Education. It means that the sense of wearing out, the emotional separation from the clients and the feeling of not achieving the set goals among the Principals are mutually influencing the other. Higher in one component of Burnout will result higher in other components also. 6. Educational Implications of the Study The educational implications of the study are given as follows: 1. Educational Administrators may take into consideration that burnout hinders effective administration of the educational institutions. 2. Burnout prevents the effective academic administration and hence, studies related to effective management of burnout may be encouraged. 3. Counselling sessions may be provided to the academic administrators with a view to aiding them how to cope up with stress and strain for effective functioning at the institutional environment. 4. Knowledge of sources of burnout may direct the educational administrators at the higher level how to provide job satisfaction to the subordinates. 5. Higher the satisfying working environment, higher will be the outcome of the academic administrators. 7. Suggestions for Further Research The suggestions for further studies in the area of Burnout are given as follows: 1. The professional involvement and professional advancement of the academic administrators having different level of Burnout may be studied. 2. The organizational commitment of the educational administrators who are suffering from different levels of Burnout may be studied. 3. Studies related to self-esteem of the academic administrators suffering from different levels of Burnout may be taken. References 1. Balasubramanian and Abhilash Babu (2008) Burnout in Relation to Emotional Competence and Probabilistic Orientation among Teachers. Unpublished M.Phil. Thesis submitted to Bharathiar University, Coimbatore European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 8 │ 2017 821 G. Chitra, N. Balasubramanian BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY 2. Etzion, D. (1986). Sex and culture in burnout and coping among human service professionals: A social perspective. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 17, 191209. 3. Frendi, T. & Murthy, P (2007). Job stress and burnout of teacher. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 4, 9-12. 4. Greenglass, E. R. & Burke, R. J. (1998). Work and family precursors of burnout in teachers: sex differences. Journal Sex Roles, 18, 215-229. 5. King, R. C. & Sethi, V. (1997). The moderating effect of organizational commitment on burnout in information systems professionals. European 6. Leiter, M. P. & Maslach, C. (1988). The impact of interpersonal environment on burnout and organizational commitment. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 9, 297-308. 7. Long, P. & Gessaroli, W. (2005). A study of teacher burnout and perceived coping effectiveness. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 8, 12-24. 8. Mo, C. & Kim-wan, L. (1991). Teacher burnout: Relations with stress, personality and social support. Education Journal, 19, 3-11. 9. Parker, P. A. (1995). Burnout, self and supervisor-rated job performance, and absenteeism among nurses. Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 18, 581-599. 10. Stordeur, S., Hoore, W. D. & Vandenberghe, C. (2001). Leadership, organizational stress, and emotional exhaustion among hospital nursing staff. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 35, 533-542. 11. Zellars, K. L. Perrewe, P. L. & Hochwarter, W.A. (2000). Burnout in health care: The role of the five factors of personality. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 1570-1598. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 8 │ 2017 822 G. Chitra, N. Balasubramanian BURNOUT OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A DIFFERENTIAL STUDY Creative Commons licensing terms Author(s) will retain the copyright of their published articles agreeing that a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) terms will be applied to their work. Under the terms of this license, no permission is required from the author(s) or publisher for members of the community to copy, distribute, transmit or adapt the article content, providing a proper, prominent and unambiguous attribution to the authors in a manner that makes clear that the materials are being reused under permission of a Creative Commons License. Views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this research article are views, opinions and conclusions of the author(s). 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