ISSN: 2581-8651 Journal of Humanities and

Vol-5, Issue-3, May-Jun 2023

Education Development
https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/jhed.5.3.13
Peer-Reviewed Journal (JHED)

Sense of Efficacy and Burnout among General and Special

Needs Education Teachers
Faith P. Sampan, Dennis G. Caballes
National Teachers College, Philippines

Received: 14 May 2023; Received in revised form: 12 Jun 2023; Accepted: 21 Jun 2023
©2023 The Author(s). Published by TheShillonga. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Abstract
Teacher self-efficacy as defined is the teacher’s belief in his own capability to prompt student engagement and learning even
when students are difficult or unmotivated. It can also be developed and influenced by a lot of factors such as teacher training,
teaching experiences, support from colleagues, and personal characteristics. Burnout as defined by the World Health
Organization is a syndrome conceptualized resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It
is further defined as having three dimensions: a. feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, b. increased mental distance from
one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job, and c. reduced professional efficacy. This research aims to
see if there is a significant difference in terms of the burnout experienced by teachers when grouped according to unit. It is
also aimed to see if there is a significant difference in the teacher’s sense of efficacy of general education and special education
teachers. The results revealed that there is no significant difference in terms of burnout experienced by teachers when grouped
according to unit. When the teacher’s sense of efficacy was calculated and analyzed, it revealed that there is no significant
difference in the teacher’s sense of efficacy of general education and special education teachers.
Keywords— self-efficacy, burnout, special needs education teachers, general education teachers

I. INTRODUCTION Increased level of stress and burnout are

Teacher self-efficacy as defined is the teacher’s experienced by special education teachers as revealed in the
belief in his own capability to prompt student engagement study by Emery and Vandenberg in 2010. Further, they are
and learning even when students are difficult or susceptible to low job satisfaction and low self-efficacy.
unmotivated. It can also be developed and influenced by a On the contrary, Sarikam and Sakiz in 2014 stated
lot of factors such as teacher training, teaching experiences, that there were significant relationships between teacher
support from colleagues, and personal characteristics. self-efficacy and burnout. The results emphasized the
Burnout as defined by the World Health importance of self-efficacy beliefs in special education
Organization is a syndrome conceptualized resulting from staff’s level of emotional involvement, sense of
chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully accomplishment and engagement. It also disclosed that
managed. It is further described as having three dimensions: special education teachers have lower burnout scores as
a. feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, b. increased compared to music, art and primary education teachers.
mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or Further, the research revealed that special education
cynicism related to one's job, and c. reduced professional teachers reported significantly higher self-efficacy levels
efficacy. than music, art and primary education teachers. It was also
revealed in that research that teacher’s self-efficacy was
In the study of Pabatang and Zabala published in
lower among primary, music, and art teachers as compared
2022, the Focus Group Discussion results showed that doing
to special education teachers. Further, according to Villarejo
tasks unrelated to teaching, overloading work, and
et al. (2022), occupational burnout among teachers is
overlapping meetings are the main causes of burnout among
closely associated with work demands which later on
educators in the College of Education of Mindanao State
resulted to emotional fatigue and low self-efficacy among
University-Iligan Institute of Technology.
public school teachers.

https://theshillonga.com/index.php/jhed Page | 102

Sampan and Caballes Journal of Humanities and Education Development (JHED)
J. Humanities Educ. Dev.- 5(3)-2023

