Abstract
This dissertation synthesises contemporary research evidence to identify the principal predictors of burnout among early-career teachers and evaluates which interventions most effectively reduce attrition within the shortest timeframes. Employing a systematic literature synthesis methodology, this study analyses peer-reviewed publications, longitudinal studies, and nationally representative datasets to establish patterns in burnout aetiology and intervention efficacy. Findings reveal that burnout in early-career teachers derives primarily from high job demands coupled with insufficient resources, including excessive workload, inadequate collegial support, weak school leadership, and diminished self-efficacy. Psychological factors, particularly poor emotion regulation and low teacher self-efficacy, emerge as robust predictors of both burnout and subsequent attrition. Regarding interventions, the evidence demonstrates that mindfulness and connection training delivered during initial teacher education produces the most rapid and substantial retention gains, with participants showing six-fold greater likelihood of remaining in teaching after three years. Structured induction programmes incorporating quality mentoring similarly yield measurable early retention improvements. These findings carry significant implications for teacher education providers and school leadership, suggesting that targeted psychological interventions combined with comprehensive induction support offer the most promising approach to addressing the early-career teacher attrition crisis.
Introduction
The retention of early-career teachers represents one of the most pressing challenges confronting education systems internationally. Teacher attrition, particularly within the first five years of practice, depletes schools of developing talent, disrupts student learning, and imposes substantial financial burdens on educational institutions and governments. Research consistently demonstrates that approximately one-third of teachers leave the profession within their first three years, with rates approaching fifty percent within the first five years in certain jurisdictions (Ronfeldt and McQueen, 2017; Kutsyuruba et al., 2018). This haemorrhaging of teaching talent undermines educational quality and perpetuates cycles of instability, particularly in disadvantaged and rural schools where attrition rates prove highest.
Burnout constitutes the primary psychological mechanism through which occupational stress translates into turnover intention and eventual departure from teaching. Characterised by emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and diminished personal accomplishment, burnout represents both a consequence of adverse working conditions and a predictor of subsequent career decisions (Maslach and Leiter, 2016). Early-career teachers prove particularly vulnerable to burnout, lacking the established coping strategies, classroom management expertise, and professional networks that buffer more experienced practitioners against occupational stressors.
Understanding the predictors of early-career teacher burnout holds considerable academic and practical significance. Academically, such understanding advances theoretical models of occupational stress and professional development, contributing to literatures spanning educational psychology, organisational behaviour, and workforce planning. Practically, identifying modifiable risk factors enables the design of targeted interventions that address root causes rather than symptoms, potentially reversing attrition trends that have proven resistant to policy initiatives focused primarily on remuneration and working conditions.
The identification of fast-acting interventions carries particular urgency given the cumulative nature of attrition’s effects. Teachers who leave within their first year never develop the pedagogical expertise that emerges through sustained practice, whilst their departure creates immediate staffing challenges and imposes recruitment and training costs estimated at significant proportions of annual salary per departed teacher (Hirshberg et al., 2024). Interventions that demonstrate measurable retention effects within the first year of teaching therefore offer disproportionate value relative to those requiring longer implementation periods.
This dissertation addresses these concerns through systematic synthesis of the available evidence base, drawing together findings from longitudinal studies, randomised controlled trials, nationally representative surveys, and qualitative investigations to construct a comprehensive account of burnout predictors and intervention effectiveness. The analysis attends specifically to early-career teachers, defined as those within their first five years of practice, whilst acknowledging that the boundary between early-career and established practice remains somewhat arbitrary and context-dependent.
Aim and objectives
The overarching aim of this dissertation is to synthesise contemporary research evidence concerning predictors of burnout in early-career teachers and to evaluate which interventions demonstrate the fastest effects on reducing teacher attrition.
To achieve this aim, the following objectives guide the investigation:
1. To identify and critically analyse the major predictors of burnout among early-career teachers, distinguishing between individual, organisational, and contextual factors.
2. To examine the relative contributions of job demands, resources, and psychological characteristics to burnout development in novice teachers.
