scholarly journals Higher Education Teachers’ Subjective Well-being: An Achievement Goal Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raven Rinas ◽  
Markus Dresel ◽  
Martin Daumiller

Research suggests that higher education teachers worldwide experience high levels of stress, burnout, and other adverse experiences due to the challenging nature of their work. To better understand why, under similar conditions, some teachers struggle while others flourish, studies are needed which recognize multiple facets of their subjective well-being (SWB) and explain differences therein using comprehensive theoretical frameworks. From an achievement goal perspective, goals can be expected to underlie differences in one’s emotions, cognitions, and behaviours in achievement contexts. However, this theoretical notion remains largely uninvestigated when it comes to understanding differences in higher education teachers’ SWB. Our research thereby offers a comprehensive overview of the associations between higher education teachers’ achievement goals and, acknowledging the multifaceted nature of SWB, their positive emotions, negative emotions, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction. For international and institutional generalizability, we conducted a study in which 1,338 teachers from three countries (Germany, the USA, and India) and two higher education institution types (research- and teaching-oriented institutions), completed measures of their achievement goals and multifaceted SWB. We found that, invariant across the different countries and higher education institutions, achievement goals were meaningfully and differentially associated with facets of SWB. Notably, mastery approach goals (task approach goals) were adaptively associated with all facets of SWB, while the opposite was found for work avoidance goals. Our findings highlight the relevance of achievement goals for understanding and supporting higher education teachers’ SWB, as well as the importance of employing differentiated and comprehensive perspectives in achievement goal and SWB research.

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 56-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. V. Lyalyuk ◽  
O. R. Tuchina

Educational system is the most important social institution, which provides the development of a personality and frames his/her worldview and the conception of subjective well-being. Despite the large number of studies on the issue of psychological and pedagogical security of educational environment, the sphere of higher education still remains underexplored. The available empiric material has not received sufficient methodological justification and conceptualization. This article aims to provide the conceptualization of the risk category as applied to the educational environment of a higher education institution, as well as empiric investigation of the risks within the educational environment as viewed by applicants and students.Materials and methods. 213 applicants and 547 students of the Kuban State Technological University took part in the survey. The following investigation methods were used: expert assessment, interview, questioning, content analysis, analysis of means method, cluster analysis and factor analysis.Investigation results. Comparative examination of the manifestation degree of risks within the educational environment as viewed by applicants and students of higher education institution showed significant differences in the assessment of risk by these groups of respondents. From the point of view of applicants, the main risks are connected with social and psychological aspects of the educational environment of a higher education institution, relations within student groups and interaction with teachers, as well as with the issues related to the educational management and leisure arrangement. As viewed by the students, the risks within the educational environment include external and social and psychological risk factors, motivating risks and risks arising from the learning process organization and management and the related issues. Applicants’ notion of the risks within the educational environment of a higher education institution was mainly influenced by information they received from media and by the opinion of their relatives and age mates.Consideration and conclusions. It was proved that the applicants’ idea of the risks within the educational environment of a higher education institution is determined by the opinion of people they know personally, however it changes during the process of studying in higher education institution and acquiring their own experience of being within the environment. The investigation results allow creating a model of psychological and pedagogical security within the educational environment of a higher education institution. This model makes it possible to forecast main risks of the educational environment, their development, and evolvement and find solution to them. 


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Chen

This study examined the role that achievement goals may play in predicting subjective well-being, particularly the extra contribution of achievement goals beyond that of personality traits. There were 371 university students from Nanjing, China (mean age = 20.67, SD = 1.30) who participated in the study and reported their achievement goals, the Big Five personality traits, and subjective well-being (including life satisfaction, positive, and negative affect). Results revealed that mastery-approach goals positively and significantly predicted life satisfaction; mastery-approach and performance-approach goals positively, whereas performance-avoidance goals negatively significantly predicted positive affect. When working with the Big Five personality traits, mastery-approach goals and performance-approach goals showed their added contributions to life satisfaction and positive affect, respectively. These results highlight the importance of considering achievement goals when explaining individual differences of subjective well-being as well as the importance of taking subjective well-being into account when understanding the nature of achievement goals.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Lina Martínez ◽  
Valeria Trofimoff ◽  
Isabella Valencia

