Teachers’ well-being: the role of social support and organizational dimensions

Journal title PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Author/s Veronica Velasco, Massimo Miglioretti, Corrado Celata, Luca Vecchio
Publishing Year 2013 Issue 2013/2
Language Italian Pages 19 P. 52-70 File size 401 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2013-002005
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

This study aims to investigate the relation between individual and organizational demands and resources and well-being in a group of teachers. 209 teachers (mean age = 47.49, 80% female) from 201 middle and high schools of the Lombardy Region were asked to complete a questionnaire on the socio-personal and school characteristics, like perception of working conditions like student discipline management, relationship to families, job overload, principal support and teamwork with other teachers; burnout, engagement and job satisfaction. A path analysis highlighted that two dimensions of burnout and engagement are strongly influenced by the quality of the relationship with the principal. Management of student disciplinary problems seems to weakly influence the levels of burnout or engagement. Moreover, support from the principal and family affected job satisfaction, mediated by burnout and engagement. Results underscore the need to care of teacherwell-being by means of an organizational approach that takes into account the individual and contextual resources, the relational aspects and the management of the school as an integrated system. Among these resources, the role of the principal seems to be particularly important.

Keywords: Secondary school teachers, well-being, work conditions, school principal

  1. Bakker A.B., Demerouti E., de Boer E. and Schaufeli W.B. (2003). Job demands and job resources as predictors of absence duration and frequency. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 62: 341-356. DOI: 10.1016/S0001-8791(02)00030-
  2. Balducci C., Fraccaroli F. and Schaufeli W. (2010). Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). A Cross-Cultural Analysis. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 26 (2): 143-149. DOI: 10.1027/1015-5759/a00002
  3. Black-Branch J.L. (1996). The consequences of teaching and job satisfaction: federation/union, remunerations, and career development, the most important factors. Journal of Collective Negotiations in the Public Sector, 25: 247-269.
  4. Borg M.G. and Riding R.J. (1991). Occupational stress and satisfaction in teaching. British Educational Research Journal, 17: 263-281. DOI: 10.1080/014119291017030
  5. Boyle G.J., Borg M.G., Falzon J.M. and Baglioni A.J. (1995). A structural model of the dimensions of teacher stress. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 65: 49-67. DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1995.tb01130.
  6. Cavalli A. (2000). Gli insegnanti a fronte del cambiamento – Seconda indagine IARD sul corpo insegnante della scuola italiana [Teachers in view of change – Second IARD survey on teaching staff of Italian schools]. Bologna: Il Mulino.
  7. Chen W. (2007). The structure of secondary school teacher job satisfaction and its relationship with attrition and work enthusiasm. Chinese Education and Society, 40 (5): 17-31. DOI: 10.2753/CED1061-193240050
  8. Christian M.S., Garza A.S. and Slaughter J.E. (2011). Work engagement: a quantitative review and test of its relations with task and contextual performance. Personnel Psychology, 64: 89-136. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-6570.2010.01203.
  9. Cortese C.G. e Cervai S. (2008). La soddisfazione lavorativa [Job satisfaction]. In: Argentero P., Cortese C.G. e Piccardo C., a cura di, Psicologia del lavoro [Work psychology]. Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
  10. Crocco M.S. and Costigan A.T. (2007). The narrowing of curriculum and pedagogy in the age of accountability. Urban educators speak out. Urban Education, 42: 512-535. DOI: 10.1177/004208590730496
  11. Currie C., Zanotti C., Morgan A., Currie D., de Looze M., Roberts C., Samdal O., Smith O.R.F. and Barnekow V. (2012). Social determinants of health and well-being among young people. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study: international report from the 2009/2010 survey. Copenhagen, WHO Regional Office for Europe (Health Policy for Children and Adolescents, No. 6).
  12. Demerouti E., Bakker A.B., Nachreiner F. and Schaufeli W.B. (2001). The Job Demands – Resources Model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86: 499-512. DOI: 10.1037//0021-9010.86.3.49
  13. Nagy M.S. (2002). Using a single-item approach to measure facet job satisfaction. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75: 77-86. DOI: 10.1348/09631790216765
  14. Gazzetta Ufficiale (1993). Decreto Legislativo 3 febbraio 1993, n. 29. Razionalizzazione della organizzazione delle Amministrazioni pubbliche e revisione della disciplina in materia di pubblico impiego. [Legislative decree 3rd of February 1993, n. 29. Rationalization of the Public Agencies organizations and revision of regulations on public employment].
  15. Gazzetta Ufficiale (1998). Decreto Legislativo 6 marzo 1998, n. 59. Disciplina della qualifica dirigenziale dei capi di istituto delle istituzioni scolastiche autonome. [Legislative decree 6th of March 1998, n. 59. Regulation of the managerial position of autonomous schools principals]
  16. Gazzetta Ufficiale (2001). Decreto Legislativo 30 marzo 2001, n. 165. Norme generali sull’ordinamento del lavoro alle dipendenze delle amministrazioni pubbliche. [Legislative decree 30th of March 2001, n. 165. General rules on the organization of employment by the Public Agencies]
  17. Gray G., Young I. and Barnekow V. (2006). Developing a health-promoting school. A practical resource for developing effective partnerships in school health, based on the experience of the European Network of Health Promoting Schools. European Network of Health Promoting Schools. http://www.schoolsforhealth.eu/upload/Developingahealthpromotingschool.pdf
  18. Hakanen J.J., Bakker A.B. and Schaufeli W.B. (2006). Burnout and work engagement among teachers. Journal of School Psychology, 43: 495-513. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsp.2005.11.00
  19. Hargreaves A. (2003). Teaching in the knowledge society: Education in the age of insecurity. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
  20. Hu L. and Bentler P.M. (1999). Cut-off criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6: 1-55. DOI: 10.1080/1070551990954011
