Examining of the relationship between the motivational language used by school administrators and the burnout levels of preschool teachers

The purpose of this research is to identify the relationship between the motivational language used by school administrators and teachers' burnout levels according to the perceptions of preschool teachers. The research was designed in a relational survey model. The sample of the research consists of 276 volunteer preschool teachers working in Düzce province in 2022-2023. The data were collected through a demographic information form consisting of three sections prepared through Google Forms, Motivational Language Scale adapted into Turkish by Özen (2013) in the section two, and Maslach Burnout Scale Educator Form adapted into Turkish by İnce and Şahin (2015) in the section three. Because the data were normally distributed, t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation test, and simple linear regression analysis were performed. As a result of the research, it was seen that preschool teachers' perceptions of school administrators' use of motivational language were at a partially agree level. It was determined that their perceptions of directive language and belongingness-creating language which are sub-dimensions of motivational language, were at the level of partially agree and their perceptions of encouraging language were at the level of agree. While significant differences were found in terms of gender and educational status in teachers' views on the use of motivational language used by school administrators, no significant differences were found in terms of the school level, age range, professional seniority, and duration of employment. In the sub-dimensions of burnout levels of preschool teachers, it was determined that they perceived emotional exhaustion at a medium level, depersonalization, and personal achievement at a low level. Significant differences were found in terms of gender, education level, school level, age range, seniority of preschool teachers' burnout levels, while no significant difference was found in terms of the duration of employment at the school. As the use of motivational language by school administrators increased, emotional exhaustion of preschool teachers decreased, and personal achievement levels increased. The motivational language used by school administrators did not have a significant relationship with the depersonalization of preschool teachers. It was concluded that school administrators' use of motivational language significantly predicted the emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment sub-dimensions of preschool teachers' burnout, but not the depersonalization sub-dimension. Suggestions were made to researchers and practitioners regarding the results.