Burnout is a major issue in education because it often causes teachers to resign (Madigan and Kim, 2021). In special education, the phenomenon of leaving the profession or turning to general education is particularly elevated (Billingsley and Bettini, 2019). Burnout rates are significantly higher among special education teachers (Robinson et al., 2019). Current research has identified emotional intelligence (EI) as one of the protective factors against burnout and also for reducing teachers’ intention to leave (Mérida-López et al., 2020).

By definition, burnout results from accumulated stress at work leading to severe physical and mental exhaustion (Freudenberger, 1974). According to Maslach and Jackson (1981), burnout consists of three components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal growth. Teacher burnout levels are influenced by age, gender, number of hours per week of instruction, and family background (Bianchi et al., 2021). Teachers in special education face daily stressors such as challenging working conditions, insufficient support from the government (Antoniou et al., 2009), and challenging behaviors of their students (Aloe et al., 2014). As a result, burnout can be expressed early, which has a significant impact on health, wellbeing, and performance (Conley and You, 2017; Pavlidou et al., 2022). Once one develops the necessary resilience, positive strategies can eliminate the negative effects of stress (Martínez-Monteagudo et al., 2019). Thus, developing emotional intelligence can help reduce teacher burnout (Puertas Molero et al., 2019).

Respectively, EI is the ability of a person to acknowledge, regulate, express, and reason his feelings as well as a person’s capability of recognizing differentiating, and understanding other people’s emotions through their behavior (Salovey and Mayer, 1990). It consists of four basic elements which include affectivity, self-regulation, emotional wellbeing, and extraversion (Petrides and Furnham, 2001). EI has been demonstrated to be associated with better social interaction (Macula, 2017), leadership skills (Gómez-Leal et al., 2022), improved teaching (Wu et al., 2019), and enhanced mental wellbeing (Puertas Molero et al., 2019). The question of whether EI comprises abilities or personality traits has been controversial (Mayer et al., 2001; Petrides and Furnham, 2001).

Daily, special education teachers need to use their EI to understand contextual signals and determine the most suitable emotions and responses. Platsidou (2010) indicated that special education Greek teachers exhibited relatively high scores in both the distinct components and the overall EI. The perceived EI demonstrated a significant correlation with burnout syndrome. This suggests that teachers with higher EI exhibited reduced burnout. High levels of EI are associated with low levels of burnout in special education teachers and this relationship does not seem to be influenced by gender, qualification, and experience (Al-Bawaliz et al., 2015).

One factor that appears to relate to teachers’ burnout is self-efficacy. It can be referred to as a person’s belief in his or her capability to organize and execute actions that are necessary for the attainment of certain goals (Bandura, 1977). With time, this belief is shaped by experience and through interaction with others. Consequently, it influences an individual’s decisions, efforts, behavior, resilience as well as strategies employed when handling challenges and setbacks (Schunk and Meece, 2006). Teaching effectiveness in contrast to personal teaching efficacy includes the belief that teachers know that they can motivate students who are considered difficult. This concept differs from general teaching competence whereby it involves elements such as organizational systems or family support and socio-economic background and refers to how teachers see themselves (Kamboj and Garg, 2021).

Teachers who have a strong belief in their abilities (self-efficacy) tend to experience higher levels of job satisfaction and lower levels of professional burnout (Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2010). Such teachers are more likely to utilize supportive strategies when dealing with challenging behavior from children with special educational needs and disabilities in inclusive classrooms (Almog and Shechtman, 2007). Additionally, research has shown that self-efficacy is a significant predictor of professional burnout in teachers working in inclusive education settings (Cappe et al., 2017). The relationship between teacher self-efficacy and burnout is a major area of study (Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2017).

Another factor that seems to reduce teachers’ burnout is mental resilience (Burić et al., 2019). According to Sun et al. (2014), resilience consists of five factors namely willpower, family support, optimism and self-confidence, problem-solving, and interpersonal interaction. Resilience has been studied in relation to both burnout and emotional intelligence. It seems to be positively associated with emotional intelligence (López-Angulo et al., 2022) and negatively with burnout. It may also mediate the relationship between affective intelligence and burnout (Kamboj and Garg, 2021), which may lend it a role as a protective factor against burnout (De Vera and Gabar, 2020). Resilient teachers can regulate feelings while facing challenges that cause burnout (Zhang and Luo, 2023), such as provoking student behavior, demanding working conditions, or difficult parents (Li et al., 2019; Sideridis and Alghamdi, 2023). Also, they are more adaptive, resourceful, and optimistic, which allows them to address issues as they arise, rather than let them overwhelm them (Kangas-Dick and O’Shaughnessy, 2020). They often rely on their families and social interactions for support, wellbeing, and relaxation (Muller et al., 2011, p. 553).

Recapitulating, it can be argued that teacher burnout is a concept that is influenced by many factors, such as emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, and mental resilience. The way of studying the relationship between these variables in most cases followed the logic of a linear correlation. However, in cases of multifactorial concepts, the approach of other, non-linear models could perhaps better describe the phenomena. Sometimes, predictions are limited with a simple straight line- model. Therefore, in this research, an attempt is made to study the relationship between emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, mental resilience, and burnout by applying a non-linear model, specifically the cusp catastrophe model.