3. To evaluate the evidence base for interventions designed to reduce early-career teacher burnout and attrition, with particular attention to implementation timeframes and effect magnitudes.
4. To assess which intervention approaches demonstrate the most rapid and substantial improvements in teacher retention outcomes.
5. To synthesise findings into actionable recommendations for teacher education providers, school leaders, and policymakers concerned with addressing early-career teacher attrition.
Methodology
This dissertation employs a literature synthesis methodology, systematically reviewing and integrating findings from peer-reviewed research publications addressing early-career teacher burnout and retention interventions. Literature synthesis represents an appropriate methodological approach when the research question requires integration of diverse evidence types, including quantitative studies employing varying designs, qualitative investigations, and mixed-methods research (Snyder, 2019). Unlike systematic reviews adhering to strict protocols such as PRISMA, this synthesis prioritises conceptual integration and theoretical development whilst maintaining rigorous attention to evidence quality.
The evidence base comprises peer-reviewed journal articles, longitudinal studies, nationally representative survey analyses, and systematic reviews published predominantly within the past decade. Sources were identified through structured database searches and analysis of research summaries generated through AI-assisted literature review tools, with all included studies verified as peer-reviewed publications from reputable academic journals. Priority was accorded to studies employing longitudinal designs, as these permit stronger causal inferences regarding predictor-outcome relationships and intervention effects over time.
The synthesis approach follows an integrative model, grouping findings thematically according to predictor categories and intervention types rather than presenting studies chronologically. This structure facilitates comparison across studies and identification of convergent findings that carry greater evidential weight than isolated observations. Where studies report conflicting findings, attention is directed to methodological differences that might account for discrepancies, including sample characteristics, measurement approaches, and analytical strategies.
Quality appraisal focused on study design appropriateness, sample size adequacy, measurement validity, and analytical rigour. Studies employing validated instruments for burnout assessment, such as the Maslach Burnout Inventory, received preferential consideration over those using ad hoc measures. Similarly, intervention studies reporting objective retention outcomes were weighted more heavily than those relying solely on self-reported intentions.
The synthesis acknowledges several limitations inherent to literature review methodologies. Publication bias potentially inflates effect sizes for interventions, as studies demonstrating null effects face greater barriers to publication. Cross-sectional designs, whilst informative regarding associations, cannot establish causal relationships between predictors and burnout outcomes. Additionally, heterogeneity in burnout conceptualisation and measurement across studies introduces uncertainty regarding comparability of findings.
Literature review
Theoretical frameworks for understanding teacher burnout
Contemporary understanding of teacher burnout draws substantially upon the Job Demands-Resources model, which posits that occupational stress arises from imbalance between job demands—those aspects of work requiring sustained physical, cognitive, or emotional effort—and job resources—those aspects providing support, reducing demands, or facilitating goal achievement (Bakker and Demerouti, 2017). Within this framework, burnout emerges when demands consistently exceed available resources, depleting the psychological and physiological reserves that enable sustained engagement.
The Conservation of Resources theory offers complementary insights, proposing that individuals strive to protect valued resources and experience stress when resources are threatened, lost, or inadequately replenished following investment (Hobfoll et al., 2018). For early-career teachers, initial resource deficits—limited pedagogical knowledge, underdeveloped classroom management skills, and sparse professional networks—create vulnerability to resource loss spirals wherein early setbacks compound through subsequent stages of professional development.
Self-efficacy theory provides additional theoretical grounding, particularly regarding the psychological mediators of burnout. Teacher self-efficacy—belief in one’s capability to execute teaching tasks effectively and influence student outcomes—functions as both a buffer against stressors and a target for intervention (Bandura, 1997). Teachers possessing high self-efficacy interpret challenging situations as manageable obstacles rather than overwhelming threats, enabling adaptive coping that prevents burnout development.
Job demands as burnout predictors
Workload and task complexity emerge consistently as primary predictors of burnout across international samples and research designs. Carroll et al. (2022) examined Australian teachers and identified workload as the predominant environmental factor associated with stress and burnout, with teachers reporting that administrative duties, planning requirements, and assessment responsibilities consumed time that might otherwise support recovery and professional development. Similarly, Agyapong et al. (2022) conducted a scoping review encompassing studies from multiple nations and found heavy workload appearing as a consistent theme across diverse educational contexts.
