Target groups

Our main target group is teachers from primary and secondary schools in Bulgaria, Turkey and Spain.

The pandemic has contributed to teacher’s Burnout in 2022. Most teachers in the above poll mentioned that many of their colleagues have left their positions during the pandemic, and that they are expected to pick up the slack when there are unfilled positions on campus. That, on top of fears about contagion and interacting with students with more grief and trauma than usual, are unique challenges in 2022 that contribute to teacher’s Burnout syndrome. But teachers’ Burnout isn’t just a pandemic issue — educators have been trying to raise awareness about this serious problem long before we’d ever heard of Covid-19. Some of the main reasons that teachers cite when explaining why burnout happens include:
– Low pay
– Lack of resources
– Lack of preparation for real-life classroom issues
– Stressful political environment and conflict in the district or school
– Too much focus on testing
– Most teachers leave to seek better employment opportunities, but around a third leave for better pay.

First of all, we think it’s important to distinguish between promoting teacher mental health and preventing Burnout. There are things that teachers can do, individually, to protect themselves against burning out like using the proposed from our consortium digital self-assessment tool. However, we must admit that teacher’s Burnout is a societal issue, not just an individual one. Placing all of the responsibility for Burnout on teacher mental health doesn’t resolve the problem at hand. At the same time, there are ways that we can empower teachers to take control of their own mental health and decrease the likelihood of burnout. For this purpose, a prevention programme with guidance will be developed and implemented by the project partners. Self-awareness and emotional intelligence build resilience and support teachers in their ability to cope with the emotional demands of teaching. The mental/emotional traits or “dispositions” of teachers directly affect their
effectiveness as educators.

With this project, more than 200 teachers from Bulgaria, Spain and Turkiye self-assessed their existing level of Burnout and received tips and strategies to become more resilient, focused, and engaged.

Testimonials from teachers as well as experts involved in the National advisory boards in Bulgaria, Spain and Turkiye:

