Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Award Winner

Recipient of the 2022 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award - First Place.

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Availability

Open Access Dissertation

Keywords

Burn out (Psychology); Teachers--Middle West--Psychology; Positive psychology--Middle West;

Abstract

Educator burnout is threatening the well-being of society, having a financial impact on the United States, as well as influencing the optimal growth of students and the quality of our educational system. Overexposure to stress while trying to meet countlessdemands can lead to burnout and jeopardizeworkforceretention. Stress, burnout, and teacher attrition have reached alarming levels, threatening quality instructionand subsequent student achievement (Steinhardt et al., 2011). The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding ofthe effect of the Happiness Advantage | Orange Frog positive psychology framework and whether schools that employ these techniques experience a significant difference in their levels of burnout, as measured by The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES). Data was collected from two comparable school districts in the midwestern United States, one that employs strategies from the Happiness Advantage | Orange Frog positive psychology framework (N= 327) and one that does not (N= 248). The two similar school districts were selected from a department of education database specifically reviewingthe following characteristics: enrollment, free/reduced lunch, and minority percentage. This study will answer the following research questions:

  1. To what level do PK-12 educators in a midwestern school district experience burnout, as defined by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES)?
  2. What is the difference in the levels of burnout, as measured by the MBI-ES, between a school district who employs the Happiness Advantage | Orange Frog positive psychology framework and one that does not?

Year of Submission

2020

Year of Award

2022 Award

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Department of Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Kim Huckstadt, Chair

Date Original

2020

Object Description

1 PDF file (119 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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