Role overload—the perception that job requirements exceed available time and energy—represents a specific manifestation of demand-resource imbalance particularly relevant to early-career teachers. Arvidsson et al. (2019), through quantitative and qualitative investigation of Swedish teachers, documented associations between role overload and burnout symptoms, with qualitative data illuminating the psychological mechanisms through which excessive demands erode wellbeing. Hogan and White (2021) extended these findings through self-study exploration, demonstrating how experienced teachers develop adaptive strategies that early-career practitioners typically lack.
Classroom management challenges constitute a category of demands particularly salient for novice teachers. Student behavioural disruption not only consumes instructional time but generates emotional labour as teachers regulate their affective responses whilst maintaining professional composure. Mijakoski et al. (2022), in their systematic review of longitudinal studies, identified classroom disruption among the consistent predictors of burnout development over time, suggesting that challenges in this domain carry lasting consequences for teacher wellbeing.
Resource deficits and school context factors
Inadequate collegial support emerges as a powerful predictor of burnout and turnover intentions across studies examining school context variables. Göregen, Tanghe and Schelfhout (2024) employed mixed methods to identify determining factors in teacher retention, finding that sense of belonging and cooperation among colleagues demonstrated strong positive effects on retention that exceeded generic notions of workplace support. Teachers who reported feeling isolated from colleagues and disconnected from the school community exhibited substantially elevated burnout risk.
Leadership quality represents another consequential contextual factor, with unsupportive or unclear leadership amplifying the stresses inherent to early-career teaching. Borre, Spruyt and Droogenbroeck (2021), analysing data on early-career teacher retention intentions across multiple countries, identified school climate variables—including leadership characteristics—as significant predictors alongside individual and national factors. Appreciative leadership that acknowledges teacher contributions and provides constructive guidance appears particularly protective against burnout development.
Unclear organisational goals compound demands by requiring teachers to navigate ambiguity regarding priorities and expectations. Early-career teachers, still developing their professional identities and teaching approaches, prove especially vulnerable to goal ambiguity that offers insufficient guidance for decision-making. Kutsyuruba et al. (2018), through pan-Canadian narrative analysis, documented how clarity of expectations facilitated early-career teacher development whilst ambiguity generated uncertainty and stress.
Psychological resources and individual factors
Teacher self-efficacy constitutes perhaps the most robust psychological predictor of burnout, with low self-efficacy consistently associated with elevated emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and turnover intentions. Jugović, Marušić and Bojić (2025) tested a mediation model examining early-career teachers’ social and emotional competencies, self-efficacy, and burnout, finding that self-efficacy mediated relationships between competencies and burnout outcomes. Teachers who doubted their capabilities experienced teaching challenges as more threatening and recovered more slowly from setbacks.
Emotion regulation skills determine how effectively teachers manage the affective demands of classroom work. Hirshberg, Flook and Davidson (2021) identified emotion regulation as a key mechanism through which mindfulness training reduces burnout, proposing that enhanced regulatory capacity enables teachers to respond constructively to stressors rather than becoming overwhelmed. Carroll et al. (2022) similarly emphasised intrapersonal factors, including emotion regulation, as significant predictors of teacher stress and burnout in their Australian sample.
Individual personality characteristics, particularly neuroticism, elevate burnout vulnerability. Duraku, Jahiu and Geci (2022) examined the interplay of individual and organisational factors in early childhood teachers, finding that individual traits including personality dimensions predicted work motivation, job satisfaction, and burnout levels. Mijakoski et al. (2022) identified alexithymia—difficulty identifying and describing emotional states—as an additional risk factor, potentially because alexithymic individuals cannot effectively process emotional experiences or seek appropriate support.
Contextual and contractual factors
Geographic location introduces systematic variation in burnout and attrition risk, with teachers in rural and remote settings experiencing elevated vulnerability. Carroll et al. (2022) documented higher stress levels among teachers in geographically isolated placements, attributable to limited professional support networks, challenging student populations, and reduced access to professional development opportunities. Kutsyuruba et al. (2018) similarly identified rural placement as a risk factor within the Canadian context.