COVID-19 pandemic is harming many social and economic spheres beyond physical health. The subjective well-being of the population (positive emotions and life satisfaction) and the prevalence of stressors affecting good mental health like worry, depression, and anxiety are increasing worldwide. This analysis presents evidence of subjective well-being and mental health in Colombia, South America, during the current crisis. The data for this analysis comes from an online survey released after one month of quarantine. In total, 941 adults participated in the study. Results show that women are more affected by their well-being and experience more often worry, depression, and anxiety than males. In particular, younger women and from the lower socioeconomic strata. Respondents identify three primary concerns because of the pandemic: i) financial consequences, ii) health (personal and loved one's health), and iii) productivity. Respondents are, on average, more concerned for the health of loved ones than their health. 49% of study participants report having an income reduction as a consequence of the pandemic, but women in all subgroups analyzed are more affected than males. In terms of productivity –working remotely-, educated people, and from 50+ age range, feels more productive working from home. Evidence from this analysis contributes to the broader research of the consequences of COVID-19 on the well-being of the population. Evidence comes from a country in the global South with high population ratings of subjective well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction before the pandemic. 


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Daumiller ◽  
Stefan Janke ◽  
Raven Rinas ◽  
Oliver Dickhäuser ◽  
Markus Dresel

Previous research has successfully used basic psychological need and achievement goal ap-proaches for describing the motivations of university faculty for teaching and for explaining differences in faculty experiences, success, and learning. However, the interplay between these motivational constructs has been largely ignored, with only faculty from specific educational contexts being studied—neglecting those from other higher education systems and institution types that potentially differ in the configurations, levels, and effects of their motivations. As combining both approaches and examining multiple educational contexts is essential for a comprehensive theoretical understanding of faculty motivation and generalizable results, we conducted an international study including 1,410 university faculty members from German, In-dian, and US-American teaching and research universities. Aside from need satisfaction and achievement goals, we measured their positive affect, teaching quality, and professional learn-ing. Results attested measurement invariance of basic need and achievement goal scales regard-ing language, higher education context, and institution type. We found small differences in mo-tivations between the three higher education contexts and negligible differences between institu-tion types. Task, learning, and relational goals were positively, and work avoidance goals were negatively linked to the outcome variables. Need satisfaction sensibly explained differences in pursuit of these goals, and—directly and indirectly through the goals—also the outcome varia-bles. Taken together, these results provide international evidence for the importance of faculty motivation for teaching and illuminate how need satisfaction is relevant for goal pursuit, while both motivation approaches uniquely matter for faculty experiences, success, and learning.


Retos ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 166-172
Author(s):  
Verónica Muñoz-Arroyave ◽  
Pere Lavega-Burgués ◽  
Antoni Costes ◽  
Sabrine Damian ◽  
Jorge Serna

