Naslov
Teachers' job commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic – the protective role of motivation for online teaching, digital competencies, and social support in schools

Autori
Huić, Aleksandra ; Burić, Irena ; Parmač Kovačić, Maja

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Current Trends in Psychology 2021 - book of abstracts / - Novi Sad, 2021, 72-73

ISBN
978-86-6065-677-5

Skup
Savremeni trendovi u psihologiji = Current Trends in Psychology

Mjesto i datum
Novi Sad, Srbija, 28.10.2021. - 30.10.2021

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Recenziran

Ključne riječi
teachers ; motivation for online teaching ; job commitment ; social support ; COVID-19

Sažetak
The abrupt switch to online teaching, caused by the first lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, was a potential threat for teachers' occupational well- being. This study investigated possible protective factors for elementary and high-school teachers in this situation. We expected both individual characteristics (teachers' digital competencies) and institutional resources (social support in schools) to play significant roles in explaining teachers' motivation for online teaching, which we expected to in turn predict teachers' job commitment. A total of 1655 elementary and high school teachers (84% women) between 23 and 70 years old (M=42.93 ; SD=9.93), with teaching experience ranging from less than 6 months to 43 years (M=15.70 ; SD=10.30) filled out online questionnaires: Teacher Digital Competencies Scale (designed for the study based on Redecker, 2017 and Paljina-Reinić et al, 2020), Motivation for Online Teaching Questionnaire (adapted from Abos et al, 2018), Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (Pejtersen et al., 2010), Teacher Job Commitment Scale (designed for the study based on TALIS 2018 and Theien et al., 2014). The survey was distributed across 227 Croatian schools, during April and May 2020. In line with expectations, teachers' motivation for online teaching significantly mediated the effects of both digital competencies and social support on teachers' job commitment during the first lockdown. Teachers who reported higher levels of digital competencies had higher levels of intrinsic, and lower levels of extrinsic and amotivation for online teaching. In turn, higher levels of intrinsic motivation were associated with higher job commitment, while higher levels of extrinsic motivation and amotivation were associated with lower job commitment. Motivation for online teaching fully mediated the association between digital competencies and job commitment. Those who reported higher social support from fellow teachers had lower levels of amotivation, and higher levels of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for online teaching. In turn, higher levels of amotivation and extrinsic motivation were associated with lower levels of job commitment, while higher levels of intrinsic motivation were associated with higher job commitment. Results were similar for social support received from the principal, although it seems that principal's support does not affect levels of extrinsic motivation. Motivation for online teaching was only a partial mediator between social support and job commitment. Our findings give important insights into protective factors for teachers' job commitment during the pandemic and highlight motivation for teaching as an important psychological mechanism underlying effects of social context and individual skills on teachers' job commitment.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Psihologija

POVEZANOST RADA