Statement of the problem academic director then gave explicit instructions to the
Specifically, this research aims to answer the following principals that research will be done in the institution. After
research questions: approval, the researcher gave the survey tools to the basic
education principal and senior high school principal. The
1. Is there is a significant difference in terms of the
researcher being the principal in the special unit conducted
burnout experienced by teachers when grouped
the survey to the respective teachers. The data collection
according to unit?
process was done onsite.
2. Is there a significant difference in the teacher’s
sense of efficacy among general education and Resources, materials and tools
special education teachers? The demographic profile of the respondents such
Hypotheses: as the a. number of years in the institution; b. age; c. sex;
and d. marital status were collated and analyzed for the first
H01: There is no significant difference in terms of the
part. The second part of the survey is the Oldenburg Burnout
burnout experienced by teachers when grouped according
Inventory. Lastly, the third part of the research is the
to unit.
Teachers’ Sense of Self-efficacy Scale.
H02: There is no significant difference in the teacher’s sense
The 16-item Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI)
of efficacy among general education and special education
was originally constructed and validated among different
teachers.
German occupational groups (Demerouti, 1999; Demerouti
The null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. & Nachreiner, 1998). The tool aims to assess the two core
This research looked into the burnout and teacher’s dimensions of burnout which are exhaustion and
self-efficacy of general and special needs education teachers disengagement from work. The survey used a 4-point Likert
in San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila School in Marikina. The Scale for scoring. On the other hand, the Teachers’ Sense of
results of this study can be used to evaluate, plan and Efficacy Scale was developed by Megan Tschannen-Moran
execute ways to support teachers cope with burnout and and Anita Woolfolk Hoy in 2001. The tool is sometimes
consequently keep them efficient in their chosen career. called Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale as it was
programs for teachers who are experiencing burnout and developed in Ohio State University. The questionnaire was
losing teacher self-efficacy in their chosen career. designed to understand the things that create difficulties for
teachers in their school activities. The tool focused on three
factors namely a. efficacy in student engagement, b.
II. METHOD efficacy in instructional strategies, and c. efficacy in
Type of research classroom management.
In this research, descriptive correlational analysis Data analysis process
was utilized. Correlation was used to determine the The data were collated and tabulated for statistical
relationship of burnout and teacher’s self-efficacy between analysis. The data were subjected to the following statistical
general education and special education teachers. The analyses. Percentages and frequency counts were used to
descriptive method was used to determine the teacher’s analyze the demographic profile of the teachers. Pearson
profile in terms of a. number of years in the institution; b. correlation was utilized to determine the relationship
age; c. sex; and d. marital status. between burnout and self-efficacy of all the teachers. On the
Research setting and participants other hand, Mann Whitney Wilcoxon U Test was used to
was used to determine the significant differences between
The participants were 26 teachers from San
the teachers’ self-efficacy and burnout of general and
Lorenzo Ruiz De Manila School in Marikina City. There
special education teachers when grouped into their
were 18 teachers from the General Education Unit and 8
respective unit.
from the Special Education Unit. All the respondents are
actively teaching for the school year 2022-23. Further, the
mode of teaching in the school is a combination of online III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
and onsite for the aforementioned school year. The identities
When it comes to years of service, 14 participants
of the respondents in this research were kept unspecified for
have been in the company for 1 to 5 years with 53.8%. On
confidentiality.
the other hand, 11 participants are 26 to 30 years old with
Data collection process 42.30%. There were 18 females with 69.20 % and 8 males
A letter of permission to conduct research was with 30.8% in this research. On marital status, 18
submitted to the Academic Director for approval. The participants are single with 69.20 %, 7 are married, and 1

https://theshillonga.com/index.php/jhed Page | 103

Sampan and Caballes Journal of Humanities and Education Development (JHED)
J. Humanities Educ. Dev.- 5(3)-2023

widowed. Table 1 presents the demographic profile of the

participants.
Table 1. Demographic Profile of Teachers (n=26)
Characteristics Frequency Percentage
Years of service
1-12 months 3 11.5
1-5 years 14 53.8
6-10 years 4 15.4
11-15 years 3 11.5
16-20 years 2 7.7

Age (years)
20-25 6 23.1
26-30 11 42.3
31-35 1 3.8
36-40 2 7.7
41-45 1 3.8
46-50 3 11.5
51-55 2 7.7

Sex
Female 18 69.2
Male 8 30.8

Marital status
Single 18 69.2
Married 7 26.9
Widowed 1 3.8

Unit
General Education 18 69.2
Special Education 8 30.8

Upon analysis of the data retrieved on the The findings of this research are contrary to the
Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, it was revealed that all the research of Emery and Vandenberg in 2010 where special
participants scored medium on all the items in the inventory. education teachers experience high levels of stress and
The results yielded same results for general education and burnout.
special education teachers. Mean comparison between When the teacher’s sense of efficacy was
burnout level of general education and special education calculated and analyzed, it revealed that there is no
teachers was analyzed. Table 2 presents the mean significant difference in the teacher’s sense of efficacy
comparison between general education and special between general education and special education teachers.
education teachers in terms of burnout. Consequently, the null hypothesis is accepted. Table 3
Table 2. Mean Comparison between General shows the mean comparison between general education and
Education and SpEd Teachers (Burnout) special education teachers in terms of teacher’s sense of
Unit Mean U value Sig. value efficacy.
Rank Table 3. Mean Comparison between Gen Ed and SpEd
General 14.19 59.500 0.480 Teachers (Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy)
Education
Special 11.94 Unit Mean U value Sig. value
Education Rank
α = 0.05 Level of Significance General 13.53 71.500 0.978
The results revealed that there is no significant Education
difference in terms of burnout experienced by teachers when Special 13.44
grouped according to unit. Hence, the null hypothesis is Education
accepted. α = 0.05 Level of Significance

https://theshillonga.com/index.php/jhed Page | 104

Sampan and Caballes Journal of Humanities and Education Development (JHED)
J. Humanities Educ. Dev.- 5(3)-2023

