Abstract for: Preventing Teacher Burnout and Promoting Retention in Schools

Teacher burnout and high turnover rates in high-poverty schools across the U.S. undermine the creation of equitable learning environments, critical for students’ upward mobility. Burnout, a psychological syndrome from chronic interpersonal stressors, negatively impacts student learning, especially when students face complex needs due to poverty. This study adopts a complex systems perspective to develop a nonlinear theory of teacher burnout and retention. Using System Dynamics models and a group model-building workshop involving teachers, we aimed to examine the dynamics of teacher burnout and recovery, focusing on the interactions of various factors over time. Teachers provided insights that led to the development of causal loop diagrams illustrating the reinforcing and balancing loops driving burnout. Key factors include workload, student behavior, and administrative support. A system dynamics model was formulated to depict these interactions, indicating that structural interventions could potentially mitigate burnout and improve retention. This research reframes the teacher burnout problem from individual responsibility to systemic structures, offering a holistic view for developing effective interventions. By addressing systemic causes rather than symptoms, administrators and policymakers can implement higher leverage structural changes, fostering long-term teacher wellbeing and enhancing student outcomes in high-poverty schools.