Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Burnout among Secondary School Teachers in Gucha South Sub-County, Kisii

Burnout affects workers’ wellbeing and health. It has physical, psychological and occupational consequences. Teachers, due to the nature of their work, are not an exception. Teachers’ beliefs in their ability to effectively handle the tasks, duties, responsibilities, obligations and challenges related to the profession are associated with burnout. Thus, the study sought to establish the relationship between Self Efficacy and Burnout among secondary school teachers in Gucha South sub county, Kisii. The research used the correlational research design. The independent variables were Self-efficacy, Years of Experience and Gender while the dependent variable was Burnout. The study was guided by Bandura’s self-efficacy theory and Maslach’s Burnout Theory. The instruments employed were: Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Scale (short form) and Maslach’s Burnout Inventory-Educators’ Survey. The target population was 547 secondary school teachers employed by the government in Gucha Sub County, Kisii County. A total of 6 schools were randomly sampled from the 23 public secondary schools. The teachers in the selected schools took part in the study. The sample was made up of 118 teachers. The objectives were: to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and burnout among secondary school teachers in Gucha South Sub County, to assess the relationship between years of experience and burnout among secondary school teachers in Gucha South Sub County, and to investigate gender differences in burnout among secondary school teachers in Gucha South Sub County. The data collected was transferred to SPSS version 22 for analysis. The main techniques used were Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) and independent t test. The research revealed that there was a significant negative correlation (r = - 0.306, p = 0.001) between self-efficacy and depersonalization, there was a significant positive correlation (r = 0.191, p = 0.038) between self-efficacy and personal accomplishment and, no significant relationship between self-efficacy and emotional exhaustion (r = -0.113, p = 0.224). It was found that there was no association between the years of experience and the different subscales of burnout and that there was gender difference in burnout in relation to emotional exhaustion with females exhibiting higher levels than males t (116) = -2.410, p = 0.018. However, there were no gender differences in depersonalization t (116) = -1.880, p = 0.063 and personal accomplishment t (116) = - 1.037, p = 0.302. The study recommended that teachers be sensitized on the relationship between self-efficacy and burnout so as to seek necessary support and thus alleviate the impact of burnout.