ISSN: 2226-6348
Open access
This study offers a comparative bibliometric analysis of research on teacher burnout in higher education using data from the Web of Science and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) spanning January 2001 to June 2025. Drawing on standard science-mapping techniques implemented in CiteSpace, the analysis examines publication trajectories, leading institutions, and thematic structures via keyword co-occurrence, clustering, temporal evolution, and burst detection. Results show steady global growth with pronounced acceleration after 2019, and a broadly similar expansion in the Chinese literature, though with distinct thematic emphases. International scholarship clusters around stress, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, depression, and faculty populations, reflecting a sustained psychological and organizational orientation. By contrast, the Chinese scholarship more frequently prioritizes practical concerns such as performance, intervention strategies, occupational stress, social support, and teacher development. Temporal patterns suggest convergence in recent years on cross-cutting topics including work–life balance, psychological capital, and emotional labor. Collectively, the findings delineate both common ground and divergence in how teacher burnout in higher education is conceptualized and studied across contexts, and they highlight opportunities for cross-cultural synthesis, methodological integration, and policy-relevant inquiry.
Cadena-Povea, H., Hernández-Martínez, M., Bastidas-Amador, G., & Torres-Andrade, H. (2025). What pushes university professors to burnout? A systematic review of sociodemographic and psychosocial determinants. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(8), 1214. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22081214
Cao, B., Che Hassan, N., & Omar, M. K. (2025). Interventions to reduce burnout among university lecturers: A systematic literature review. Behavioral Sciences, 15(5), 649. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050649
Freudenberger, H. J. (1974). Staff burn-out. Journal of Social Issues, 30(1), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1974.tb00706.
Gómez-Domínguez, V., Navarro-Mateu, D., Prado-Gascó, V. J., & Gómez-Domínguez, T. (2022). How much do we care about teacher burnout during the pandemic: A bibliometric review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7134. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127134
Hakanen, J. J., Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2006). Burnout and work engagement among teachers. Journal of School Psychology, 43(6), 495–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2005.11.001
Halat, D. H., Shammout, R., Salman, R. A., Al-Akour, N., Abueid, D. A., & Khatatbeh, M. (2024). Mental health interventions affecting university faculty: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health, 24, 1373. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20402-2
Koster, M., & McHenry, K. (2023). Areas of work-life that contribute to burnout among higher education health science faculty and perception of institutional support. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 18(1), 2235129. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2023.2235129
Li, L. (2025). Burnout among Chinese EFL university instructors: A mixed-methods exploration of school climate, job demands, and emotion regulation. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1549466. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1549466
Liu, D., & Du, R. (2024). Psychological capital, mindfulness, and teacher burnout: Insights from Chinese EFL educators through structural equation modeling. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1351912. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1351912
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397–422. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397
Ozamiz-Etxebarria, N., Legorburu Fernnadez, I., Lipnicki, D. M., Idoiaga Mondragon, N., & Santabárbara, J. (2023). Prevalence of burnout among teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a meta-analysis. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(6), 4866. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064866
Pakdee, S., Cheechang, P., Thammanoon, R., Krobpet, S., Piya-amornphan, N., Puangsri, P., Gosselink, R. (2025). Burnout and well-being among higher education teachers: Influencing factors of burnout. BMC Public Health, 25, 1409. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22602
Rahman, M. A., Das, P., Lam, L., et al. (2024). Health and wellbeing of staff working at higher education institutions globally during the post-COVID-19 pandemic period: Evidence from a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 24, 1848. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19365-1
Ueno, A., Curtis, J., & Dennis, C. (2025). Job demands–resources theory extended: Access to university support and negative outcomes among academic researchers. Studies in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2357148
Yu, Q., & Yu, X. (2023). Job burnout among teachers handling English as a foreign language in China: Review and prospects. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1202830. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1202830
Zhang, Q., Li, X., & Gamble, J. H. (2022). Teacher burnout and turnover intention in higher education: The mediating role of job satisfaction and the moderating role of proactive personality. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1076277. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1076277
Dongyan, J., & Mohamad, H. (2025). A Bibliometric Analysis of Research on Teacher Burnout in Higher Education: A Comparative Study of Chinese and Global Literature. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 14(4), 396–415.
Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode