The mediating role of workplace social support on the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and teacher burnout

Teaching and Teacher Education 51 (2015) 58e67

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The mediating role of workplace social support on the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and teacher burnout Chengting Ju, Jijun Lan, Yuan Li, Wei Feng, Xuqun You* School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China

h i g h l i g h t s
An integrated model of teacher burnout was developed based on this study's results.
Emotional intelligence is negatively associated with teacher burnout.
Emotional intelligence is positively associated with workplace social support.
Workplace social support partially mediated emotional intelligence and teacher burnout.
The mediating relationship among variables is consistent across gender and age.

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 16 October 2014 Received in revised form 7 June 2015 Accepted 9 June 2015 Available online xxx

This study investigated the mediating effect of workplace social support on the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and teacher burnout among 307 Chinese middle school teachers. Structural equation modelling revealed a satisfactory fit between the data and our theoretical model. Workplace social support partially mediated the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and teacher burnout. Neither gender nor age moderated the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and teacher burnout. Emotional intelligence and workplace social support can protect teachers from teacher burnout. Thus, providing effective emotional intelligence training and creating supportive workplace conditions requires increased attention from education administrators. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Trait emotional intelligence Workplace social support Teacher burnout Occupational health Chinese teachers

1. Introduction Teacher burnout is defined as symptoms of emotional exhaustion, cynicism and reduced professional accomplishment (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001) and has received extensive and contin
cal, & Austin, 2012; uous attention worldwide (Fernet, Guay, Sene Shin, Noh, Jang, Park, & Lee, 2013). In mainland China, a nationwide web-based investigation revealed that almost 80% of middle school teachers reported experiencing burnout during their daily

Abbreviations: SEM, structural equation modelling; CFI, comparative fit index; GFI, goodness of fit index; p(Dc2), p-value of the c2 difference; RMSEA, root mean squared error of approximation; SRMR, standardized root-mean-square residual; CI, confidence interval; EI, emotional intelligence; ROE, regulation of emotion; SEA, self-emotion appraisals; UOE, use of emotion; OEA, others' emotion appraisals. * Corresponding author. School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, 199A Chang'an South Road, Xi'an, 710062, China. E-mail address: [email protected] (X. You). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.06.001 0742-051X/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

work (SINA, 2005). Thus, a critical problem requiring an immediate solution is how to reduce teacher burnout. Identifying the factors that determine teacher burnout has significant implications not only for teachers' effectiveness, motivation and job satisfaction (Jalongo & Heider, 2006; Thakur, 2012), but also for students' academic achievement and personal development (Dorman, 2003; Montgomery & Rupp, 2005). Many factors might be associated with teacher burnout. According to the Job Demand-Resources Model, burnout is related to both high job demands (e.g. workload) and low job resources (e.g. social support) (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Teachers often experience high demands in the teaching environment, including heavy workload and time pressures, role conflict and ambiguity, complicated school relationships and pressure and criticism from parents and society (Okeke & Dlamini, 2013). Consequently, the availability of various types of job resources becomes crucial to buffering job demands. While, from the stresseburnout relationship perspective,

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€ rgens-Ekermans and Brand (2012) argued that burnout can be Go understood as an extreme case of chronic and prolonged stress that is likely to emerge when work is unchallenging, unrewarding and does not include positive feedback and recognition (Maslach et al., 2001). Thus, factors that can counteract teaching stress might also be effective in reducing teacher burnout (Lo, 2014). Previous studies have suggested that personal resources and social resources in the work environment could encourage and reinforce teachers' coping efforts in stressful work-related conditions (Lambert, McCarthy, O'Donnell, & Wang, 2009). Therefore, we conceived of personal resources (i.e. trait emotional intelligence [EI]) and social resources (i.e. perceived workplace social support) as burnout protectors, and explored a possible protective mechanism for teacher burnout. Evidence suggests that teachers' personal resources such as personality characteristics (Kokkinos, 2007), self-efficacy (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2007) and EI (Chan, 2006) are related to burnout. From a theoretical perspective, personal resources have been recognized as crucial protective factors for individuals' general psychological well-being (Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007). Thus, personal resources would also be necessary in an occupational context. Consistently, numerous studies indicate that teachers with increased personal resources have increased burnout resilience (Gu & Day, 2007) and decreased burnout risk (Howard & Johnson, 2004) when faced with the same stressors than those who do not. In addition to personal resources, school-based environmental resources such as supportive supervisors and colleagues (Kokkinos, 2007; Van Droogenbroeck, Spruyt, & Vanroelen, 2014) and positive student feedback (Pas, Bradshaw, & Hershfeldt, 2012) play central roles in reducing teacher burnout and promoting teaching performance. Theoretically, environmental resources in the workplace are effective initiators of employees' work engagement and, consequently, of enhanced performance (Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Demerouti, & Schaufeli, 2009a). Consistently, empirical studies suggest that teachers that perceive sufficient environmental resources (e.g. collaborative and participatory school climate) have increased job satisfaction and retention (Liu & Onwuegbuzie, 2012). In contrast, teachers with scarce environmental resources (e.g. unsupportive workplace conditions) tend to have low job satisfaction and high turnover intention (Johnson, Kraft, & Papay, 2012). Prior research has shown that teacher burnout is closely related to both personal and environmental resources (Johnson et al., 2012; Yang, Ge, Hu, Chi, & Wang, 2009). However, two problems have yet to be fully addressed. First, although previous studies have independently used environmental and personal resources to explain teacher burnout (Johnson et al., 2012; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2007), to our knowledge no study has integrated both constructs into the same predictive model. According to the employee-working environment fit framework, burnout can be affected by complex dynamics between the worker and his/her working environment, €lto €, rather than a single personal or environmental attribute (Pyha Pietarinen, & Salmela-Aro, 2011). Although some studies have focused on interactions between personal and environmental influences on occupational outcomes (Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Demerouti, & Schaufeli, 2009b), the complexity and dynamics of these protective factors have been neglected when studying €lto €, Soini, & teacher burnout in a school context (Pietarinen, Pyha Salmela-Aro, 2013). Second, although many studies have focused on gender and age differences in teacher burnout (Lau, Yuen, & Chan, 2005), few have evaluated the moderating effects of gender and age on the relationship between EI and teacher burnout. Therefore, it is unknown if female and male teachers or younger and older teachers would equally benefit from EI and workplace social support as protective factors for burnout. To fill these gaps, the current study has two main goals. Firstly, we aim to incorporate personal and environmental resources into

