International specialists review research in the field of career burnout in this 2009 volume.

This booklet presents articles that deal with identifying signs of stress and methods of reducing work-related stressors. An introductory article gives a summary of the causes, consequences, and cures of teacher stress and burnout. In articles on recognizing signs of stress, "Type A" and "Type B" personalities are examined, with implications for stressful behavior related to each type, and a case history of a teacher who was beaten by a student is given. Methods of overcoming job-related stress are suggested in eight articles: (1) "How Some Teachers Avoid Burnout"; (2) "The Nibble Method of Overcoming Stress"; (3) "Twenty Ways I Save Time"; (4) "How To Bring Forth The Relaxation Response"; (5) "How To Draw Vitality From Stress"; (6) "Six Steps to a Positive Addiction"; (7)"Positive Denial: The Case For Not Facing Reality"; and (8) "Conquering Common Stressors". A workshop guide is offered for reducing and preventing teacher burnout by establishing support groups, reducing stressors, changing perceptions of stressors, and improving coping abilities. Workshop roles of initiator, facilitator, and members are discussed. An annotated bibliography of twelve books about stress is included. (FG)

This unique study is the first large-scale sociological analysis of teacher burnout, linking it with alienation, commitment, and turnover in the educational profession. In the process of doing so, Anthony Gary Dworkin uncovers some startling trends that challenge previous assumptions held by public school administrators. Urban public school districts spend up to several million dollars annually on programs intended to rekindle enthusiasm among their teachers, hoping thereby to reduce the turnover rates. They also assume that enthusiastic teachers will heighten student achievement. Yet data presented in Teacher Burnout in the Public Schools challenge these suppositions. Dworkin's research shows teacher entrapment, rather than teacher turnover, as the greater problem in education today. Teachers are now more likely to spend their entire working lifetime disliking their careers (and sometimes their students), rather than quitting their jobs, and Dworkin proposes that principals, more than any other school personnel, can do much to break the functional linkage between school-related stress and teacher burnout. The author's findings also indicate that burned-out teachers pose a minimal threat to the achievement of most children, but that they do have an adverse impact on brighter students. Teacher Burnout in the Public Schools includes an inventory of supported propositions and three levels of policy recommendations. These important policy recommendations suggest substantial organizational changes in the nature of the training of public school teachers in the college educational curriculum, in the teacher employment and deployment practices of school districts, as well as in the administrative style of school principals.

Demoralized: Why Teachers Leave the Profession They Love and How They Can Stay offers a timely analysis of professional dissatisfaction that challenges the common explanation of burnout. Featuring the voices of educators, the book offers concrete lessons for practitioners, school leaders, and policy makers on how to think more strategically to retain experienced teachers and make a difference in the lives of students. Based on ten years of research and interviews with practitioners across the United States, the book theorizes the existence of a “moral center” that can be pivotal in guiding teacher actions and expectations on the job. Education philosopher Doris Santoro argues that demoralization offers a more precise diagnosis that is born out of ongoing value conflicts with pedagogical policies, reform mandates, and school practices. Demoralized reveals that this condition is reversible when educators are able to tap into authentic professional communities and shows that individuals can help themselves. Detailed stories from veteran educators are included to illustrate the variety of contexts in which demoralization can occur. Based on these insights, Santoro offers an array of recommendations and promising strategies for how school leaders, union leaders, teacher groups, and individual practitioners can enact and support “re-moralization” by working to change the conditions leading to demoralization.

Rising numbers of young children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders means more students with ASD entering pre-school and the elementary grades. For these young learners, individualized instruction toward measurable goals is crucial to effective education. The COMPASS program—Collaborative Model for Promoting Competence and Success for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders—has been developed to improve outcomes for these students in the unique context of their lives. Collaborative Model for Promoting Competence and Success for Students with ASD builds consulting and ASD knowledge competencies while working with families and teachers in a systematic, empirically supported consultation program. The book offers a framework for individualized assessment and program planning based in students’ life experiences along with family and teacher input. At the same time, its two-tiered consultation/coaching strategy is designed to minimize the setbacks that occur even in optimal family and classroom situations. Protocols, scripts, forms, and case examples are included for a complete guide to facilitating successful learning. Featured in the text: Theory and rationale behind COMPASS. Self-evaluation tools for assessing core skills and competencies. Guidelines for writing effective Individual Education Programs and the COMPASS Action Plan. Detailed instructions for implementing Action Plans and monitoring progress. Case studies of the COMPASS program in real-life situations. A complete kit of forms, scales, and checklists. Practitioners working with children with ASD, particularly in child and school psychology, special education, rehabilitation, social work, speech pathology, and developmental psychology, will find in Collaborative Model for Promoting Competence and Success for Students with ASD a consultation model that empowers teachers, families, and above all, students.

This unique study is the first large-scale sociological analysis of teacher burnout, linking it with alienation, commitment, and turnover in the educational profession. In the process of doing so, Anthony Gary Dworkin uncovers some startling trends that challenge previous assumptions held by public school administrators. Urban public school districts spend up to several million dollars annually on programs intended to rekindle enthusiasm among their teachers, hoping thereby to reduce the turnover rates. They also assume that enthusiastic teachers will heighten student achievement. Yet data presented in Teacher Burnout in the Public Schools challenge these suppositions. Dworkin’s research shows teacher entrapment, rather than teacher turnover, as the greater problem in education today. Teachers are now more likely to spend their entire working lifetime disliking their careers (and sometimes their students), rather than quitting their jobs, and Dworkin proposes that principals, more than any other school personnel, can do much to break the functional linkage between school-related stress and teacher burnout. The author’s findings also indicate that burned-out teachers pose a minimal threat to the achievement of most children, but that they do have an adverse impact on brighter students. Teacher Burnout in the Public Schools includes an inventory of supported propositions and three levels of policy recommendations. These important policy recommendations suggest substantial organizational changes in the nature of the training of public school teachers in the college educational curriculum, in the teacher employment and deployment practices of school districts, as well as in the administrative style of school principals.