En el contexto educativo, educar competencias emocionales origina unas consecuencias muy positivas en el rendimiento académico y el bienestar subjetivo del alumnado, especialmente si se trabaja desde edades tempranas. La asignatura de educación física dispone de un gran repertorio de recursos pedagógicos para promover una educación física integral, destacando entre ellos el juego motor. El objetivo de este estudio fue desvelar la fuerza predictiva de dos variables asociadas al juego (dominio de acción motriz: juegos psicomotores, de cooperación, de oposición y de cooperación-oposición y competición: presencia o ausencia) sobre la intensidad emocional de los alumnos. Participaron en total 91 estudiantes de educación secundaria de Cataluña con edades entre los 12 y 14 años. Se realizaron ocho sesiones de intervención (un tipo de juego por sesión). Tras la práctica de los juegos, los participantes valoraron su experiencia emocional de 1 a 10 respondiendo el cuestionario validado GES. Para el análisis de los datos se aplicaron dos técnicas estadísticas diferentes pero complementarias: ecuaciones de estimación generalizadas y árboles de clasificación. Entre los principales hallazgos se destaca que: a) a través del juego motor se puede potenciar el desarrollo de las competencias motrices y socio-emocionales; b) El profesor de educación física debería saber que la variable competición asociada al tipo de relaciones en el juego influye en la experiencia de emociones positivas. c) El juego es una fuente de vivencias emocionales positivas, especialmente los juegos cooperativos sin competición. Abstract. In the educational context, forming emotional competences leads to very positive consequences in  academic performance and subjective well-being of the students, especially if it is worked from early ages. Physical education has a large repertoire of pedagogical tools to promote an integral physical education, motor games standing out among them. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive capacity of two characteristics of a game (motor action domain: psychomotor, cooperation, opposition and cooperation-opposition; and competition games: presence or absence) on emotional intensity. A total of 91 high school students from Catalonia participated. Eight 60-minute intervention sessions were conducted with games of the same type in each session. Emotional intensity was assessed at the end of the session using the GES questionnaire. For the data analysis, two statistical techniques were applied: generalized estimation equations and classification trees. The main findings indicated that: a) through motor games, the development of motor and socio-emotional competences can be enhanced; b) Physical education teachers should be aware that the interaction between competition and type of relationships during a game has an influence on experiencing positive emotions; c) games are a source of positive emotional experiences, especially the cooperative, non-competitive ones.


Author(s):  
Vidya S. Athota

This chapter begins by exploring subjective well-being and its origins dating back to ancient thinkers such as Aristotle. It discusses two main forms of subjective well-being; eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. The chapter then delves into the roles of personality, emotional intelligence, positive emotions, economics and religion in influencing subjective well-being. Measures of well-being are discussed as well as the notion of the Hedonic Treadmill and how it operates with the Set-point Theory of happiness. In addition, this chapter also presents the latest research from neuroscience and discusses how neuroscience potentially challenges personality and set-point theories. A few practical steps for subjective well-being are also discussed. Overall, this chapter covers the historical and contemporary theories of subjective well-being and explores a new positive direction on the association of personality, health and subjective well-being.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-114
Author(s):  
Divya Pradeep ◽  
K. C. Adaina ◽  
Sonia Kahmei

This paper explores the quality of life and subjective well-being of north-east migrant workers engaged in various formal and informal jobs in Bangalore. The composite well-being index reveals moderate well-being for the majority of workers. The disaggregated analysis, however, shows poor material conditions of life. Using the Day Reconstruction Method, we also find positive emotions associated with activities such as socialising but negative emotions for work and commuting. With respect to interacting partners, the negative emotions were highest while dealing with clients and customers. We also found positive correlations between life satisfaction and quality of life indicators, most strongly, with job quality. Lower quality of jobs, reported by women in comparison to men, suggests that organisations should aim to create more equal and enabling work spaces for all genders.


Author(s):  
Mei-Yin Kuan ◽  
Jiun-Hao Wang ◽  
Yu-Chang Liou ◽  
Li-Pei Peng

Most of the studies on subjective well-being have focused on positive emotions. The adverse effect of negative emotions on mental health has been overlooked. This study investigates the extent to which specific life perceptions are associated with emotional profiles, and explores relevant factors that effectively enhance subjective well-being. The data were drawn from 4656 respondents in the 2015 National Well-being Indicators Survey in Taiwan. T-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and ordinary least squares regression were conducted. The results reveal that perceptions of all life domains are positively associated with life satisfaction and happiness. Depression and worry are negatively associated with most of the life perceptions, except for environmental quality. These results demonstrate that the emotional profile approach sheds light on current literature on subjective well-being, and suggests that strategies to increase well-being should take positive and negative emotion into account simultaneously. The findings contribute by confirming which life domains can produce the best or worst outcomes in emotional regulation and positively influence mental health. Given that personal safety and the future security of external types is the most crucial factor within the emotional profiles, social welfare and protection programs would be an important strategy to increase subjective well-being.


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