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an integrated model to test for a possible burnout mechanism among teachers in mainland China (Fig. 1). Secondly, we aim to examine the moderating effects of age and gender within this integrated model. In the following sections, we will summarize the literature on EI-related concepts, workplace social support and teacher burnout. Based on this literature review, we will detail the hypotheses that formed the theoretical model for our research. 2. Theoretical framework 2.1. Trait EI and teacher burnout EI reflects the extent to which a person attends to, processes and intra- and inter-personally acts upon emotional information. There are two types of EI that can be operationally defined: ability EI and trait EI (Kafetsios & Zampetakis, 2008). Specifically, ability EI (or cognitive-emotional ability) refers to one's actual emotional ability from a cognitive perspective (e.g. the ability to recognise, process and utilise emotion-loaded information). Measuring ability EI requires the use of maximum-performance tests with correct and incorrect responses, such as the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2008). In contrast, trait EI (or emotional self-efficacy) refers to a constellation of behavioural dispositions and self-perceptions concerning one's ability to process emotional information from a personality perspective (e.g. when a person tends to be sympathetic, impulsive or assertive). Measures of trait EI, such as the 33-item Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS-33) (Schutte et al., 1998), do not have correct or incorrect responses. Instead, these self-report questionnaires reflect individuals' tendencies during emotional processing. Previous studies found that trait EI was more strongly associated with mental health than ability EI (Brown, 2006) and was an important predictor of teacher burnout (Platsidou, 2010). Therefore, in the current study, we only focused on trait EI among teachers. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that trait EI is associated with individual differences in teacher burnout (Brackett, Rivers, & Salovey, 2011). Theoretically, trait EI could render teachers less vulnerable to burnout because those with enhanced EI might more effectively use emotional information to make sense of their reactions to stressors and to guide adaptive actions (Greenberg, 2002). Empirical research has also reported connections between trait EI and teacher burnout (Chan, 2006). For instance, Brackett, Palomera, Mojsa-Kaja, Reyes, and Salovey (2010) found that teachers with higher emotion regulation efficacy reported lower burnout. In addition, evidence from professional training programmes suggests that EI training can be an effective technique for improving individual stress resilience, which may be particularly helpful in combating teacher burnout (Brackett & Katulak, 2006). Based on these findings, we hypothesised the following:

Fig. 1. The theoretical model for the relationship between trait emotional intelligence, workplace social support and teacher burnout.

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H1. Trait EI has a direct and negative association with teacher burnout.

important factor for maintaining a supportive workplace environment among teachers, we hypothesised the following:

2.2. Workplace social support and teacher burnout

H3. Trait EI has a direct and positive association with teachers' perceptions of workplace social support.