  21. Ingersoll R.M. (2001). Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: an organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 38: 499-534. DOI: 10.3102/0002831203800349
  22. Kinnunen U., Parkatti T. and Rasku A. (1994). Occupational well-being among aging teachers in Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 38: 315-332. DOI: 10.1080/003138394038031
  23. Kokkinos C.M. (2007). Job stressors, personality and burnout in primary school teachers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77: 229-243. DOI: 10.1348/000709905X9034
  24. Koustelios A., Karabatzaki D. and Kouisteliou I. (2004). Autonomy and job satisfaction for a sample of Greek teachers. Psychological Reports, 95: 883-886. DOI: 10.2466/pr0.95.3.883-88
  25. Kyriacou C. (2001). Teacher stress: Directions for future research. Educational Review, 53: 28-35. DOI: 10.1080/0013191012003362
  26. Lindqvist P. and Nordänger U.K. (2006). Who dares to disconnect in the age of uncertainty? Teachers’ recesses and “off-the-clock” work. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 12: 623–637. DOI: 10.1080/1354060060102963
  27. Locke E.A. (1976). The nature and cause of job satisfaction. In: Dunnette M.D., editor, Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Chicago, Illinois: Rand McNally, pp. 1293-1349.
  28. Maslach C. and Jackson S.E. (1981). MBI: Maslach Burnout Inventory. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.
  29. Maslach C., Jackson S.E. and Leiter M.P. (1996). Maslach burnout inventory manual. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.
  30. Monaghan F., McCoy M., Young I. and Fraser M. (1997). Time for teachers: the design and evaluation of a personal development course for teachers. Health Education Journal, 56: 64-71. DOI: 10.1177/00178969970560010
  31. Pearson L.C. and Moomaw W. (2006). Continuing validation of the Teacher Autonomy Scale. Journal of Educational Research, 100: 44-51. DOI: 10.3200/JOER.100.1.44-5
  32. Peeters M.A.G. and Rutte C.G. (2005). Time management behaviour as a moderator for the job demand–control interaction. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology & Health, 10: 64-75. DOI: 10.1037/1076-8998.10.1.6
  33. Pisanti R., Gagliardi M.P., Razzino S. and Bertini M. (2003). Occupational stress and wellness among Italian secondary school teachers. Psychology & Health, 18 (4): 523-536. DOI: 10.1080/088704403100014724
  34. Preacher K.J. and Hayes A. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling methods for estimating and comparing indirect effects. Behavior Research Methods, 40: 879-891. DOI: 10.3758/BRM.40.3.87
  35. Rudow B. (1999). Stress and burnout in the teaching profession: European studies, issues, and research perspectives. In: Huberman A.M., editor, Understanding and preventing teacher burnout: A sourcebook of international research and practice. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 38-58.
  36. Schaufeli W.B. and Bakker A.B. (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: a multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25: 293-315. DOI: 10.1002/job.24
  37. Schaufeli W.B. and Bakker A.B. (2003). Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Preliminary Manual. Occupational Health Psychology Unit, Utrecht University
  38. Schaufeli W.B., Bakker A.B. and Salanova M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66: 701–716. DOI: 10.1177/001316440528247
  39. Schaufeli W., Salanova M., Gonzalez-Roma V. and Bakker A.B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. The Journal of Happiness Studies, 3: 71-92. DOI: 10.1023/A:101563093032
  40. Simbula S. and Guglielmi D. (2011). A three-wave study of job resources, self-efficacy, and work engagement among Italian schoolteachers. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 20 (3): 285-304. DOI: 10.1080/1359432090351391
  41. Sirigatti S. and Stefanile C. (1993). MBI-Maslach Burnout Inventory: Adattamento italiano [MBIMaslach Burnout Inventory: Italian adaptation]. Firenze: Organizzazioni Speciali.
  42. Skaalvik E.M. and Skaalvik S. (2007). Dimensions of Teacher Self-Efficacy and Relations With Strain Factors, Perceived collective Teacher Efficay, and Teacher Burnout. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99 (3): 611-625. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.99.3.61
  43. Skaalvik E.M. and Skaalvik S. (2008). Teacher Self-Efficacy: Conceptual Analysis and Relations wich Teacher Burnout and Perceived School Context. In: Marsh H.W., Craven R. and McInerney D., editors, Self-processes, Learning, and Enabling Human Potential. Connecticut: Information Age Publishing, pp. 223-247.
  44. Skaalvik E.M. and Skaalvik S. (2009). Does school context matter? Relations with teacher burnout
  45. and job satisfaction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25: 518-524. DOI: 10.1016/j.tate.2008.12.00
  46. Skaalvik E.M. and Skaalvik S. (2010). Teacher self-efficacy and teacher burn-out: A study of relations. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26 (4): 1059-1069. DOI: 10.1016/j.tate.2009.11.00
  47. Stoeber J. and Rennert D. (2008). Perfectionism in school teachers: relations with stress appraisals, coping styles, and burnout. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 21: 37-53. DOI: 10.1080/1061580070174246
  48. Van den Berg R. (2002). Teachers’ meaning regarding educational practice. Review of Educational Research, 72: 577-625. DOI: 10.3102/0034654307200457
  49. Velasco V. e Celata C. (2008). Indagine sui bisogni delle scuole secondarie di I grado. Report di ricerca per il Comune di Milano – DG sanità [Investigation on Middle schools needitors Research report for the Comune di Milano – DG Sanità]. ASL di Milano, Attività Prevenzione Specifica.
  50. Velasco V., Miglioretti M., Celata C. e Vecchio L. (2012). Il benessere degli insegnanti e le loro rappresentazioni di promozione della salute [Teachers’ well-being and their representations about health promotion]. Psicologia dell’educazione, 7 (1): 97-121.
  51. Verhoeven C., Makes S., Kraaij V. and Joekes K. (2003). The Job Demand-Control-Social Support model and wellness/health outcomes: a European study. Psychology and Health, 18 (4):421-440. DOI: 10.1080/088704403100014717
  52. Wanous J.P., Reichers A.E. and Hudy M.J. (1997). Overall job satisfaction: How good are singleitem measures? Journal of Applied Psychology, 82: 247-252. DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.82.2.24
  53. Zurlo M.C., Pes D. and Cooper C.L. (2007). Stress in teaching: a study of occupational stress and its determinants among Italian schoolteachers. Stress and Health, 23: 231-241. DOI: 10.1002/smi.114

