Exploring professional quality of life in the context of language teacher attrition

This study investigates the professional quality of life among 124 K-12 language teachers in the U.S. to explore factors influencing teacher attrition. Participants reported moderate levels of burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction, with secondary traumatic stress levels significantly higher than levels reported by educators in other disciplines. Lower compassion satisfaction and higher burnout correlated with thoughts of leaving, though secondary traumatic stress showed no significant relationship. Demographic factors such as first language and target language were found to influence professional quality of life, and although over half of the participants indicated they had thoughts of leaving in the past year, 87.9% reported that they were likely to remain. Implications are described for educator preparation programs, which must prepare teacher candidates for professional realities while also instructing them on best practices for combating burnout and secondary traumatic stress.