Changes in Teacher Burnout and Self-Efficacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Interrelations and e-Learning Variables Related to Change

Abstract

Although the reciprocal relationship of teacher burnout and teacher self-efficacy (TSE) is well documented, the literature still lacks studies investigating their (latent) changes and interrelations of change over time. By applying a latent change regression model in our study, we aimed to contribute to this research gap by examining changes in burnout and their relations to changes in TSE during the COVID-19 pandemic—a very challenging time for teachers. As the implementation of digital learning material played a major role during the pandemic, we were also interested if attitudes and self-efficacy toward e-Learning were related to changes in burnout and TSE. Our sample consisted of 92 German inservice teachers who completed a questionnaire twice during the 2019–2020 school year. Our main findings are that the burnout components depersonalization and lack of accomplishment significantly increased from the pre- to post-COVID-19 outbreak, whereas emotional exhaustion did not. Changes in burnout were negatively correlated to changes in TSE, but we found little evidence for relations of change in burnout and TSE with variables concerning e-Learning. Our findings indicate that the challenge was not the work overload but rather a lack of resources. Implications for research and practice are discussed.