Social support has been identified as a resource that enables individuals to cope with stress (Brackett & Katulak, 2006). Numerous studies indicate that people with friends, spouses and family members who provide psychological and material resources (e.g. affective support, confirmation and direct help) have better mental health than those with fewer supportive social contacts (Lo, 2014). In an occupational context, colleague and supervisor support is particularly important for occupational health because it has a direct relationship with work demands (Halbesleben, 2006). Thus, researchers use the term ‘workplace social support’ to specifically refer to social support in the workplace (Halbesleben, 2006). In the teaching profession, lack of workplace social support is one of the most frequently mentioned reasons for teacher burnout (Chan, 2002; Greenglass, Fiksenbaum, & Burke, 1995). This might be due to the job characteristics associated with the teaching occupation. It is known that social interactions are interrelated and play a central role in teachers' work, as teachers often work with students, colleagues, supervisors and other school-related individuals in a single day (Pietarinen et al., 2013). Thus, receiving support from others in the work environment is especially essential to teachers' occupational health (Brouwers, Evers, & Tomic, 2001). Similarly, studies have suggested that supportive workplace relationships can be an important protective factor in preventing teacher burnout (Russell, Altmaier, & Van Velzen, 1987). For instance, teachers who report having supportive colleagues (Greenglass, Burke, & Konarski, 1997) and supervisors (Russell et al., 1987) are less vulnerable to burnout than those who do not. Furthermore, when Kahn, Schneider, Jenkins-Henkelman, and Moyle (2006) investigated the relationship between workplace social support and burnout in a national sample of 339 American high-school teachers, it was found that positive workplace social support could effectively decrease burnout in emotional exhaustion and cynicism dimensions. Hence, we have proposed the following hypothesis: H2. Workplace social support has a direct and negative association with teacher burnout.

2.3. Trait EI, workplace social support and teacher burnout 2.3.1. Trait EI and workplace social support There is also a close relationship between trait EI and workplace social support (Lopes et al., 2004). Theoretically, trait EI can influence social interactions by helping people interpret internal and external social cues, thereby guiding emotion self-regulation and ^ te
, promoting supportive social interactions (Lopes, Salovey, Co Beers, & Petty, 2005). Consistently, researchers have found that individuals with higher EI efficacy have higher empathic perspective-taking and social skill scores, resulting in further maintenance of supportive interpersonal relationships (Schutte et al., 2001). Since there are many interpersonal aspects of teaching (e.g. maintaining classroom order, functioning in the school team), teachers with high EI efficacy would interact with their colleagues and supervisors more cooperatively and affectionately, resulting in increased workplace social support. Studies have supported the finding that individuals who are better able to regulate their emotions have more positive relationships with others (Lopes, Salovey, & Straus, 2003). Likewise, people with high EI efficacy are likely to perceive greater social support from others (Gallagher & Vella-Brodrick, 2008). Therefore, since trait EI should also be an

2.3.2. Integrated model of burnout predictors Although the relationship between trait EI and teacher burnout has been widely studied using various intervening variables such as self-efficacy (Tsouloupas, Carson, Matthews, Grawitch, & Barber, 2010), job satisfaction (Brackett et al., 2010) and positive and negative work affect (Kafetsios & Zampetakis, 2008), few studies have explained the mechanism relating trait EI to teacher burnout from a workplace social support perspective. Trait EI has been recognized as an essential personality trait for individuals' general psychological well-being (Youssef & Luthans, 2007), while workplace social support is viewed as crucial for state-specific jobrelated outcomes (Bakker, Hakanen, Demerouti, & Xanthopoulou, 2007; Xanthopoulou et al., 2009a). According to George (1991), general-level variables may impact state-level variables, which further initiates psychological processes in different situations. Thus, it appears that trait EI could influence teacher burnout by affecting workplace social support perceptions. In other words, workplace social support might play a mediating role in the relationship between trait EI and teacher burnout. Empirical evidence supports such a hypothesis. For example, Brackett et al. (2011) found that trait EI is positively related to principal support and positive workplace affect, and that this support and affect are positively related to job satisfaction and negatively related to teacher burnout. Therefore, establishing that EI indirectly affects burnout by mediating teachers' workplace social support seems relatively straightforward. Thus, we hypothesised the following: H4. Workplace social support mediates the relationship between trait EI and teacher burnout.

2.4. Gender and age as potential moderators From the perspective of teacher education and professional development, we aim to identify an effective burnout mechanism that is applicable to a large number of teachers. However, although the results have been inconsistent, there are individual differences in teacher burnout, as indicated by the many studies that have found gender and age differences. For example, in terms of gender differences in three dimensions of burnout (i.e. emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment), Lau et al. (2005) found that female teachers experienced significantly more emotional exhaustion and lower personal accomplishment, but were less depersonalising than male teachers. In contrast, Zhao and Bi (2003)found no gender differences in these dimensions in a sample of 190 secondary school teachers from mainland China. In regard to age differences in these three dimensions, Lau et al. (2005) found that younger teachers had more emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation than older teachers, while Hargreaves (2005) reported that younger teachers are more enthusiastic and optimistic about their occupation than older teachers. Although these studies explored individual differences in teacher burnout, little research has focused on the potential moderating role of age and gender in the relationship between trait EI, workplace social support and teacher burnout. Because of the importance of gender and age differences in teacher burnout research, we will explore them as potential moderators in our hypothesised model. Thus, we focused on the potential moderating effects of gender and age in our presumed model and aimed to test the generalizability of this

