Educator Burnout and Compassion Fatigue: A Pilot Study

Authors

Adam Koenig, The University of Western Ontario
Susan Rodger, The University of Western OntarioFollow
Jacqueline Specht, The University of Western Ontario

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2018

Journal

Canadian Journal of School Psychology

Volume

33

Issue

4

First Page

259

Last Page

278

URL with Digital Object Identifier

10.1177/0829573516685017

Abstract

© The Authors 2017. Sixty-four Canadian educators from Southwestern Ontario took part in a 2-hr voluntary workshop about the emotional labor and consequences that may be experienced by educators. A focus on both burnout and teacher compassion fatigue (CF), an underresearched area with respect to Canadian educators, was taken. The current study hypothesized that this professional development would positively influence educators’ knowledge, skills, and awareness regarding burnout, CF, and self-care; furthermore, it was predicted there would be a positive correlation between burnout and CF. Results supported the efficacy of professional development and partial support was detected for the relationship between burnout and CF. Implications and future research are discussed.