Kenya: Exploring Burnout among Schoolteachers and University Lecturers

Abstract

Background: This brief is part of a series on teacher well-being and practices in Kenya. The work was conducted in part as a contribution to (i) the KIX Africa 19 Hub program of which Kenya is part, and (ii) a program of work at UNESCO IICBA on mental health and psychosocial support for teachers and university lecturers in Africa (that broader work program benefits from funding from UNESCO’s O3 – Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future). Key findings: This brief explores burnout levels and some of their potential effects among Kenyan schoolteachers based on data from an online survey. - Burnout and its implications can be assessed through online surveys, albeit with limitations. For this brief, a survey of schoolteachers was conducted in June-July 2022, with a total of 169 respondents (99 men, 65 women, and 5 unidentified). Results from the survey are instructive but have limitation as the sample is not statistically representative of all teachers in public and private schools in Kenya. - The shares of teachers reporting work-related issues are high. The most common issues are low renumeration and slow job progression. Results are similar in primary and secondary schools even if primary teachers fare slightly less well. - The potential effects of burnout include (from the less to more common effects) feelings of reduced personal accomplishment, depersonalization, lack of job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and a feeling of high workload. Burnout levels are similar between primary and secondary schools as well as by gender. - Just over one in two respondents have at least one support mechanism at work, the most common being the ability to attend seminars, workshops, or retreats. However, most mechanisms identified in the survey are available to less than a third of respondents. At a personal level, when at risk of burnout, respondents use a range of mechanisms to seek support, including a healthy diet and reaching out to people close to them. Yet most respondents have not sought professional support and just over half have used at least one personal mechanism to avoid burnout. - Encouragingly, analysis suggests that the availability of at least one support mechanism at the school or the use of least one coping mechanism at the personal level seem to be associated with lower burnout levels than otherwise.