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model across gender and age groups. 2.5. Research context In recent years, Chinese teachers have experienced many challenges, such as waves of educational reform proposals and their subsequent implementation (Feng, 2006; Hawkins, 2000). Inevitably, they have experienced burnout as a result of increasing job demands and even fewer or no additional resources for their efforts (Tang, Au, Schwarzer, & Schmitz, 2001). Chinese teachers indicate that the primary reasons for burnout include a lack of autonomy in the teaching environment, large class sizes, student behavioural problems and increased workloads and non-teaching duties (Zhao & Bi, 2003). With the popularity of the intensification of the teaching profession in China (Mok, 1997), teachers have been asked to follow a market logic wherein education is viewed as a product produced by schools. Thus, objectively measurable student academic achievement has become synonymous with quality in teachers' job achievement. For instance, enrolment rates and student scores have become the most important evaluation criteria for determining outstanding teachers (Dello-Iacovo, 2009). Such education goals result in an ever-expanding teaching role, limited autonomy and creativity and decreased time for social contact with colleagues and families (Van Droogenbroeck et al., 2014). Moreover, education is now expected to contribute to solving numerous social problems (e.g. moral education, civic education, health education) and teachers are expected to undertake tasks that were once carried out by parents, social workers or others (Painter & Mok, 2008). Thus, there is a significant increase in the non-teaching-related (largely administrative) workload and teachers often find themselves in a contradictory situation where they face greater responsibility for their work, but have fewer social environment resources to provide support (Eacute & Esteve, 2000). Conditions including increased demands and limited resources facilitate a sense of burnout among Chinese teachers, which could lead to further turnover or turnover intention (Leung & Lee, 2006). 3. Methods 3.1. Participants We recruited 307 middle school teachers (79.6% female, mean age ¼ 42.01 years) from 14 public middle schools in five major cities in mainland China. All teachers had more than 10 years teaching experience and participated in an academic conference at our campus. A total of 26.1% participants were guidance teachers, who played both administrative and teaching roles. The remainder worked only as classroom teachers. In terms of marital status, 85.03% reported that they were married, 14.26% were single and the remainder were divorced or remarried. Approximately 93.21% teachers had advanced education degrees. Annual incomes were distributed as follows: 10.72% teachers reported that they earned less than 20 000 RMB/year, 14.19% earned 20 000e30 000 RMB/ year, 18.63% earned 30 000e50 000 RMB/year and most (56.46%) earned 50 000e80 000 RMB/year. The study sample included participants that taught all junior high school grades (i.e. grades 7 to 9). 3.2. Measures 3.2.1. Emotional intelligence To measure teachers' trait EI, we translated and back-translated the original English self-report Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (Wong & Law, 2002) into Chinese. The scale consists of 16 brief statements and 4 dimensions, including self-emotion

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appraisals (SEA), others' emotion appraisals (OEA), regulation of emotion (ROE) and use of emotion (UOE). Item examples are as follows: ‘I have good understanding of my own emotions’ (SEA), ‘I am a good observer of others’ emotions' (OEA), ‘I have good control of my own emotions’ (ROE) and ‘I always encourage myself to try my best’ (UOE). Respondents were asked to rate their agreement on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 ¼ ‘strongly disagree’, 5 ¼ ‘strongly agree’). The scale elicits a global EI score, with higher scores indicating higher EI levels. Additionally, the scale has good psychometric properties (Wong & Law, 2002). In this study, the Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the four subscales were acceptable, with SEA ¼ .73, ROE ¼ .70, OEA ¼ .80 and UOE ¼ .74. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for all 16 items was .72. 3.2.2. Perceived workplace social support Perceived workplace social support was measured using a 10item instrument adapted from scales developed by Hobman, Restubog, Bordia, and Tang (2009) and Brouwerset al.(2001). The instrument measures supervisor (5 items) and colleague (5 items) social support, and consists of items tapping into both instrumental (provision of services and assistance) and emotional support (provision of understanding and caring behaviours). Examples of items assessing supervisor support include ‘I am confident that, if necessary, I can ask a principal for advice’ and ‘When necessary, I am able to bring up problems with principals’. Examples of items assessing colleagues' support include ‘When it is necessary, I am able to ask a colleague for assistance’ and ‘I am able to approach my colleagues if I want to talk about problems at work’. Participants responded to the items on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ¼ ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 ¼ ‘strongly agree’. The internal reliability was acceptable (a ¼ 0.79 for supervisor support, a ¼ 0.88 for colleague support and a ¼ .75 for all 10 items, respectively). 3.2.3. Teacher burnout The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES) (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1986) was used to evaluate the severity of participants' educator burnout. The 22-item instrument assesses the frequency of feelings and attitudes related to burnout on a 7point scale. The MBI-ES has been found to have a good fit to a threefactor construction including emotional exhaustion (9 items), depersonalisation (5 items) and personal accomplishment (8 items, reverse scored). Chan (2006) reported that the scale had good reliability and validity when utilized in Chinese samples. Examples of the items are as follows: ‘I feel emotionally drained by my work’ (emotional exhaustion), ‘I feel I treat some students as if they were impersonal objects’ (depersonalisation) and ‘I feel I am positively influencing other people's lives through my work’ (personal accomplishment). Participants were instructed to evaluate each item in terms of the frequency of their feelings ranging from 0 (‘never’) to 6 (‘every day’). Statistical analysis indices included one total score and one score for each of the three dimensions, with higher scores indicating a higher degree of burnout. The scale showed acceptable levels of internal reliability (a ¼ 0.88 for emotional exhaustion, a ¼ 0.77 for depersonalisation, a ¼ 0.84 for personal accomplishment and a ¼ .89 for all 22 items, respectively). 3.3. Statistical analysis The present study employed structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the relationships between trait EI, workplace social support and burnout among Chinese teachers. First, we used the two-step procedure recommended by Anderson and Gerbing (1988) to analyse the mediating effects of the variables. The measurement model was first tested to assess the extent to which each latent variable was represented by its indicators. If the

