Academic literature has traditionally characterized educator burnout as a problem to be addressed through individualized solutions such as greater resilience training, grit, or self-care. A national survey of American principals conducted in January 2022 showed that they were experiencing job-related stress, burnout, depression, and difficulty…

The purpose of this study was to understand K-12 school department chairs' lived experiences with burnout, a condition caused by chronic workplace stress that manifests as exhaustion, cynicism and mental distancing from one's work, and a sense of ineffectiveness (World Health Organization, 2019). Semi-structured interviews conducted over Zoom with…

School principals are exclusively placed to make campus-wide decisions required to lead campuses academically, provide a safe environment, and serve as chief human capital managers. The tasks can lead to an increase in school achievement outcomes and job-related stress. Emotional intelligence (EI) may allow individuals to manage and perceive the…

Secondary traumatic stress (STS) impacts professionals who assist others experiencing trauma. Assistant principals and principals help both students and staff members suffering crises yet remain an understudied population in relation to STS. This study sought to answer: what is the prevalence of STS in secondary campus administrators, and does the…

The growing prevalence of Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) among mental health professionals (MHPs) has contributed to an ongoing mental health workforce shortage in the United States. Literature has shown strong evidence of workforce and organizational risk factors for STS, with inconsistent conclusions about the role of personal trauma. Previous…

The American School Counselor Association states that school counselors are responsible for facilitating their students' personal, social, academic, and career development. Sometimes school counselors are called upon to do duties that have nothing to do with the field of school counseling. The problem addressed in this study was the need for…

This qualitative phenomenological study explored solutions to the burnout of youth care workers. The researcher provided voices to the experiences of those working directly with youth in children's residential facilities. Understanding the perspectives of the youth care workers enabled their lived experiences to be captured, leading to the…

This dissertation explores the phenomenon of burnout among teachers of special education students in rural schools, focusing on understanding the factors that contribute to burnout and the strategies that can mitigate its effects. The study used a qualitative research design to interview teachers from a rural Board of Cooperative Educational…

The profession of school counseling is seeing an increase in job demands and expectations, such as high student caseloads, role uncertainty, and multiple job responsibilities. With the responsibility increase of the profession, school counselors are at risk for experiencing higher levels of stress, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and…

Teachers have faced unrelenting stress in recent years, especially since 2020. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, the preeminence of racial injustice has resurfaced. In this context, teachers are processing acute societal-level stressors while simultaneously supporting their students in processing these events. Although emerging scholarship has…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how urban high school teachers describe their understanding and navigation of workplace pressures that are associated with teacher burnout. Maslach's multidimensional burnout theory served as a framework for two research questions: (1) How do urban high school teachers describe their…

Schools in the United States average an annual teacher turnover of 16%, with half of all teachers who change jobs also leaving the profession. This problem is important because high teacher turnover interrupts the development of pedagogical acumen among teachers, adversely affects student achievement, and diverts budget dollars that are needed…

This qualitative study examines how Black women mid-level leaders navigate the superwoman schema. The findings extend Woods-Giscombe's (2010) work by exploring the schema's impact on Black women working in mid-level leadership administrative positions at HWIs. A descriptive phenomenological study was employed to understand and describe the lived…

Burnout has become a prevalent issue in workplace environments, significantly affecting individuals' mental, emotional, social, and physical well-being. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of burnout among community college counselors in Southern California, a group often overlooked in existing research. While…

Special education teachers are few in Georgia public schools, and the numbers are decreasing each year. Policy makers and administrators are busy making policies to assist special education teachers. Therefore, this research included the special education teachers' voice in advising policymakers and administrators about the challenges they…