Burnout Among Teachers and Their Professional Development Case Study in Boyolali, Indonesia

Abstract

This research aims to explore burnout phenomena among teachers in Boyolali, its pattern, factors, and impact on their profession. This is ethnographic study which is involving some key persons who suffer burnout with snowball technique. The data are collected by documentations and in-depth interviews and then validated by using source triangulation technique. Burnout is an issue discussed by many scholars and has been studied in many countries with some finding contradictions. In the US, burnout is caused by stress as a result of the length of working hours. Forty percent junior teachers in the US resign from their job in the first year and forty percent change their profession after 5 years experience. In Indonesia, the country with very wide culture and social behavior, burnout studies are still rare. The government and the scholars focus on the teacher career development in other aspects. It is indicated that the reason of many junior and senior teachers (who are civil servant or not) is no other choice as a profession. Some studies find that burnout is indicated as behavior that breaks the rules caused by many factors in the individual peripheral. Research found that, in Indonesian context especially in Boyolali in this case, generally burnout is encouraged by dissatisfaction of school policy, leader behavior, and lack quality of school management. Interestingly, despite the disappointments are high, they do not leave the job but their performances do not meet the standard. They teach not as it should be no updating material and monotonous methods. They leave their tasks for shopping, talking with their friends, and in some cases they have affair with student or colleague. In conclusion, there are some differences about burnout concept in Indonesia and US.