Self-efficacy, reflection, and resilience as predictors of work engagement among English teachers

The interplay of self-efficacy, grit, and metacognition in shaping work engagement among EFL teachers: a comparative study of Mainland China and Hong Kong

This study investigates the relationships among teacher self-efficacy, grit, metacognition, and work engagement among secondary school English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in mainland China and Hong Kong. Utilizing a purposive sampling method, 592 teachers from diverse educational settings participated in the study. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the data, revealing that both self-efficacy and grit significantly predict work engagement, with teaching metacognition serving as a mediator in these relationships. Notably, the impact of self-efficacy on work engagement was stronger in Hong Kong, while grit exhibited a more pronounced indirect effect through metacognition in the same region. These findings underscore the importance of fostering self-efficacy and grit, alongside enhancing metacognitive practices, to bolster teacher engagement. The study highlights cultural and systemic factors that influence these dynamics, providing insights for developing targeted professional development programs and supportive educational policies tailored to different cultural contexts.

The association between teachers' positive instructional emotions and job performance: Work engagement as a mediator

This study investigated the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between teachers' positive instructional emotions and job performance in the Turkish educational system. Using a cross-sectional design, a sample of 413 preschool to high school teachers completed an online survey measuring their instructional emotions, engagement, and job performance. The results suggested that teachers' positive instructional emotions significantly predicted both their job performance (β = 0.29; p˂0.001) and work engagement (β = 0.66; p˂0.001). Work engagement was a significant predictor of job performance (β = 0.46; p˂0.001) and mediated the relationship between positive instructional emotions and job performance (BootLLC = 0.23 and BootULCI = 0.37; BootSE = 0.04; Effect = 0.30). These findings highlight the crucial role of teachers' emotional experiences in shaping their professional effectiveness. The study contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating the psychological mechanisms that enhance teacher performance, particularly in non-Western educational contexts. The results suggest that intervention programs to improve teacher effectiveness should focus on fostering positive instructional emotions and increasing work engagement, which may ultimately benefit student learning outcomes.

Exploring the relationship between teachers' perceived workload, challenge-hindrance stress, and work engagement: a person-centered approach

PURPOSE

This study explored the effects of teachers' perceived workload on their work engagement in Chinese primary and secondary schools using a person-centered approach. The aim was to investigate the relationship and the mediating roles of challenge and hindrance stress.

METHODS

A total of 40,712 primary and secondary school teachers from China participated in this study. Participants were asked to rate their perceived workload across five major educational and teaching tasks. To assess their work engagement and challenge-hindrance stress, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Challenge-Hindrance Stressors Scale were employed. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was conducted to classify the distinct workload categories. Subsequently, relative mediation analysis was performed to examine the relationships between perceived workload, work engagement, and the mediating roles of challenge and hindrance stress. The data analysis was carried out using Mplus 8.3, SPSS 26.0, and the PROCESS macro (version 3.3).

RESULTS

The LCA identified five different classes of workload: low, relatively low, average, relatively high, and high, corresponding to different levels of teachers' perceived workload. There was a negative correlation between perceived workload and work engagement. Challenge stress positively mediated this relationship by increasing teachers' work engagement, whereas hindrance stress negatively mediated the relationship by decreasing work engagement.

CONCLUSION

The study reveals a complex interplay between teachers' perceived workload and work engagement, with challenge and hindrance stress acting as mediators. These findings offer insights for developing targeted intervention strategies to improve teacher well-being and performance.

Relationships between Resilience and Self-Efficacy in the Prosocial Behavior of Chilean Elementary School Teachers

Teachers' actions go beyond instruction, as their personal traits influence their teaching methods, problem-solving skills, and the quality of their relationships with students. Among these attributes, their prosocial competencies stand out for contributing to school, community, and social coexistence. Furthermore, the connection they have to resilience and self-efficacy promotes increased effectiveness in meeting the demands of an ever-more challenging work environment. This research aimed to analyze the effect of the relationship between self-efficacy and resilience on the prosocial behavior of Chilean elementary school teachers. The sample consisted of 1426 teachers (77.2% women) working in public and subsidized Chilean schools. Structural equation modeling (SEM) explored the relationships between self-efficacy, resilience, and prosocial behavior. The findings indicate that self-efficacy and resilience directly and positively affect the prosocial behavior of elementary school teachers. It is suggested that resilience, self-efficacy, and prosociality among teachers are promoted due to their synergistic effects and, consequently, the benefits for school children, especially those from vulnerable social contexts.