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measurement model was accepted, then the structural model was tested using the maximum likelihood estimation. AMOS version 17.0 was used for statistical analyses. To test for complete versus partial mediation, we compared the model's fit to models with and without the direct path between trait EI and burnout (i.e. Path c in Fig. 1). Second, the moderation effects of gender and age were examined using the means of multi-group SEM. This strategy involved comparing a model where regression coefficients among the variables in the theoretical model are constrained for equality across groups (i.e. no moderation) with a model where coefficients can vary across groups (i.e. moderation allowed). DCFI  .01 and DRMSEA  .015 were used as the cut-offs to indicate a substantial loss of fit caused by the introduction of invariance restrictions (Chen, 2007). In addition to the chi-square statistic, the fit indices used included the root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA), the goodness of fit index (GFI), the standardised rootmean-square residual (SRMR) and the comparative fit index (CFI). Finally, multi-group analyses were performed on the moderating effects of gender and age to determine if the pattern of the proposed theoretical model was robust across different groups. The following four indices were used to evaluate the model's goodness of fit (Hu & Bentler, 1999): (a) chi-square statistic, (b) RMSEA of .08 or less, (c) SRMR of .08 or less and (d) CFI above .95.

Table 2 Standardised factor loadings for confirmatory factor analysis.

4. Results

4.3. The mediating effect of workplace social support

4.1. Measurement model

The mediating effect of workplace social support was tested using the bootstrap estimation procedure (a bootstrap sample of 1000 was specified). MacKinnon, Lockwood, and Williams (2004) suggested that the bootstrap method yields the most accurate confidence intervals (CI) for indirect effects. The standardised multiple indirect effects of trait EI on teachers' burnout via perceived workplace social support was .24 (SE ¼ .07; CI ¼ [.39, .15]; p < .001). Zero was not included in the CI, indicating that the mediating effect between trait EI and teacher burnout differed significantly from zero. In addition, to test for full mediation, we constructed another model without a direct path from trait EI to teacher burnout (i.e., Path c). The results indicated that the full mediation model had a poorer fit: c2(25, N ¼ 307) ¼ 65.65; p < .001; RMSEA ¼ .073; SRMR ¼ .0547 and CFI ¼ .955. Thus, Hypothesis 4 was supported because workplace social support partially mediated the relationship between trait EI and teacher burnout.

Measures and variables Trait emotional intelligence Self-emotion appraisals (SEA) Others' emotion appraisals (OEA) Regulation of emotion (ROE) Use of emotion (UOE) Workplace social support Supervisors Colleagues Teacher burnout Emotional exhaustion Depersonalisation Low personal accomplishment

Factor loadings

SE

.48 .54 .59 .50

.09 .07 .06 .07

.62 .70

.07 .06

.89 .84 .86

.02 .02 .02

support suggested that teachers' emotional ability would increase their perception and awareness of workplace social support. The hypotheses that both EI (H1) and workplace social support (H2) act as protective factors for teacher burnout were also supported. Thus, our empirical data supported the three hypotheses (H1eH3) concerning the direct relationship between the variables in our theoretical model.

