Examining the Relationship of Principals' Leadership Styles on Burnout in K-12 Public School Educators Located in the Rio Grande Valley

This study examines the connection between burnout dimensions among K-12 public school educators in South Texas and the perceived leadership styles of administrators. A snowball convenience sampling technique was used to recruit K-12 public school educators and a total of 268 participants were included in the study. Three surveys were filled out by the participants: a demographic survey, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x). The MBI-GS assessed three dimensions of burnout—Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment—while the MLQ analyzed three facets of leadership styles—Transformational, Transactional, and Passive Avoidant. The data was analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The findings showed a significant correlation between perceived principals’ leadership and teachers’ burnout in K-12 public school educators located in South Texas. Particularly, Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment were all strongly predicted by Transformational Leadership. On the other hand, Transactional Leadership demonstrated a negative correlation with both Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment. These findings underline the significance of encouraging Transformational Leadership behaviors in educational leadership practices and offer insightful information on how principals’ leadership styles either prevent or exacerbate burnout among K-12 public school educators.