Stress is an increasingly common term in the teaching profession, often used in conjunction with the term 'professional burnout' because it leads to the latter. It is understood as a response to excessive demands, pressures and tasks in the work environment that are beyond the individual's capabilities. Occupational burnout is a chronic form of stress that occurs as a result of prolonged exposure to work challenges that are beyond the individual's capabilities and can lead to more serious problems in the long term, such as: reduced productivity, increased risk of illness, and deterioration in general physical and mental health. Both conditions require attention from employers and individuals as they can have long-term negative effects on an individual's health and performance at work.
In this study, we wanted to investigate how occupational stress affects the professional burnout of special and rehabilitation educators working in primary schools in Murska Sobota. In the research work we used descriptive and caval non-experimental methods of pedagogical research. The research was conducted on a non-randomised sample of special and rehabilitation educators (N=44). Anonymous questionnaires were distributed in physical form to special and rehabilitation educators in primary schools in Murska Sobota.
The results show that more than half of special and rehabilitation educators overwhelmingly consider their profession to be quite stressful. For the most part, participants consider themselves to be fairly well trained. Participants mentioned the following as the most burdensome factors of occupational stress: administrative work, pupils' indiscipline, time pressures and pupils' disinterested attitude towards work. Regarding interpersonal relationships, participants reported that they felt well accepted and felt a sense of belonging to the team. However, when it comes to the assessment of the working environment, participants highlight the problem of inadequate and insufficient space and inadequate technology. Based on the hypotheses, we found that there is a statistically significant relationship between stress levels and burnout among teaching staff.
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