Contract instability and temporary employment arrangements undermine the resource base available to early-career teachers. Borre, Spruyt and Droogenbroeck (2021) found that unstable contracts predicted weaker retention intentions, likely because job insecurity prevents the long-term investment in professional relationships and pedagogical development that buffers against burnout. Teachers on temporary contracts may also receive fewer induction supports and experience weaker integration into school communities.
Mindfulness and connection training interventions
Among evaluated interventions, mindfulness-based programmes delivered during preservice teacher education demonstrate the most striking retention effects. Hirshberg et al. (2024) conducted a longitudinal study following teachers who had participated in a nine-week meditation-based programme during their initial training, finding that participants were six times more likely to remain in teaching at the three-year mark compared to control group members. This intervention reduced attrition odds by approximately seventy-seven to eighty-seven percent and demonstrated favourable cost-effectiveness, returning between $2.60 and $3.40 for every dollar invested.
The mechanisms underlying these effects appear to involve enhanced psychological resources—including emotion regulation capacity and self-efficacy—that enable programme participants to manage occupational stressors more effectively than untrained peers. Hirshberg, Flook and Davidson (2021) proposed that mindfulness training cultivates present-moment awareness and non-judgemental acceptance that prevent the rumination and catastrophisation contributing to burnout development. Connection training components may additionally strengthen interpersonal skills that facilitate supportive relationships with colleagues and students.
The timing of intervention delivery during preservice education carries strategic advantages. Teachers enter their careers with enhanced psychological resources already established, positioning them to navigate early-career challenges from a foundation of resilience rather than attempting to develop coping skills whilst simultaneously experiencing overwhelming demands. This prophylactic approach contrasts with remedial interventions targeting teachers already experiencing burnout symptoms.
Structured induction and mentoring programmes
Comprehensive induction programmes incorporating multiple support components predict stronger retention outcomes than minimal or absent induction. Ronfeldt and McQueen (2017), analysing nationally representative United States data, demonstrated that richer induction supports—including quality mentoring, collaborative planning opportunities, and reduced workload during the initial year—predicted both reduced migration between schools and reduced attrition from teaching entirely. The magnitude of effects increased with the comprehensiveness of induction packages.
Mentoring relationships represent a particularly consequential component of effective induction. Long et al. (2012) reviewed the literature on induction and mentoring, concluding that high-quality mentoring relationships buffer early-career teachers against stressors whilst accelerating professional development. Kutsyuruba et al. (2018) reached similar conclusions through analysis of Canadian narratives, emphasising that mentoring quality matters more than mentoring presence alone.
J, Mirkov and Franklin (2024) provided recent longitudinal evidence regarding mentorship programme effectiveness, finding that mentored early-career teachers exhibited 2.85 times higher odds of remaining in their positions by the five-month mark, with a twenty-seven percentage point retention advantage over non-mentored peers. Effects proved particularly pronounced in high-needs and rural schools where baseline attrition risk is elevated, suggesting that mentoring may be especially valuable in challenging contexts.
Supportive school climate interventions
Interventions targeting school climate variables demonstrate potential for retention improvement, though evidence remains less robust than for individual-level psychological interventions. Göregen, Tanghe and Schelfhout (2024) found that sense of belonging, cooperation, appreciative leadership, and clear goals showed strong positive effects on retention that exceeded generic notions of support. These findings suggest that climate interventions must target specific components rather than attempting diffuse improvements.
Adhikari, Urban and Koehler (2025) reviewed evidence on career success, collegiality, and teacher retention, emphasising that collegial relationships serve both instrumental functions—providing practical support and resource sharing—and socio-emotional functions—offering validation, encouragement, and belonging. Effective climate interventions may need to address both dimensions to achieve meaningful retention effects.
The challenge for school climate interventions lies in implementation complexity. Whereas psychological interventions can be delivered through structured programmes with standardised content, climate improvement requires coordinated change across multiple actors and organisational systems. Implementation fidelity proves correspondingly difficult to maintain, and effects may take longer to materialise as cultural shifts require sustained effort.