  • Feeling Guilty or Not Guilty. Identifying Burnout Profiles among Italian Teachers Gloria Guidetti, Sara Viotti, Pedro R. Gil-Monte, Daniela Converso, in Current Psychology /2018 pp.769
    DOI: 10.1007/s12144-016-9556-6
  • Organizational Climate and Teachers’ Morale: Developing a Specific Tool for the School Context – A Research Project in Italy Daniela Converso, Michela Cortini, Gloria Guidetti, Giorgia Molinengo, Ilaria Sottimano, Sara Viotti, Barbara Loera, in Frontiers in Psychology 2132/2019
    DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02132
  • Unmasking Reflexivity in HR Managers During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy Silvio Carlo Ripamonti, Laura Galuppo, Giulia Provasoli, Angelo Benozzo, in Frontiers in Psychology 588128/2020
    DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.588128
  • Teacher Satisfaction in Relationships With Students and Parents and Burnout Maria Luisa Pedditzi, Marcello Nonnis, Eraldo Francesco Nicotra, in Frontiers in Psychology 703130/2021
    DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.703130
  • A Qualitative Study on Representations of Intellectual and Relational Capital Among a Group of Managers in an Italian Trade-Union Silvio Carlo Ripamonti, Laura Galuppo, Sara Petrilli, Angelo Benozzo, in Frontiers in Psychology 641584/2021
    DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.641584
  • Multiple Health Behavior Programs in School Settings: Strategies to Promote Transfer-of-Learning Through Life Skills Education Veronica Velasco, Corrado Celata, Kenneth W. Griffin, in Frontiers in Public Health 716399/2021
    DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.716399

Veronica Velasco, Massimo Miglioretti, Corrado Celata, Luca Vecchio, Il benessere degli insegnanti: il ruolo del supporto sociale e delle dimensioni organizzative in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 2/2013, pp 52-70, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2013-002005