High Levels of Burnout and Protective Emotional Resources among Teacher Education Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56294/hl2025952Keywords:
Academic burnout, Emotional skills, Initial teacher education, Socioemotional well-beingAbstract
Introduction: this study focuses on the development and validation of an instrument designed to evaluate burnout and self-reported emotional skills among early childhood education students in Chile. Objective. To analyze the relationship between burnout and protective emotional abilities in teacher education students, aiming to strengthen their socioemotional well-being during initial teacher training.
Methods: this research was conducted as a cross-sectional study with a sample of 171 students (92,9 % female), who completed the adapted and validated instruments. To measure burnout, the instrument included (54 items) and to measure emotional skills the instrument included (48 items). Because the data did not follow a normal distribution, descriptive analyses, reliability assessments, confirmatory factor analysis, and non-parametric tests were performed.
Results: Spearman’s analysis revealed significant negative correlations between emotional exhaustion and emotional regulation (ρ = −.46, p < .001) and empathy (ρ = −.41, p < .001). Depersonalization also showed significant inverse associations with emotional connection and verbal emotional expression. No significant correlations were found for reduced personal accomplishment. No statistically significant differences in burnout were observed by gender or university, although women scored higher in emotional regulation and empathy.
Conclusions: although students possess protective emotional resources, the high levels of burnout observed highlight the need to integrate emotional education programs into initial teacher training. The findings provide relevant evidence to promote socioemotional well-being and to strengthen inclusive and sustainable pedagogical practices in Chilean higher education.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Daniel Serey, Patricia Zuñiga, M. Francisca Moreno, Cynthia Adlerstein, Lorena Vásquez, Maritza Escobar , Gilda Padilla, Patricia Leal, M. de los Ángeles Cortes (Author)
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