Influence of elementary school teachers’ perceived work environment on teaching effectiveness mediated by collective and personal teacher efficacy : An application of multi-group analysis across teaching career

Purpose: We aimed to explore and compare generalist and physical education (PE) specialist (males and females) elementary teachers’ self-efficacy to teach and the barriers perceived when teaching PE. Methods: Canadian elementary school teachers completed the validated online survey, Teacher Efficacy Scale in PE, with 11 additional questions examining the perceived strength of barriers related to teaching quality PE. Results: Specialist teachers’ self-efficacy (n = 296) was significantly higher (p < .05) than that of generalist teachers (n = 818). Gender was found to predict teachers’ self-efficacy, with female generalists reporting the lowest scores on the Teacher Efficacy Scale in PE. There was a statistically significant difference between the perceived strength of nine out of the 11 listed barriers, with generalist teachers reporting barriers as more inhibitory than specialists. Discussion/Conclusion: This study highlights the gap between generalists’ and specialists’ self-efficacy to teach and the perceived barriers when teaching PE. Efforts specifically targeted to supporting female generalists teaching PE are necessary.

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Health and Work Environment among Female and Male Swedish Elementary School Teachers—A Cross-Sectional Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17010227 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 227 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Maria Boström ◽

Christina Björklund ◽

Gunnar Bergström ◽

Lotta Nybergh ◽

Liselotte Schäfer Elinder ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Elementary School ◽

Elementary School Teachers ◽

Work Environment ◽

Safety Climate ◽

Common Mental Disorders ◽

High Stress ◽

Male Teachers ◽

School Teachers ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

High Work

Background and objectives: Changes in teachers’ work situation in Sweden since the 1990s may have contributed to an increase in common mental disorders (CMDs) and burnout. However, there is a lack of research in this field. The aim was to describe how Swedish elementary school teachers experience their health, organizational and social work environment, and the psychosocial safety climate at the workplace, and especially differences and similarities between female and male teachers. Materials and methods: Data were collected with the COPSOQ, OLBI, UWES and PSC-12 from 478 elementary teachers, 81.0% of them women, from twenty schools. The response rate was 96.4%. Results: Teachers reported relatively good general health but experienced high stress, high work pace and emotional demands, low influence at work and a poor psychosocial safety climate. These factors were especially prominent among female teachers. Both women and men experienced good development possibilities and high work engagement. Conclusions: The results of this study can help us to develop a more sustainable work environment for female and male teachers. A more sustainable work environment might attract more people to the profession and incentivize existing teachers to remain in the profession.

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