  1. “In the European educational space, the emphasis is on competence-oriented educational policy, which is implemented through the reflexive approach. In this context, the diagnostic tool is relevant. The author – Prof. Snezhana Ilieva is an iconic name in the field of organizational and work psychology. The developed self-assessment tool is reliable and valid, taking into account the national and ethnic markers of the specific educational institution, the degree of career development of teachers and the specifics of applying their professional competences in the partner countries of the project. The developed tool is significant for the Bulgarian educational space, given the update of the state educational standard for teachers, principals and other pedagogical specialists, as well as a change by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science to acquire the additional qualification in a formal and substantive plan.” – Prof. Irina Koleva from Department of Ethnopsychology of Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski“
  2. “In terms of factors causing stress, I think the group of factors could be extended with those with regards to the administrative workload – reporting, lesson planning, strict curricula, no opportunities for flexibility.
    From teachers I have had contact with, this is a particularly burdensome, uninteresting and stressful part of their job. The produced project deliverables are really with high quality and very relevant to be included in the regular self-reviews by teachers on their existing level of resilience towards Burnout syndrome”. – Assoc. Prof. Irina Danailova from the Department of Human Resources and Social Protection at University of national and world economy, Sofia
  3. “The self-assessment tool covers the essential aspects related to Burnout that should be observed and reported as causes, symptoms and manifestations in the responsible teaching profession. The structuring of the questions is unified with respect to the self-rating scale. This approach allows objectification of respondents’ answers. At the same time, there is a specific approach in terms of the number of questions, which focuses attention and allows entering into the specifics of the causes, personal flexibility and adaptability in terms of symptoms and reactions.” – Mrs. Julia Simeonova, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of the Institute for Social and Trade Union Studies, Confederation of the independent syndicates in Bulgaria.
  4. “The tool is very necessarily for the recent situation of the mental health of teachers in Bulgaria. It is well constructed with clearly described expectations and benefits for the respondent. The digital version is a huge advantage, because each user will be able to test himself/herself in autonomous environment, where s/he will not feel judged. Another advantage is that trends from the pilot implementation will help the further extension of the national strategies for supporting resilience of teachers’ mental health.” – Prof. Cristina Sanchez Romero, UNED, Madrid, Spain
  5. “I am very pleased to see such high level professional tool. For the first time I can see a digital platform, that supports autonomous completion and immediate provision of results and suggestions. I think it will reach huge interest of teachers to complete it independently. I really like the logic of the sections, which starting from more global overview and then concentrated to the real issues with the Burnout syndrome. Interesting point for me will be to see the national, but also other countries results. It will be valuable if at the end of the pilot process, the partnership came with a recommendation to the policy makers and to employers in the field of education to multiply the effect.” – Prof. Melchor Gomez, Autonoma University of Madrid, Spain
  6. “There is a real necessity of this self-assessment tool especially taking into account the recent challenges to us as teachers due to post COVID-19 adaptation as well as taking into account the huge administrative pressure by the policy level. It is easy to complete it online and we are very pleased that we receive immediate answer and recommendations by the online tool. No matter that it takes considerable time to go through all stages and questionnaires, we believe in its usefulness and really will recommend it to our colleagues and to school principals, who are members of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union” – Dr. Yanka Takeva, Chairperson of Bulgarian Teachers’ Union
  7. “The BURNPRO Self-assessment digital tool has been an invaluable resource for me as a teacher. It has helped me to identify the early signs of burnout and take necessary steps to prevent it from escalating. The tool is user-friendly, easy to understand, and provides actionable insights that have significantly improved my well-being.” – Carmen G., high school English teacher from Madrid, Spain
  8. “As a teacher, I often find myself overwhelmed with work and stress. The BURNPRO Self-assessment digital tool has allowed me to assess my level of burnout and take steps to manage it effectively. It has been a game-changer for me, and I highly recommend it to all educators.” – Mark T. elementary school math teacher from Madrid, Spain
  9. “I have used the BURNPRO Self-assessment digital tool for several months now, and it has been incredibly helpful in managing my stress levels. The tool is comprehensive, easy to use, and provides valuable feedback that has helped me make positive changes in my life.” – Emilya T., special education teacher from Plovdiv, Bulgaria
  10. “The BURNPRO Self-assessment digital tool has been a lifesaver for me as a teacher. It has helped me recognize the warning signs of burnout and take proactive steps to address them. I would highly recommend this tool to any educator looking to improve their well-being.” – Ivan D., middle school science teacher from Plovdiv, Bulgaria
  11. “Using the BURNPRO Self-assessment digital tool has been a game-changer for me. It has helped me identify areas where I need improvement and provided me with practical strategies to reduce my stress levels. I feel more balanced and focused on my teaching than ever before.” – Lisa R., kindergarten teacher from Barcelona, Spain
  12. “The BURNPRO Self-assessment digital tool has been an excellent resource for me as a teacher. It has helped me understand the impact of burnout on my physical and mental health and has given me the tools to manage it effectively. Highly recommended!” – Tundzhay Y., high school history teacher from Istanbul, Turkiye
  13. “As a new teacher, I was feeling overwhelmed and burned out quickly. The BURNPRO Self-assessment digital tool has been a lifeline for me. It has helped me identify the root causes of my burnout and provided me with practical strategies to manage it. I am already seeing improvements in my well-being and job satisfaction.” – Ahmet D., first-year teacher from Istanbul, Turkiye
  14. “The BURNPRO Self-assessment digital tool has been instrumental in helping me manage my stress levels and avoid burnout. It is user-friendly, easy to understand, and provides valuable feedback that has helped me make positive changes in my life. Highly recommended!” – Ferda E., elementary school PE teacher from Istanbul, Turkiye
  15. “I have been using the BURNPRO Self-assessment digital tool for several months now, and it has been a game-changer for me. It has helped me identify the early signs of burnout and take necessary steps to prevent it from escalating. I would highly recommend this tool to all educators.” – Rumyana, teacher from Sofia, Bulgaria
  16. “The BURNPRO Self-assessment digital tool has been an invaluable resource for me as a teacher. It has helped me identify the early signs of burnout and take necessary steps to prevent it from escalating. The tool is user-friendly, easy to understand, and provides actionable insights that have significantly improved my well-being.” – Tomas B., middle school art teacher from Madrid, Spain.