Avoiding Burn-out in Community College Technical Educators Term Paper

Avoiding Burn-out in Community College Technical Educators - Term Paper Example Role conflict, role ambiguity, lack of intellectual work environment, and absence of institutional support to counter stress and development of burnout, are some of the issues educators cope with. Further, the teaching of online courses present new issues that community college educators have to additionally deal with. The occurrence and consequences of burnout in the faculty will be identified. To avoid developing burnout and to prevent stress, various effective techniques and strategies will be examined. These include: increasing the academic scholarship of community college educators to raise their knowledge background for enhanced student outcomes, applying the wellness approach to avoiding faculty burnout, workshops for reducing burnout, the provision of an environment of social support by community colleges, administrators’ promotion of faculty vitality, implementation of effective strategies to reduce workplace stress and consequent burnout, and the faculty eliminating burnout by improving their relationship with work. Avoiding Burnout in Community College Technical Educators Introduction Community colleges are public-funded institutions providing two year courses in higher education, mainly for the local community (Cohen & Brawer, 2009). Community colleges generally offer certificates, diplomas and/ or Associate degrees for various courses. A wide range of teaching personnel are employed by community colleges. The faculty may include â€Å"full time teaching instructors, part-time or adjunct instructors, librarians, staff in student personnel services† (Miller, Finley & Vancko, 2000, p.22), and occasionally college administrators teaching a course. Because of excessive work loads, diverse and academically under-prepared students, greater pressure for meeting performance expectations, increased accountability and other challenges, community college technical educators commonly experience burnout. Burnout is a depressive disorder which devel ops gradually over a period of time. It arises from an individual’s perceptions of unmet needs, unfulfilled expectations or threatening conditions. Besides progressive disillusionment as well as decline in self-esteem, the individual’s perception of being trapped in the situation and inability to cope with their feelings of hopelessness lead to the condition (Gold & Roth, 1993). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significance of community colleges, identify the challenges affecting teaching effectiveness of the faculty, examine the prevalence of burnout in community college technical educators, and determine effective means by which the faculty can avoid burnout. Community Colleges and their Significance Increasing numbers of students opt to complete their first two years of post-secondary education at community colleges. At present there are more than eleven hundred community colleges in the United States enrolling approximately 6.6 mill ion students, and employing around three hundred and thirty thousand full time faculty. â€Å"Community college faculty in the United States constitutes a major labor force, and represents one-third of all postsecondary faculty† (Levin, Kater & Wagoner, 2006, p.3). The two-year colleges function as stepping stones to higher education courses consisting of fewer years, which would otherwise be inaccessible for many students on the basis of costs as well as adequate academic preparation.