Influence of interpersonal solidarity, sense of community and career commitment on junior high school teachers' burnout in Ketu-South municipality

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of interpersonal solidarity, Sense of community on burnout syndrome among Junior High School teachers in the Ketu-South Municipality. A total sample size of 205, with 161 being male and the remaining 44 female teachers, were randomly selected. The design was a descriptive survey, using an adapted standardised questionnaire to measure all the variables. The study found that most of the teachers in the Junior High Schools in the Ketu-South Municipality have a moderate level of interpersonal solidarity, Career Commitment, Sense of community belongingness, and the rate of burnout. It also revealed that Interpersonal solidarity was significantly not an indicator of Career Commitment and burnout among Junior High School teachers in the Ketu-South Municipality. Again, the study found out that a sense of community was a significant negative predictor of burnout; as a sense of community increase, there was a decrease in burnout. The mediation analysis also pointed out that irrespective of the teachers' sense of community, their level of burnout would increase when they are committed to their career. Also, Career Commitments significantly mediate the relationship between Interpersonal solidarity and burnout. Because of these, it was recommended to the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education that incentive schemes should be implemented at the basic level of education, and they should design programs to address the issue of burnout among teachers.