Introduction: The Burning Out of Teachers and Administrators in Public Education

Teaching is a caring profession; teachers not only care about the content they teach but also, and primarily, they show up to work because they care about students. Hydon et al. (2015) discussed “compassion fatigue” in teachers and in other school personnel. They noted the ways in which teachers can become traumatized within and as a result of conditions promoted through a given school context:

Teacher attrition and burnout have been researched in school districts all over the country for decades. Zysberg et al. (2017) discussed the symptoms and indicators of burnout, stating that “[b]urnout is a multi-level response syndrome associated with prolonged exposure to stress and characterized by physical and psychological exhaustion, cynicism (as an interpersonal and emotional indication of built-up aggression), and a sense of helplessness and low self-efficacy” (p. 123). These symptoms can lead to anxiety, depression, diminished job performance, absenteeism, and attrition.