The descriptive results and correlations between the investigated variables are presented in Table 1. The measurement model included three latent factors (trait EI, workplace social support and teacher burnout) and nine observed variables. An initial test of the measurement model revealed a satisfactory fit to the data: c2 (24, N ¼ 307) ¼ 57.80; p < .001; RMSEA ¼ .068; SRMR ¼ .0468 and CFI ¼ .962. All factor loadings for latent variable indicators were significant (ranging from .49 to .93) (Table 2). This indicated that all latent factors were represented by their respective indicators. As expected, there was a significant positive correlation between trait EI and workplace social support, a significant negative correlation between trait EI and burnout and a significant negative correlation between workplace social support and burnout. 4.2. Structural model As seen in Fig. 2, the results showed a good fit between our theoretical model and the data: c2(24, N ¼ 307) ¼ 57.80; p < .001; RMSEA ¼ .068; SRMR ¼ .0468 and CFI ¼ .962. All standardised path coefficients were statistically significant (p < .01), indicating that the hypothesised paths were significant. Consistent with Hypothesis 3, the significant paths from EI to workplace social

4.4. Gender and age differences A prerequisite for analyses of the moderating effects of gender and age is that the measurement model of trait EI is sufficiently equivalent across groups. Specifically, metric invariance (i.e. equality of the factor loadings) must hold for moderation analyses,

Table 1 Means, standard deviations and zero order correlations of all variables. M 1. Gendera 2. Age 3. Trait emotional intelligence 4. Workplace social support 5. Teacher burnout (total) 5a. Emotional exhaustion 5b. Depersonalisation 5c. Low personal accomplishment

42.01 3.37 3.94 2.99 2.33 2.11 1.97

SD

1

2

8.74 .40 .41 .74 1.16 1.18 1.15

e .38** .14* .05 .02 .03 .02 .03

e .07 .01 .00 .05 .01 .08

*p < .01. **p < .001. a Gender was coded as a dummy variable: 0 ¼ male, 1 ¼ female.

3

4

5

5a

5b

5c

e .31** .43** .38** .45**

e .76** .72** .69**

e .76** .84**

e .73**

e

e .29** .25** .37** .37** .35**

C. Ju et al. / Teaching and Teacher Education 51 (2015) 58e67

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Fig. 2. Standard estimates of the theoretical model (N ¼ 307). Note. The four Wong Law Emotional Scale subscales include OEA: others' emotion appraisals, UOE: use of emotion, ROE: regulation of emotion and SEA: self-emotion appraisals. The workplace social support scale includes SS_C: support from colleagues and SS_S: support from supervisors. The three Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey subscales include DP: depersonalisation, EE: emotional exhaustion and LPA: low personal achievement. All path coefficients were significant at the .001 level.

and scalar invariance (i.e. equality of the factor loadings and item intercepts) must hold for testing latent mean differences (Brown, 2006). Therefore, we tested for measurement invariance across gender and age as a preparatory step. The results of invariance analyses indicated that full scalar and metric invariance held for both gender and age. That is, successively introducing invariance constraints did not lead to a substantial loss of model fit: DCFI < .01 and DRMSEA < .015 (Table 3). The findings pertaining to measurement invariance enabled us to validly investigate the potential moderation effects of gender and age. The results of multi-group comparison analyses showed that the regression coefficients between trait EI and teacher burnout, trait EI and workplace social support and workplace social support and teacher burnout were statistically invariant across gender and age (Table 4). For comparisons of male and female teachers and younger and older teachers, the unrestricted baseline model that allowed for moderation did not significantly fit the data better than models with equality constraints imposed on the regression coefficients. Thus, there is evidence that the mediation model was robust across gender and age. 5. Discussion Using a sample of experienced teachers from mainland China,

Table 3 Fit indices for measurement invariance across gender and age (N ¼ 307). Models Gender Configural invariance model Metric invariance model Scalar invariance model Age Configural invariance model Metric invariance model Scalar invariance model

c2

df

RMSEA

CFI

SRMR

p(Dc2)

108.307 119.791 135.926

48 54 63

.064 .063 .062

.934 .928 .920

.0858 .0989 .0988

.075 .064

79.687 88.168 96.610

48 54 63

.047 .046 .042

.965 .962 .962

.0571 .0601 .0596

.205 .323

Note. CFI: comparative fit index; p(Dc2):p-value of the c2 difference; RMSEA: root mean squared error of approximation; SRMR: standardised root-mean-square residual.

