Burnout, Self‐efficacy, and Successful Intelligence among Chinese Prospective and In‐service School Teachers in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study assessed the three components of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced personal accomplishment), perceived self‐efficacy, and the three triarchic abilities (analytical, synthetic, and practical) of successful intelligence in a sample of 267 Chinese prospective and in‐service teachers in Hong Kong. The aim was to explore and examine the contribution of the blending or integration of the triarchic abilities to the three components of teacher burnout and perceived self‐efficacy. While there were subtle gender and teaching‐experience differences, the general findings suggested that the triarchic abilities, especially practical abilities, could independently contribute to teachers’ sense of personal accomplishment as well as perceived self‐efficacy. The interactive combination of the triarchic abilities could be most important in contributing negatively to emotional exhaustion. The implications of these findings for interventions to combat teacher burnout and enhance job engagement are discussed.