Teacher shortages continue to be a problem in schools across the United States. The crisis is especially alarming in hard to staff subjects like Mathematics and Special Education. Research indicates that the dominant factor that leads to teacher burnout and attrition is stress. The stress may emanate from workload demands, classroom management issues or secondary traumatic stress. Many teachers are experiencing worry, mental stress, impatience, weariness, anxiety, and issues with sleep, which can quickly lead to burnout. Their inability to manage ongoing stress increases the likelihood of burnout, negatively impacting job performance and student achievement. Teachers’ use of emotional intelligence skills in the classroom can be a preventative against stress and help them navigate complex circumstances that arise, positively impacting students. This paper aims to discuss the effects of teacher burnout on the profession and the use of emotional intelligence in professional development to build skills among teachers to address stress. The paper proposes a model for addressing the Emotional Intelligence of teachers as a tool to mitigate teacher burnout.
KeywordsTeacher ShortageTeacher BurnoutStressTraumaTeacher AttritionClass-room ManagementSecondary Traumatic Stress and Emotional Intelligence
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