engleski

Work orientations and well/ill-being of elementary school teachers

Since, according to recent studies in positive psychology, well-being of teachers is important factor in their effectiveness it would be worth finding out what contributes to teachers’ well- being. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between teachers’ work orientations and their well-being and ill-being. The sample comprised 295 classroom teachers and 259 subject elementary school teachers from Zagreb area. In order to measure teachers’ well-being and ill-being, the following instruments were used: The Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985), Job Satisfaction - Single Item Scale (Scarpello & Campbell, 1983), Emotional Exhaustion (Maslach et al., 1996), Positive and Negative Affective Schedule (Watson et al., 1988). Teachers' work orientations were measured using the modified University of Pennsylvania Work–Life Questionnaire (Wrzesniewski et al., 1997). MANCOVA results showed that class teachers were more satisfied with their work, less emotionally exhausted, approached work more frequently as calling and career, and less frequently solely as a mean of financial security. The results of hierarchical regression analysis suggested that calling orientation was significant positive, and job orientation significant negative predictor of well-being, while opposite was found for ill- being. It was concluded that calling orientation can increase psychological well-being and decrease ill-being. On the other hand, job orientation (work just for financial security) can increase ill-being and decrease well-being. Results of present study could have practical implications for teacher education and professional counseling.

class teachers and subject teachers ; ill-being; well-being ; work orientations

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