Specifically, Zeeman (1977) set the theoretical framework for the cusp catastrophe model in 1977. It has been used in various fields to explain unpredicted changes in variables’ correlations (Guastello, 2001; Stamovlasis and Tsaparlis, 2012). The tipping point or cusp of the model denotes the point where an abrupt change occurs in one or more variables causing a reversal of the expected path of a dependent variable. The model graph is a curved surface with many dimensions. Usually, the change is described as a discontinuity, it is abrupt and unexpected. The appropriate application of the cusp catastrophe model from the Nonlinear Dynamical Systems theory can successfully describe social systems and predict reversals and disturbances in the smooth evolution of a phenomenon with relatively simple underlying dynamics (Chen and Chen, 2017).

In this study, the cusp catastrophe model is used to explore the relationship between EI and special teachers’ burnout. It is expected to provide a better fit than the linear or logistic model. Secondly, it is hypothesized that EI, resilience, and burnout would have a negative correlation with burnout.

In the present research, the relationship between emotional intelligence and burnout in special education teachers in Greece was studied, using the cusp catastrophe model. According to the research results, the model provided the best fit, when compared to the quadratic and the linear models. Based on the analysis, EI had a significant influence on burnout among special education teachers in Greece. Specifically, EI was negatively correlated with burnout. However, when EI increased beyond a certain point, burnout unexpectedly increased. The cusp catastrophe model best describes this phenomenon.

EI is considered a protective factor against burnout. Many studies have confirmed that as teachers develop their EI, the possibility of developing burnout decreases (Martínez-Monteagudo et al., 2019; Mérida-López and Extremera, 2017; Zysberg et al., 2017). This negative correlation was noted in this study, too. However, our study found that the relationship between EI and burnout was not linear. The cusp catastrophe model indicated a crucial point where an EI increase led to a burnout increase instead of a decrease. This could indicate that, in a way, teachers had reversed the beneficial effect of EI on burnout.

Though high EI can usually help people handle emotions and interpersonal relationships, it is not immune to causing stress due to excessive empathy (Davis and Nichols, 2016). Sentimentality had a significant effect on special education teachers’ burnout, as shown by the cusp model analysis. Sentimentality expresses the ability of people to understand their own and others’ feelings, to express emotions, and to use emotions to build and maintain close relationships (Petrides and Furnham, 2001). However, it is very difficult for teachers to constantly manage contradictory emotions, experience empathetic distress and sentimental tiredness, or even role conflict, in demanding or stressful environments such as special education classes (Bianchi et al., 2021; Wink et al., 2021). This means that these teachers might be so attached emotionally and mentally to students that they overextend themselves thereby developing burnout over time. Emotionally perceptive people can be more strongly affected by stress (Ciarrochi et al., 2002). Striking a balance between empathy and self-care is essential for preventing burnout.

As to the other findings of the study, all hypotheses were confirmed. As hypothesized, teachers’ self-efficacy correlated negatively to burnout. This is a common finding in research, as teachers who believe in their abilities are protected against burnout (Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2010). Another factor that had a negative relationship with burnout, was mental resilience. That was also a finding that is often noted in the literature (Burić et al., 2019; De Vera and Gabar, 2020). Resilient teachers find the means to compress job stressors, overcome difficulties, and find solutions (Kangas-Dick and O’Shaughnessy, 2020).

A contradiction in the results was noted between teaching experience, age, and burnout. Teaching experience had a positive impact on burnout, suggesting that experienced teachers could develop a greater level of burnout in comparison to novice ones. This may seem contradictory to the fact that, according to the results, teachers’ age was negatively correlated to burnout. One can assume that older teachers have more teaching experience than younger ones. Although this seems like a paradox, there is an explanation. In Greece, teachers’ age doesn’t always go along with teaching experience. Many teachers are appointed to schools at an advanced age, after having experienced periods of unemployment or reduced employment as substitutes. However, teaching experience and age have been both negatively and positively associated with burnout, in research (Antoniou et al., 2006; Bianchi et al., 2021; Maslach et al., 2001).

Special education settings require teachers to manage unexpected situations and face emotional difficulties. EI offers a means of handling stress and promoting resilience (Begum et al., 2024). Teachers with high levels of EI can identify emotional triggers as well as find constructive ways of managing emotions that benefit learners. If one develops the necessary coping skills, positive mechanisms can neutralize stress’s negative effects. The cusp catastrophe model, in the current research, demonstrated that there is a fragile balance between caring and caring too much. Teachers could benefit from educational programs that help them to develop emotional intelligence skills in a way that they improve the recognition and regulation of emotions and do not allow over-whelming or empathetic distress.

In-service programs for teachers could include training in EI. This training can be used to help teachers develop their self-awareness and control, empathy, and effective communication skills, which are all main parts of emotional intelligence (Pozo-Rico et al., 2023). Special education teachers with high EI can be more aware of their stress levels, understand their students’ emotions, and adopt strategies that would help them deal with stressful situations appropriately. They also could learn to regulate sentimentality and not let themselves be overwhelmed by emotions.

Support against stress can also come from family, peer groups, and school administration. Schools may implement wellness initiatives built on principles of EI with a focus on promoting a self-care culture among teachers. It can include strategies for self-control, stress management as well as resilience that may be obtained by a teacher. In schools where self-care is valued and supported, burnout can be prevented, thereby ensuring the teacher’s overall wellbeing.