The relationship between social and emotional competence and burnout among teachers: a latent profile analysis

Introduction Teacher Social and Emotional Competence is increasingly recognized as a key resource for effective teaching, positive interpersonal functioning, and occupational well-being. Previous studies using a variable-centered approach have revealed a close association between teachers’ Social and Emotional Competence and burnout, but have provided limited insight into the heterogeneity of teachers’ Social and Emotional Competence profiles. Methods This study used convenience sampling, snowball sampling, and online recruitment to recruit 1,023 teachers from mainland China to complete the questionnaire. After excluding responses with excessively short completion times, and incorrect answers to the lie-detection questions, the final sample consisted of questionnaires completed by 930 teachers from mainland China. Latent trait analysis (LPA) was the primary analytical method used to identify subgroups of teachers based on their social and emotional competence profiles. Results The LPA identified three categories: Low social and emotional competence group (16.02%), Moderate social and emotional competence group (60.00%), and High social and emotional competence group (23.98%). There is no significant relationship between gender and years of teaching experience and the classification of teachers’ social and emotional competencies. Educational attainment is related to the classification of teachers’ social and emotional competencies. Compared to those with an associate’s degree, those with a master’s degree are 0.548 times as likely to be classified in the moderate social and emotional competence group rather than the low social and emotional competence group, a statistically significant difference. Furthermore, teachers’ educational attainment does not affect their classification in terms of social and emotional competencies. Conclusion Teacher Social and Emotional Competence can be classified into three categories: Low social and emotional competence group, Moderate social and emotional competence group and High social and emotional competence group. High social and emotional competence group teachers scored significantly lower than the other two groups on emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a low sense of accomplishment. Moderate social and emotional competence group teachers scored significantly lower than Low social and emotional competence group teachers on the low sense of accomplishment dimension, but the differences in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions were not significant.