Primary Teachers’ Perceived Stress and Indicators of Burnout during COVID-19 Pandemic

Studies conducted in various countries indicate that teachers’ exposure to high levels of occupational stress makes them vulnerable to burnout syndrome. There are various sources of occupational stress in teaching profession: teaching overload and bureaucratic tasks, students’ misbehaviors and lack of motivation, overpopulated classes and lack of didactic resources and materials, time pressure, lack of support from the administrative staff and from other more experienced colleagues, lack of adequate professional training, high expectations from the parents and society etc. The Covid-19 pandemic dramatically changed teachers’ professional and personal lives, multiplied and amplified their sources of occupational stress, making them even more vulnerable to burnout. The perceived stress and the indicators of burnout in primary school teachers from Romania during the COVID-19 Pandemic were investigated in this study. The results were discussed in relation with those obtained in similar studies conducted in other countries and cultures.