This study explores the relationship between educational practices perceived by high school students and their level of burnout, as defined by emotional exhaustion, cynicism and inadequacy. A total of 287 adolescents (146 girls) aged between 14 and 19 years old (M = 16.08, SD = 1.01) and recruited from a public high school in French-speaking Switzerland completed a questionnaire regarding perceived educational practices and school burnout. Results from path analysis showed that the three dimensions of burnout were negatively associated with certain teacher- and school-related educational practices. More precisely, support for struggling students (ß = -0.24, p < 0.001) as well as teaching time (ß = -0.16, p < 0.05) were predictors of exhaustion (R2 =0.27). Teachers' instructional behavior (ß = -0.22, p < 0.01) and teacher motivation (ß = -0.31, p < 0.001) were predictors of cynicism (R2 = 0.20) and application of rules (ß = -0.21, p < 0.01) predicted inadequacy (R2 = 0.09). These educational practices should be of particular interest when it comes to strengthening the protective role of schools and teachers against school burnout in adolescents.
Keywords: adolescents; educational practices; school burnout; teachers.