The results of this research are contrary to the EXCELLENCE worthy of emulation of members of the
research by Sarikam and Sakiz in 2014 where there is a school community. Service awards are also given to
significant difference between teacher self-efficacy and employees who have rendered 5, 10, 15, and 20 years in the
burnout. institution.
It can then be concluded that with the programs
IV. CONCLUSION that the school implements, the teachers do not experience
high level of burnout despite the challenges presented in the
The objective of this study is to is to determine if
field of education brought about by COVID-19. Further, the
there is a significant difference in terms of the burnout
teacher’s sense of efficacy of general education and special
experienced by teachers when grouped according to unit.
education teachers are the same. It can then be concluded
Based on the results, the level of burnout of general
that they are given proper trainings to ensure that they are
education and special education teachers are the same. It can
well-equipped and well-prepared in times of uncertainty.
be said that this is contrary to researches where special
education teachers have a high burnout level. One of the With the findings, the researchers recommend that
possible reasons why special teachers do not experience mental health programs should be a top priority in an
high burnout is the support of the institution. San Lorenzo educational institution. The Department of Education
Ruiz De Manila School (SLRMS) with the initiative of the should ensure that mental health programs must be
Human Resources Department provides program for the implemented across the country. Further studies can be
employees’ mental health. The program started in 2019 even steered in public schools to determine if there are
before the height of the pandemic. Identify, Connect, differences in the results between private and public
Understand (ICU) is one of the programs being schools. A bigger population can also strengthen the
implemented in the institution. Another is Intouch findings of this research.
Community Services where employees are given free
consultation to a psychologist and subsidized consultation REFERENCES
fee to a psychiatrist. This implies that despite the transition
[1] Demerouti, E. (1999). Oldenburg Burnout Inventory
from onsite to online and the continuous change in the
[Database record]. APA PsycTests. Retrieved from
learning modality, the teachers are not experiencing high https://doi.org/10.1037/.
burnout level due to the support of the school. Another [2] Emery, Debra W.; Vanderberg, Brian (2010). Special
probable reason is the culture and the environment of the education teacher burnout and ACT. International Journal of
institution. SLRMS supports not only the mental health, but Special Education, 25(3), 119 - 131.
also the spiritual health of the employees. Being a Catholic [3] Sarıçam, H. & Sakız, H. (2014) Burnout and teacher self-
school, fellowship was done once a month headed by the efficacy among teachers working in special education
Christian Life Center. However, due to lack of manpower as institutions in Turkey, Educational Studies, 40:4, 423-437,
https://doi: 10.1080/03055698.2014.930340
a result of the financial crisis brought about by the
[4] Pabatang, O., Jr, & B. Zabala, V. (2022). Teachers’ Burnout
pandemic, the program was discontinued.
Levels and Coping Strategies in the Time of Pandemic: Basis
The teacher’s sense of self-efficacy was also for a Proposed Program to Manage Teachers Burnout. Asia
measured and the results revealed that there is no significant Research Network Journal of Education. Vol. 2, No. 3, pp.
difference in the self-efficacy of general education and 166-189.
special education teachers. This might be attributed to the [5] Villarejo, F.B., Mamburao, R.S. & Kumapenet, H.T. (2022).
Work demands and occupational burnout among public
trainings and recognition that the school provides for its
school teachers in the Philippines. International Journal of
employees. SLRMS employs in-service training for
Advance Research And Innovative Ideas In Education, 8(3),
teachers at least twice a year. The trainings were intensified 4923 – 4926.
at the onsite of the pandemic. A number of trainings were [6] Anonymous. (2029). Burn-out an "occupational
provided on how to use technology during remote learning. phenomenon": International Classification of Diseases.
Throughout the year, the school also provides curriculum Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-
and assessments trainings to teachers. Another program of burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-
the school that is highly appreciated by the teachers and staff classification-of-diseases
is the employee’s night. In this event, outstanding teachers
and employees are given monetary reward and certificate
for their exemplary performance. The CSE awards are given
to employees who have demonstrated exemplary acts or
behaviors of COMMUNION, SERVICE, AND

https://theshillonga.com/index.php/jhed Page | 105