Discussion
The synthesis of contemporary evidence reveals a coherent picture of early-career teacher burnout as emerging from the interaction of demanding work conditions, inadequate organisational support, and insufficient psychological resources. This formulation aligns with the Job Demands-Resources model whilst highlighting specific demand and resource categories of particular relevance to early-career practitioners. The findings carry significant implications for theory development, intervention design, and educational policy.
Convergent evidence on predictor patterns
The consistent identification of workload, emotional demands, and role complexity as burnout predictors across diverse samples and methodologies strengthens confidence in these factors’ causal significance. Studies employing longitudinal designs provide particularly compelling evidence, as temporal precedence of predictors relative to burnout outcomes supports causal interpretation. The systematic review by Mijakoski et al. (2022) explicitly restricted inclusion to longitudinal studies, providing a rigorous evidence base regarding temporally stable associations.
The prominence of self-efficacy as both a predictor and potential intervention target warrants particular attention. Self-efficacy beliefs are amenable to modification through mastery experiences, vicarious learning, verbal persuasion, and physiological state interpretation (Bandura, 1997). Interventions that enhance self-efficacy may therefore interrupt the pathway between challenging conditions and burnout development, even when those conditions cannot themselves be modified. The mediation model tested by Jugović, Marušić and Bojić (2025) provides empirical support for this theoretical proposition.
School context variables—including collegial support, leadership quality, and organisational clarity—emerge as consequential predictors with considerable policy relevance. Whereas individual psychological characteristics are distributed across the teacher population, school context factors are amenable to institutional intervention. Schools can implement structures that promote collaboration, provide appreciative leadership, and establish clear expectations, potentially protecting all staff members rather than only those who receive individual interventions.
Intervention effectiveness and implementation considerations
The evidence regarding mindfulness and connection training represents the most striking finding of this synthesis. The magnitude of effects reported by Hirshberg et al. (2024)—six-fold increased likelihood of retention and seventy-seven to eighty-seven percent reduction in attrition odds—substantially exceeds effects typically observed for educational interventions. If these findings replicate across additional samples and contexts, mindfulness-based approaches merit consideration as standard components of initial teacher education.
Several implementation considerations warrant attention. The nine-week duration of the evaluated programme, whilst modest relative to overall teacher education length, represents meaningful curriculum time that must be weighed against competing priorities. The cost-effectiveness analysis suggests favourable return on investment, but this calculation assumes that programme benefits persist over the career span rather than dissipating once early-career challenges subside. Longer follow-up periods in future research would clarify whether retention effects endure beyond the three-year mark.
The timing of intervention delivery during preservice education appears strategically advantageous for several reasons. Teachers have not yet experienced the demanding conditions that overwhelm psychological resources, enabling skill development before exposure to stressors. Curriculum integration is feasible without requiring practising teachers to find time for professional development alongside existing duties. Additionally, all entering teachers receive intervention rather than only those who self-select into remedial programmes, potentially reaching individuals who might not recognise their own vulnerability.
Structured induction and mentoring programmes demonstrate less dramatic but nonetheless meaningful effects on retention. The nationally representative data analysed by Ronfeldt and McQueen (2017) provide particularly strong evidence given sample size and representativeness. However, the correlational nature of these data complicates causal interpretation—schools that provide richer induction supports may differ systematically from those providing minimal support in ways that independently affect retention.
The mentorship effectiveness study by J, Mirkov and Franklin (2024) addresses this concern through its longitudinal design and explicit focus on programme participation as the independent variable. The 2.85-fold increased retention odds and twenty-seven percentage point retention advantage provide compelling evidence that mentoring delivers tangible benefits. The concentration of effects in high-needs and rural schools suggests that mentoring may be especially valuable where baseline conditions are most challenging.
Integration of individual and organisational approaches
The evidence reviewed suggests that optimal retention strategies may combine individual-level psychological interventions with organisational changes targeting school climate and induction support. Mindfulness training enhances the psychological resources that enable adaptive coping, whilst structured induction provides the practical and emotional support that reduces demand intensity. Neither approach alone addresses the full range of factors contributing to early-career teacher burnout.
