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Abstract
This study investigated the effects of individual motivational sources, demographics, and levels of burnout within career rural school teachers in Nebraska. The dependent variable was the psychological syndrome burnout as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Two independent variables were individual motivational sources (a personality trait measured by the Motivational Sources Inventory) and individual demographic information. The purpose of this study was to aid in recognizing burnout with goals of increasing job engagement (the antithesis of burnout), improving organizational culture, and retaining teaching staffs in school districts that have difficulty attracting certified staff. In the burnout trait depersonalization, significance was found in intrinsically motivated teachers, instrumentally motivated teachers, self-concept internally motivated teachers, and male teachers. The burnout trait reduced personal accomplishment was significant in instrumentally motivated teachers, self-concept externally motivated teachers, self-concept internally motivated teachers, and teachers with an education level beyond a Masters degree. Instrumentally motivated teachers were the only group to show significance with the burnout characteristic emotional exhaustion.
