Professional Identity Challenges and Burnout Risks among Physical Education Teachers in County-Level Middle Schools: A Case Study of Siyuan Middle School

Professional identity is a key psychological foundation for teachers’ long-term development, work engagement, and occupational commitment. For physical education teachers in county-level middle schools, however, professional identity is often challenged by heavy workload, limited social recognition, low income satisfaction, weak career advancement opportunities, and the marginal status of physical education under exam-oriented educational culture. Taking Siyuan Middle School in Suichuan County as a case, this paper explores the professional identity challenges and burnout risks experienced by physical education teachers. Drawing on questionnaire data from 18 physical education teachers and semi-structured interviews with 6 teachers, the study analyzes how workload pressure, remuneration dissatisfaction, subject marginalization, and insufficient institutional recognition affect teachers’ professional enthusiasm and sustainable growth. The findings show that physical education teachers at Siyuan Middle School generally possess a basic sense of responsibility and professional commitment, but their professional identity is weakened by structural constraints. Teachers undertake an average of 16.5 regular physical education teaching periods per week, and 66.7% of them also hold additional duties such as homeroom teacher, logistics work, club guidance, sports team training, morning exercise organization, and school sports event management. Their overall income satisfaction mean is only 2.56, indicating a relatively low level of satisfaction. The most strongly perceived influencing factor is the exam-oriented education mindset and the low status of physical education, with a mean score of 4.67. Interview evidence further shows that some teachers experience invisible discrimination, emotional fatigue, reduced innovation, and signs of burnout. The paper argues that the professional identity crisis of physical education teachers is not simply an individual psychological problem but a result of the interaction between workload, recognition, evaluation, and school culture. To strengthen professional identity and reduce burnout risk, schools should establish fair workload recognition, improve incentive mechanisms, enhance the status of physical education, provide emotional and professional support, and create career development pathways that make teachers’ professional value visible.