A healthy academic community is essential for the creation of an environment favourable to
the development of managerial competence in education. The objective of this study was to
investigate the relationship between burnout and coping strategies of academic managerial
personnel at a tertiary education institution.
A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study population consisted of 70 academic
managers at a tertiary education institution from the job levels of departmental heads,
directors of schools and deans of faculties. The COPE questionnaire and Maslach Burnout
Inventory - General Survey were administered. Statistical analysis was carried out with the
SAS-program. Cronbach alpha coefficients, inter-item correlations and confirmatory factor
analysis were used to assess the reliability and validity of the measuring instruments.
Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Pearson product-moment correlation
coefficients were used to specify the relationships between the variables. Canonical
correlation was used to determine the relationships between the dimensions of burnout and
coping strategies.
The results indicate that in general, academic managerial personnel at a tertiary education
institution in South Africa experience low levels of burnout. A positive correlation between
active coping and both exhaustion and professional efficacy were found. A positive
correlation was also found between focus on and venting of emotions and exhaustion. More
specifically, the results show that active coping, planning and positive reinterpretation was
associated with exhaustion and professional efficacy. It appears that academic managerial
personnel utilise both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies, and the
coping strategies of planning, active coping and positive reinterpretation and growth were
used most often to deal with potential stress factors.
Recommendations for the organisation and future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/10325 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Kloppers, Dorothea Lize |
| Publisher | Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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