The moderating role of resilience in the relationship between teacher stress and burnout in Chinese primary schools

Burnout is prevalent among primary school teachers in China, particularly younger educators, who often face limited teaching experience and high-performance expectations. However, the contributing factors to burnout—especially the role of teacher stress—remain underexplored. Resilience, a potential protective factor against stress, has also garnered less attention in this context. This study investigated the relationship between stress and burnout, and examined the moderating role of resilience. Hypotheses: (H1) Teacher stress is positively associated with burnout, and (H2) resilience moderates this association, such that the positive relationship between stress and burnout is weaker at higher levels of resilience. A cross-sectional study was conducted with valid responses from 469 primary school teachers. Data on demographics, burnout, stress, and resilience were collected. Spearman correlation and moderation analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between stress and burnout as well as the moderating effect of resilience. Higher levels of teacher stress were significantly associated with increased burnout. Moderation analysis indicated that resilience partially attenuated the association of stress on burnout. These findings highlight resilience as a protective factor that can mitigate the effects of stress on burnout among Chinese primary school teachers. Interventions to enhance teacher resilience may help reduce burnout risk in this population.