Faculty Organizational Culture and Teacher Burnout in Chinese Universities: Role Conflict as a Mediator
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background and Aim: Teacher burnout in Chinese public universities, intensified by expansion and structural reforms, remains understudied in relation to decentralized faculty-level management systems and their manifestations, like emotional exhaustion. Faculty-level organizational culture traits significantly influence burnout through teaching-research role conflict mediation, with demographic variables like age and academic rank moderating these effects. This research aimed to examine the effects of organizational culture in university faculties on teacher burnout, with role conflict as a mediating factor, and to provide perspectives for enhancing the university environment.
Materials and Methods: A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. The research sampled 333 faculty members and conducted 12 interviews with university administrators at Sichuan Normal University. The research utilized a modified questionnaire derived from the Denison Organizational Culture Survey (DOCS), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the Role Conflict and Ambiguity Scale (RCAS). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and mediation analysis for quantitative data. Thematic analysis was applied to qualitative data from interviews.
Results: Multiple regression analysis revealed significant negative effects of faculty-level organizational culture dimensions (Mission: β = -0.73, p < 0.001; Involvement: β = -0.45, p < 0.001; Adaptability: β = -0.60, p < 0.001; Consistency: β = -0.58, p < 0.001) on burnout, with Mission and Involvement showing the strongest associations (R² = 0.62). Organizational culture explained 62% of the variance in burnout. Role conflict mediated this relationship significantly (indirect effect = -0.328, 95% CI [-0.387, -0.267]), explaining 64% of burnout variance (β = 0.71, p < 0.001). Demographic analyses identified higher burnout among early-career teachers (<5 years' experience), mid-career faculty (31–40 years), and junior/intermediate academic ranks. Descriptive statistics highlighted elevated Emotional Exhaustion (M = 2.68) and Cross-role Conflict (M = 2.55), while qualitative themes emphasized mission alignment, role clarity, and administrative efficiency as critical mitigation strategies.
Conclusion: The results indicated that: 1) Organizational culture in university faculties has a significant direct effect on teacher burnout, particularly through Mission and Involvement dimensions.2) Role conflict significantly mediates the relationship between organizational culture and teacher burnout, where unclear expectations and workload imbalance exacerbate burnout. 3)Demographic factors (age, teaching experience, and academic rank) influence the relationship between organizational culture, role conflict, and burnout, with younger and less experienced faculty showing higher burnout levels. 4)Perspectives to enhance the university environment, identifying four key areas: Enhancing Teachers' Sense of Mission and Participation, Managing Role Conflict, Strengthening Teacher Support Systems, and Improving Administrative Efficiency.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright on any article in the International Journal of Sociologies and Anthropologies Science Reviews is retained by the author(s) under the under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Permission to use text, content, images, etc. of publication. Any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose. But do not use it for commercial use or with the intent to benefit any business.
References
Amzat, I. H., Kaur, A., Al-Ani, W., Mun, S. P., & Ahmadu, T. S. (2021). Teacher burnout and coping strategies to remain in teaching jobs in Malaysia: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. European Journal of Educational Research, 10(3), 1075–1088. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.10.3.1075
Batugal, M. L. C., & Tindowen, D. J. C. (2019). Influence of organizational culture on teachers' organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 7(11), 2432–2443.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
Cuddapah, J. L., & Clayton, C. D. (2011). Using Wenger’s communities of practice to explore a new teacher cohort. Journal of Teacher Education, 62(1), 62–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487110377507
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2271-7
Deep, S., Athimoolam, K., & Enoch, T. (2024). Optimizing administrative efficiency and student engagement in education: The impact of AI. International Journal of Current Science Research and Review, 7(10). https://doi.org/10.47191/ijcsrr/V7-i10-34
Denison, D. R., & Mishra, A. K. (1995). Toward a theory of organizational culture and effectiveness. Organization Science, 6(2), 204–223. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.6.2.204
Ebbers, J. J., & Wijnberg, N. M. (2017). Role conflict and ambiguity in dual-leadership structures. Human Relations, 70(11), 1342–1365. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726717692852
Fernández-Batanero, J.-M., et al. (2021). Impact of educational technology on teacher stress and anxiety. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(2), 548. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020548
Hassan, S. (2013). Role clarification in workgroups: Effects on work satisfaction. Public Administration Review, 73(5), 716–725. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12100
Heng, S., et al. (2020). Teaching–research conflict and job burnout: Mediators and moderators. Psychology in the Schools, 57(9), 1347–1364. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22426
Iraola, E. A., et al. (2024). Dialogue among educators: Cooperative and inclusive learning. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 6, 100322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2024.100322
Jamali, A., et al. (2022). Leadership styles and faculty performance. Management Science Letters, 12(1), 1–20.
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(3), 607–610. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447003000308
Lei, W., et al. (2021). Boundary conditions of teaching–research conflict and burnout. Studies in Higher Education, 46(2), 406–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1811218
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20311
Matriano, E., & Bueno, D. C. (2024). Enhancing academic excellence: A case study. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.18782.04169
McNay, I. (1995). From the collegial academy to corporate enterprise. In The Changing University (pp. 105–115).
Padmanabhanunni, A., & Pretorius, T. B. (2024). Role stress among South African school teachers. Revista de Investigación e Innovación en Ciencias de la Salud, 6(2), 40-55. https://doi.org/10.46634/riics.276
Peterson, P. K., & Baule, S. M. (2023). Preventing burnout among early career teachers. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 20(3).
Radu, C. (2023). Positive workplace culture and agility. In Human Resource Management – An Update. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.1003259
Rahida Aini, M. I., et al. (2018). Teachers’ age, experience, and HOTS. International Journal of Advanced Studies in Social Science & Innovation, 2(1), 144–158. https://doi.org/10.30690/ijassi.21.11
Rizzo, J. R., House, R. J., & Lirtzman, S. I. (1970). Role conflict and ambiguity in complex organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 15(2), 150–163.
Shi, G. (2024). Development path of university administrative staff teams. International Journal of Educational Teaching and Research, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.70767/ijetr.v1i2.311
Shuck, B., & Reio, T. G. (2014). Employee engagement and well-being. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 21(1), 43–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051813494240
Sihite, O., et al. (2023). Academic and collaborative culture in universities. Jurnal Aplikasi Bisnis dan Manajemen, 9(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.17358/jabm.9.1.1
Slemp, G. R., & Vella-Brodrick, D. A. (2014). Intrinsic need satisfaction, job crafting, and employee well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(4), 957–977. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-013-9458-3
State, T. M., et al. (2024). Supporting educator well-being through multitiered systems. School Psychology, 39(3), 243–255. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000567
Van den Broeck, A., et al. (2016). Basic psychological needs at work: A review. Journal of Management, 42(5), 1195–1229. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316632058
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803932
Woelert, P. (2023). Administrative burden in higher education institutions. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 45(4), 409–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2023.2190967
Xie, M., et al. (2022). Teacher burnout and resource factors: A latent transition perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(5), 2725. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19052725
Yurt, E. (2022). Collective teacher self-efficacy and burnout: The mediator role of job satisfaction. International Journal of Modern Education Studies, 6(1), 51–69.
