Explaining attrition and decreased effectiveness of experienced teachers: A research synthesis

Improving work life balance among female educationists during the COVID-19 lockdown

BACKGROUND

The entire education industry switched from offline to online modes as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Numerous teachers who were diagnosed with musculoskeletal, psychological, and other neurodegenerative diseases have reported increased exhaustion, lack of sleep, a decline in quality of life (QoL), a decrease in physical activity, and excessive stress from online classes during the COVID-19 lockdown, especially women.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of three-modal exercise on fatigue, sleep, QoL as well as to determine the relationship between age, disease severity, disease stage and working years with women diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD).

METHODS

In this randomized controlled trial, 44 female educators in stages I-II with PD who were between the ages of 40 and 60 volunteered. For a total of 36 sessions over the course of six weeks, Group A received a three-modal fitness program through online video sessions, whereas Group B received Nordic walking. The outcome measures included the Fatigue Severity Scale, Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale, and Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire-39.

RESULTS

Age, Hoehn and Yahr scale, working years, and PD in years did not correlate with each other (p > 0.50). The three-modal exercise experimental Group A showed statistically significant improvement in QoL (p 0.001), sleep (p 0.001), and fatigue (p 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Women in the field of education who participated in a three-modal exercise programme for PD reported a significant improvement in their level of exhaustion, sleep patterns, and quality of life.

Teachers Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Goal Conflicts Affect Teaching Motivation Mediated by Basic Need Satisfaction

Teaching is a highly demanding profession that requires handling multiple and potentially contradictory goals. Therefore, it is likely that teachers experience conflict between work-related goals on a daily basis. Intraindividual goal conflict may occur when individuals pursue multiple goals drawing on the same limited resources (resource-based goal conflict), or when two or more goals are incompatible in terms of goal attainment strategy or desired end states (inherent goal conflict). Because goal conflict is typically associated with negative effects such as attenuated motivation and wellbeing, teacher goal conflict may jeopardize teaching motivation. This cross-sectional study investigated the effects of in-service teachers' (N = 302) goal conflicts on their autonomous (intrinsic and identified regulation) and controlled (introjected and extrinsic regulation) teaching motivation and tested the satisfaction of teachers' basic need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness as mediators. In line with our hypotheses, results from structural equation modeling showed that frequently experiencing resource-based goal conflict leads to a lower satisfaction of the basic need for autonomy, which, however, was unrelated to teaching motivation. In contrast, frequently experiencing inherent goal conflict attenuates the satisfaction of the basic need for competence, which, in turn, positively predicted autonomous teaching motivation and negatively predicted extrinsic regulation. As expected, relatedness was not associated with the experience of goal conflict. The discussion focuses on differential effects of the two types of goal conflict on teaching motivation and on the relevance to expand research on teachers' intraindividual goal conflicts.

The Interactive Effects of Personal Resources on Teachers' Work Engagement and Withdrawal Intentions: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

This research contributes to the current knowledge on teacher well-being by examining an integrated model with a personal resource (i.e., emotional intelligence) explaining teacher withdrawal intention through a mediator (i.e., work engagement) and considering the moderator effect of a second personal resource (i.e., teacher self-efficacy) in this relationship. Adopting a cross-sectional design, a total of 702 teachers (63.2% female) working at different educational levels took part in this study. The results showed that emotional intelligence and teacher self-efficacy were positively related to work engagement and negatively related to withdrawal intentions. Most importantly, the results demonstrated support for the hypothesized model-that is, teacher self-efficacy moderated the relationship between emotional intelligence and work engagement. Taken together, our findings highlight both emotional intelligence and teacher self-efficacy as positive individual resources for increased work engagement and reduced withdrawal intentions. This study has implications for the development of intervention programs aiming at increasing occupational well-being in educational settings.

The relations between Principal support and work engagement and burnout: Testing the role of teachers' emotions and educational level

BACKGROUND

One of the resources that may prevent burnout and foster the work engagement of teachers is Principal support. In this study we aimed to further explore the links between Principal support and work engagement and burnout, by testing the role of the teachers' emotions and the educational levels of primary schools.

OBJECTIVES

Testing 1) the mediating role of teachers' emotions in explaining the relationship between perceived Principal support and work engagement and burnout, 2) differences in tested constructs, and the structural equivalence of the proposed relationship among constructs, between teachers from two educational levels of primary schools.

METHODS

The study included subsamples of 868 class teachers (lower grades) and 1057 subject teachers (upper grades) employed at 104 primary schools in Croatia. Teachers filled out self-report scales measuring burnout, work engagement, perceived Principal support and the positive and negative emotions experienced in relation to students.

RESULTS

Emotions partially mediate the relationship between perceived Principal support and work engagement and burnout among teachers. Although class teachers experience higher levels of positive emotions and work engagement compared to subject teachers, the results confirmed the structural equivalence of the hypothesized model across two education levels of primary school.

CONSLUSION

The Principal support predicts work engagement and burnout in teachers both directly and indirectly via emotions.

If it isn't finished at five, then I'll continue until it is. A qualitative study of work pressure among employees in vocational education

BACKGROUND

Prolonged work pressure can contribute to burnout. The Job-Demands Resources model (the health impairment process and the roles of job and personal resources in it) provides a framework for studying work pressure.

OBJECTIVE

The study aims were to understand the experiences of employees in the career services and a teaching department of a school for vocational education regarding the following: A) work pressure; B) its negative consequences; and C) how job resources and D) personal resources play a role in the employees' experience of work pressure or in helping to cope with it.

METHODS

A qualitative study based on 11 in-depth interviews with teachers (5) and supporting personnel (6) was performed at a Dutch organization for vocational education. The interviews were analyzed interpretatively.

RESULTS

A) The teachers and supporting personnel generally experienced work pressure, which had both qualitative and quantitative aspects. B) The consequences included working overtime and lower job performance. Factors such as autonomy and social support from colleagues were C) job resources, and moving from idealism towards realism was D) a personal resource.

CONCLUSIONS

Both the teachers and supporting personnel who were interviewed experienced work pressure and its related consequences, as well as job and personal resources. Work pressure may threaten the sustainable employability of these employees.