According to a recent study by the University of Murcia, up to 65% of Spanish primary school teachers suffer from burnout syndrome (that is, they are psychologically “burned out” by their work) or experience some of the first symptoms that announce this emotional disorder . In fact, it is one of the groups that have suffered the most from the impact of the crisis, with the consequent cuts in resources and personnel: three years ago, 4% of teachers wanted to leave their work, while today that percentage already reaches the 10%.
One of the risks of increased stress and job demotivation is depression, which has a significant incidence among teachers. Now, new research in the United States shows that teachers 'symptoms of depression have a direct influence on their students' performance.
The authors of the report have collected data from 27 teachers and 523 third grade students in the state of Florida, including recordings of the classes to analyze their quality. The main conclusion is that the children who most accused the teachers' depressive picture were those who had problems learning mathematics , probably because they did not receive the required dedication in a subject that requires more effort than others.
" Our study is one of the first to reveal that the constellation of symptoms that point to depression affect not only teachers who experience them, but also students with academic difficulties," the authors of the analysis wrote.