the current study integrated trait EI (as one aspect of personal resources) and workplace social support (as one aspect of social resources) into a protective model for teacher burnout. The results of the present study are consistent with the results of many related studies (Brackett et al., 2010; Platsidou, 2010), in that they confirm both the link between trait EI and teacher burnout and between workplace social support and teacher burnout. However, the current study also revealed a possible mechanism for the effect of trait EI on teacher burnout: the mediating role of workplace social support. Multi-group comparison analyses show that the mediating model was consistent across Chinese teachers' gender and age. Approximately 47% of the variance in teachers' burnout was explained by workplace social support and trait EI and 24% of the variance of workplace social support was explained by trait EI. 5.1. Direct relationships between trait EI, workplace social support and teacher burnout In the current study, trait EI was found to be a protective factor for teacher burnout (r ¼ .28). This finding is consistent with previous studies that report that trait EI is an important personality-level predictor of work affect and job satisfaction (Kafetsios & Zampetakis, 2008). Considering the consistency of results demonstrating the connection between trait EI and burnout, teachers should be assisted in the development of trait EI. For example, Chan (2006) argued that enhancing positive emotion management and regulation can protect teachers from emotional exhaustion, promote empathy and an appreciative stance for working with students and parents and help teachers reduce depersonalisation. Furthermore, increasing positive utilisation of emotional information in successful problem solving can generate teachers' personal accomplishments. Workplace social support was negatively associated with teachers' burnout (r ¼ .50). This finding suggests that greater perceived support from supervisors and colleagues may lead to lower burnout. Various researchers have suggested that increasing the availability of teachers' social support may be a useful strategy for preventing teacher burnout (Kahn et al., 2006). For instance, teachers that reported that they had supportive supervisors and

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Table 4 Moderation of the associations between teachers' trait emotional intelligence, workplace social support and teacher burnout by gender and age (N ¼ 307). Models Gender Baseline: Freely estimated regression coefficients Equality constraint on path a Equality constraint on path b Equality constraint on path c Age Baseline: Freely estimated regression coefficients Equality constraint on path a Equality constraint on path b Equality constraint on path c

c2

df

RMSEA

CFI

SRMR

p(Dc2)

123.512 122.612 121.335 123.036

57 56 56 56

.062 .063 .062 .063

.927 .927 .929 .927

.1061 .1018 .1055 .1069

.343 .140 .490

91.411 89.866 90.529 90.352

57 56 56 56

.045 .045 .045 .045

.962 .962 .961 .962

.0617 .0610 .0616 .0614

.214 .348 .304

Note. CFI: comparative fit index; p (Dc2): p-value of the c2 difference; RMSEA: root mean squared error of approximation; SRMR: standardised root-mean-square residual.

received positive feedback from others about their skills and abilities were less vulnerable to burnout (Chan, 2002). These consistent results suggest that another way to protect teachers from burnout is by encouraging them to communicate with colleagues and supervisors, and that creating a supportive school environment is crucial for teachers' job satisfaction. In addition, teachers' perceptions of workplace social support were positively associated with trait EI (r ¼ .49), which has been investigated in many other occupations (Ciarrochi, Deane, & Anderson, 2002; Montes-Berges & Augusto, 2007). In a teaching context, higher efficacy in accurately perceiving and positively regulating emotions could help teachers form supportive interpersonal relationships, thereby leading to perceptions of higher levels of social support from supervisors and colleagues. This study supports the idea that EI efficacy determines teachers' perceived level of workplace social support. Similarly, other studies have indicated that teachers with higher EI more effectively regulated their emotions during interpersonal interactions, facilitating higher quality social interactions with students, parents, colleagues, supervisors and others (Lopes et al., 2004).

social support and teacher burnout can be generalised across gender and age groups. Our findings revealed that male and female teachers and younger and older teachers seemed to equally benefit from trait EI and workplace social support. Specifically, the regression coefficients in our model were invariant across the two groups. In contrast to previous studies (Bindu & Thomas, 2006; Geller & Hobfoll, 1994), we found that gender did not moderate the relationship between trait EI and teacher burnout. This might be related to the relatively higher number of female than male teachers in China (Qiu & Yan, 2012), resulting in non-significant gender differences. In terms of age differences, some studies found that teaching experience can increase older teachers' EI. However, in current study, age did not moderate the relationship between EI and teacher burnout. This might be because we focused on trait EI rather than ability EI. It is logical to assume that abilities improve with age and experience, and that as teachers gain experience over time their emotion-related abilities may also improve. However, age might not have moderated the relationship between EI and teacher burnout in the current study because we viewed EI as a trait.

5.2. Indirect relationships between trait EI, workplace social support and teacher burnout

5.3. Implications and limitations

The present study initially explored an integrated model whereby workplace social support was regarded as a mediator in the relationship between trait EI and teacher burnout. As expected, workplace social support had a significant but partial mediation effect on the relationship between trait EI and burnout (indirect effect ¼ .24). Several previous studies have considered the direct relationship between social support and teacher burnout (Kahn et al., 2006; Wang & Xu, 2004). Additionally, studies have reported that there is a relationship between EI and teacher burnout and examined this relationship using mediating mechanisms such as positive/negative work affect (Kafetsios & Zampetakis, 2008), emotional labour strategies (Yin, Lee, Zhang, & Jin, 2013) and interpersonal relationships (Iordanoglou, 2007). However, few studies employed workplace social support as the mediator in the relationship between trait EI and teacher burnout. Our results suggest that teachers with higher EI efficacy have a propensity to experience greater support within the school environment (i.e. from principals and colleagues), contributing to a decreased possibility of burnout. This is somewhat consistent with findings indicating that social support mediates the relationship between trait EI and life satisfaction (Lopes et al., 2005) and the relationship between trait EI and mental distress among college students (Kong, Zhao, & You, 2012). Our results indirectly support these findings and extend them to teachers' occupational health issues. Additionally, we conducted multi-group comparisons to test if the assumed mediating relationship between trait EI, workplace

