Burnout among social work educators: an eco-logical systems perspective

ABSTRACT

Burnout in the social work field receives significant attention, yet existing literature has disregarded social work educators as an affected population. This research utilized Bronfenbrenner’s eco-logical systems perspective to explore and understand contributing factors of burnout among social work educators. Qualitative data derived from a national cross-sectional electronic survey of full-time faculty confirmed that factors on all systemic levels contribute to burnout. Respondents highlighted the impact of overwhelming job demands; insufficient time and resources; and interactions with students, faculty, and administrators. Our findings indicate that burnout is prevalent among social work educators because of multi-systemic causes. Feminist theory provides a framework to propose solutions at multiple levels. There is a significant need for further research to understand this phenomenon and respond with effective strategies to alleviate burnout in the academy.

KEYWORDS:

• Burnout
• eco-logical systems perspective
• faculty
• feminist theory
• higher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).