Chinese older adult educators’ attitudes toward aging and turnover intention: burnout as a mediator

In the 21st century, with the spread of lifelong education and the increase in the aging population, the need for learning among older people has increased, resulting in a shortage of teachers for older learners. A literature review of both Western and Eastern cultures revealed that the turnover or shortage of older adult educators may be related to their attitudes toward aging and burnout. To confirm this hypothesis, this paper examines the mediating effect of burnout on the relationship between attitudes toward aging and turnover intentions among Chinese older adult educators. The Attitudes toward Aging Questionnaire, Turnover Intention Questionnaire, and Burnout Questionnaire were used to collect the data. Finally, a total of 774 samples from Shanghai, China, were analyzed through structural equation modeling. The results revealed that when three components of attitudes toward aging, i.e. psychological growth, physical change, and psychosocial loss, are considered, burnout in Chinese older adult educators fully mediates the relationship between psychosocial loss and turnover intention, which means that if Chinese older adult educators suffer considerable psychosocial loss, burnout increases, leading to increased turnover intention. In other words, the negative experience of psychosocial loss can be decreased through a holistic approach to teaching aging along with intergenerational interaction, which in turn reduces burnout and decreases the intention to leave. Future follow-up studies should focus on how to develop a holistic teaching curriculum to facilitate the practical implementation of the findings of this research. We believe that this research can be beneficial with regard to attempts to address the shortage of older adult educators and promote teacher development in the context of older adult education.