Our study has a number of implications regarding teaching professionals' mental health and teacher education research. First, our results suggest that educational policymakers should view trait EI as an important component of teachers' skill sets. Consistently, Hawkey (2006) argued that there was a lack of emphasis on EI in pre-service teacher education. In addition, in-service teachers often expressed their reluctance to play the roles of teacher-counsellors or guidance teachers. This may occur because of low perceived self-efficacy in helping others, and may also reflect a lack of EI among Chinese in-service teachers (Chan, 2006). Although Chinese educators have increasingly accepted the notion of EI and its application to educational practices (Chan, 2004), they only emphasise students' EI development. There is insufficient training about management of work-related emotions in teacher education programmes (Yin & Lee, 2012) and schools in China rarely provide teachers with counselling services to help them contend with emotional problems (e.g. anxiety and depression). Therefore, appropriate emotion adjustment and regulation programmes should be developed and implemented in the teacher education system. Additionally, workplace social support partially mediated the relationship between EI and teacher burnout in our Chinese sample. This suggests that maintaining higher levels of perceived workplace social support could protect teachers from experiencing burnout. Accordingly, educational policymakers need to consider how to promote teachers' perceived support within the school environment. Cutrona and Russell (1987) assert that there are six

C. Ju et al. / Teaching and Teacher Education 51 (2015) 58e67

kinds of social provisions for social support, including attachment, social integration, reassurance of worth, guidance, reliable alliances and opportunities for nurturance. Thus, the provision of each type of social support from students, colleagues and supervisors could be useful in increasing teachers' levels of social support. In regard to colleagues, teachers should construct reliable alliances by establishing social integration with members of professional groups or teaching teams. In addition, supervisors should provide teachers with reassurance of worth, guidance and further training or education opportunities. Although students' social support was not assessed in the current study, we believe that teachers would also benefit from this source of support because many studies have indicated that teacherestudent relationships can contribute to teacher psychological wellbeing (See the review by Spilt, Koomen, & Thijs, 2011). Thus, teachers should be encouraged to build mutual supportive relationship with colleagues, supervisors and students. Similar suggestions were made by Van Maele and Van Houtte (2012), who encouraged teachers and school leaders to pay attention to the quality of social relationships (e.g. trust relations) in school settings in order to strengthen job satisfaction and retention. There are also a number of limitations to the current study. First, because the study used a cross-sectional design it is not possible to infer causal relationships. Thus, the results of mediation analyses of cross-sectional data should be interpreted cautiously. As a result, future studies should use longitudinal or hierarchical linear models to test mediating effects. Second, data were collected using selfreport measures, which might have led to subjective social desirability bias. Furthermore, although student-level variables were not incorporated into our integrated model, they may also have an influence on teacher burnout (Friedman, 1995; Hastings & Bham, 2003). Consequently, future studies should adopt multiple evaluation methods (e.g. peer and supervisor reports) and include students' influence on teacher burnout. Third, in the current study, the three burnout dimension scores (i.e. emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment) had a similar correlation pattern between trait EI and workplace social support (Table 1); thus, we did not explore our three key variables in terms of each dimension. However, previous studies have suggested that trait EI and social support have stronger correlations with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation than low personal accomplishment (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993; Greenglass et al., 1997). According to Chan (2006), different EI dimensions have different correlations with different teacher burnout dimensions. Therefore, future studies should investigate the relationship between trait EI, social support and burnout using multiple dimensions. 5.4. Conclusions The most salient finding of this study pertains to the integrated model in which workplace social support mediates the relationship between trait EI and teacher burnout. Trait EI not only has a direct impact on teacher burnout but also an indirect impact on teacher burnout via workplace social support This model emphasises the interaction between personal and environmental resources for understanding teacher burnout. Teachers with higher trait EI are able to form supportive interpersonal relationship with others (i.e. colleagues and supervisors), leading to perceptions of increased social support from the school environment. Subsequently, increased perceived workplace social support can further protect teachers from burnout. However, school administrators seem to neglect the fact that many teachers lack the necessary personal (e.g. emotional regulation efficacy) (Chan, 2006) and environmental resources (e.g. workplace social support) (Brackett & Katulak, 2006) to contend with workplace frustrations. Thus, it is not

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