Date of Award
6-17-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
Ibrahim Duyar
Committee Members
John Stitts; Richard Casey
Abstract
Teacher burnout presents ongoing challenges in high-poverty rural schools, affecting teacher retention and instructional quality. In the Arkansas Delta, educators frequently navigate complex professional and emotional demands. The purpose of this convergent parallel mixed-methods study was to examine the influence of students’ socioeconomic background and teachers’ perceived stress on overall teacher burnout and each of its dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Perceived stress was measured using the PSS-10, a unidimensional instrument that assesses the appraisal of stress, or how unpredictable life feels. The study was guided by the Maslach Burnout Theory and the Job Demands-Resources framework. Quantitative data were collected from 69 teachers in Grades 4-12 via an online questionnaire that measured perceived stress and burnout. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the influence of students’ socioeconomic backgrounds and teachers’ perceived stress on overall teacher burnout and each of its dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Students’ socioeconomic background was operationalized asthe percentage of students in each classroom receiving free or reduced. Across the sample (N=69), the mean percentage was 64.80%, with a range from 0% to100%, reflecting the high poverty context characteristic of many classroom in the rural Arkansas Delta. Students’ socioeconomic background did not emerge as a statistically significant predictor or overall teacher burnout or any of the dimensions of burnout. Qualitative data from 12 purposively selected participants were analyzed using phenomenological thematic analysis. Findings indicated that teachers’ perceived stress, measured as a global, unidimensional construct using the PSS, significantly influenced overall burnout and each burnout dimension. Students’ socioeconomic background did not demonstrate a statistically significant influence, contrasting with prior literature linking student poverty to increased teacher burnout. Within the context of the Job Demands-Resources framework, this may suggest that socioeconomic conditions function as contextual demands that influence burnout indirectly through teachers’ perceptions and appraisal of stress rather than exerting a direct effect. Qualitative findings revealed four themes: (a) stress and burnout as gradual, relationship-driven experiences; (b) perceptions of student socioeconomic status as intensifying the emotional labor of teaching; (c) coping and adaptation as learned and intentional processes; and (d) rural teaching as a unique source of stress and responsibility, highlighting the cumulative, relational, and context-specific nature of teacher stress and burnout in rural settings. Results emphasize the need for organizational supports that address teacher stress and strengthen the coping resources in high-poverty settings. Keywords: Teacher burnout, perceived stress, socioeconomic background, rural education, Arkansas Delta
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Cripe, Tessa C., "Examining The Influence of Students’ Socioeconomic Background and Teachers’ Perceived Stress on Their Burnout in a Rural Arkansas Delta School District" (2026). Student Theses and Dissertations. 1184.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/1184