This integrated perspective carries implications for responsibility allocation. Individual interventions might reasonably fall within teacher education programme remit, delivered as standard curriculum components before entry to practice. Organisational interventions require action by schools and education authorities, suggesting that retention improvement requires coordinated effort across multiple institutional levels. Policy frameworks that mandate induction support whilst funding teacher education enhancement might prove more effective than approaches targeting either domain in isolation.
Limitations and areas of uncertainty
Several limitations constrain the conclusions that can be drawn from this synthesis. Publication bias likely inflates reported effect sizes, particularly for intervention studies, as null findings face greater barriers to publication. The predominance of studies from high-income Western contexts limits generalisability to other educational systems where teacher working conditions, cultural expectations, and resource availability differ substantially.
Measurement heterogeneity across studies introduces additional uncertainty. Burnout is variously operationalised using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, alternative validated instruments, and ad hoc measures with unknown psychometric properties. Retention is measured through diverse outcomes including actual departure, turnover intention, and migration between schools. These measurement variations complicate comparison across studies and aggregation of findings.
The mechanisms through which effective interventions operate remain incompletely understood. Mindfulness training may enhance emotion regulation, strengthen self-efficacy, improve relationship quality, or operate through multiple concurrent pathways. Clarifying mechanisms would inform intervention refinement and enable targeted adaptation for specific populations or contexts.
Conclusions
This dissertation has synthesised contemporary evidence regarding predictors of burnout in early-career teachers and evaluated interventions demonstrating the fastest effects on retention outcomes. The analysis addressed five specified objectives, with findings summarised below.
Regarding the first objective—identifying major predictors of burnout—the evidence converges on high job demands (including workload, role complexity, and classroom management challenges), inadequate resources (including weak collegial support, poor leadership, and insufficient induction), and deficient psychological resources (including low self-efficacy and poor emotion regulation) as the primary contributors to early-career teacher burnout. These predictors operate interactively, with psychological resource deficits amplifying the impact of demanding conditions.
The second objective—examining relative contributions of demand and resource categories—reveals that demands and resources contribute through distinct but related pathways. Demands directly generate the exhaustion component of burnout, whilst resource deficits undermine the capacity to cope with demands effectively. Self-efficacy emerges as particularly consequential, mediating relationships between social-emotional competencies and burnout outcomes.
Addressing the third and fourth objectives—evaluating intervention evidence and identifying fastest-acting approaches—mindfulness and connection training delivered during preservice teacher education demonstrates the most rapid and substantial retention effects documented in the literature. The six-fold increase in three-year retention reported by Hirshberg et al. (2024) substantially exceeds effects observed for other intervention types. Comprehensive induction programmes incorporating quality mentoring also demonstrate meaningful retention benefits, though effect magnitudes are more modest.
The fifth objective—synthesising recommendations—yields several actionable implications. Teacher education programmes should consider integrating mindfulness-based components as standard curriculum elements, given the substantial and cost-effective retention benefits observed. Schools and education authorities should implement comprehensive induction programmes that include quality mentoring relationships, collaborative planning opportunities, and reduced initial workload. Attention to school climate—particularly collegial support, appreciative leadership, and organisational clarity—represents an additional avenue for retention improvement.
Future research should prioritise replication of the mindfulness training findings across diverse contexts and longer follow-up periods, clarification of mechanisms underlying intervention effects, and development of implementation models that facilitate adoption at scale. Additionally, research attention to early-career teacher retention in low- and middle-income countries would extend understanding beyond the predominantly Western evidence base currently available.
The early-career teacher attrition crisis carries substantial costs for educational systems, students, and the teachers themselves who depart from careers they initially chose with enthusiasm. The evidence synthesised in this dissertation offers grounds for cautious optimism—effective interventions exist, mechanisms are increasingly understood, and implementation is feasible within existing institutional structures. Realising the potential of this evidence base requires coordinated action across teacher education providers, schools, and policymakers committed to retaining the next generation of teaching professionals.
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