Promoting Teachers' Social and Emotional Competence in Light of the Close Connection between Professional Role and Personal Characteristics: Preliminary Evidence of the Efficacy of the "ME4YOU" Training Program

Within the field of research on the promotion of teachers' social and emotional competence, the present paper illustrates preliminary evidence of the efficacy of a new training program named "ME4YOU" aimed at supporting teachers' self-reflexive competences to deal with the emotional and relational dimensions of teaching, with constant and continuous attention towards underlining the close connection between the way teachers perform as professionals at work and the way they function as individuals in their personal life. A total of 109 teachers from kindergarten to primary school took part in the experimental group, while 67 teachers constituted the control group; the two groups were compared using a pre-test/post-test approach with regard to some self-reported variables related to professional and personal aspects. Teachers in the experimental group exhibited increased levels of professional self-efficacy and self-efficacy as emotional socializers toward students' emotions; moreover-although with a more limited impact-they reported benefits with regard to their personal life (i.e., reduced denial of own emotions and improved authenticity). The findings are discussed highlighting that health promotion among teachers is both of value in itself and an investment that can generate health in the whole school system.

Sustaining the nursing workforce - exploring enabling and motivating factors for the retention of returning nurses: a qualitative descriptive design

BACKGROUND

The nursing shortage represents a persistent and urgent challenge within the healthcare industry. One of the most cost-effective and time-efficient solutions to address this issue is the recruitment of inactive nurses to rejoin the nursing workforce, while simultaneously ensuring the long-term sustainability of their careers following their return to work. The aim of this study is to explore the factors that facilitate the retention of nurses who have returned to work, from their perspective.

METHODS

To achieve this aim, a qualitative descriptive design was employed. A total of 15 registered nurses who had not practiced nursing for a minimum of three years prior to their return to work, and had been working as nurses for at least three months following their return, were selected from seven healthcare institutions using convenience sampling. Face-to-face or online semi-structured interviews were conducted, and qualitative inductive analysis was employed to analyze the collected data.

RESULTS

The analysis revealed five key themes, two of which were related to the enabling factors making it possible for the nurses to continue their work, while the remaining three pertained to the motivating factors driving the pursuit of professional careers. The two themes associated with enabling factors were identified as "Conditions and support that sustain work-life balance" and "A workplace that acknowledges my career, and encourages my growth as an experienced nurse". The three themes related to motivating factors were entitled "Pride in reconnecting with and contributing to society," "Cultivating confidence through incremental professional development and future envisioning," and "Enrichment of my own and my family's life".

CONCLUSIONS

Returning nurses constitute a valuable asset for healthcare institutions. To effectively retain these nurses, it is crucial to implement multi-dimensional approaches that enable and motivate them to sustain and enrich their professional and personal lives while continuing their work in the nursing field.

The impact of mental health literacy intervention on in-service teachers' knowledge attitude and self-efficacy

Mental health literacy (MHL) is an essential component in the process of de-stigmatization, promoting mental health, and supporting people struggling with mental illness. Today, as the number of people suffering from mental illnesses is nearly 450 million people worldwide, the importance of having a teacher-training program that incorporates MHL in its curriculum has become paramount. This study is a quasi-experimental pre-post research that uses the MHL program as an intervention. The sample included 36 (n = 36) high school in-service teachers from 11 schools. The participants took an online training program for 6 weeks. The evaluations were used before and after the training to assess their mental health knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy. The data were analyzed using the paired sample t-test. The findings revealed a significant level of improvement in relation to the teachers' MHL knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy after the training. The study findings reveal the effectiveness of MHL training in improving in-service teachers' knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy in relation to mental health. The study's limitations and future study recommendations are discussed.

Psychometric Properties of the SV-RES60 Resilience Scale in a Sample of Chilean Elementary School Teachers

The concept of resilience, identified as a crucial variable due to its association with several beneficial outcomes in adulthood, is of particular interest in the teaching field. Specifically, teachers work in a demanding, challenging, and stressful context that requires a remarkable ability to adapt; therefore, resilience is important in the field of teaching and training, as it plays a fundamental role in children's cognitive, social, and emotional development. This study sought to analyze the psychometric properties of the SV-RES60 Resilience Scale in a sample of Chilean elementary school teachers from first to eighth grade (N = 1406; mean age = 41.4; SD = 10.8). ESEM and bifactor ESEM analyses were performed to evaluate its factor structure, internal consistency, and reliability. The results supported a bifactor structure in which resilience was represented by one general latent factor and twelve specific factors (RMSEA = 0.032; 90%CI [0.030, 0.033]; SRMR = 0.012; CFI = 0.986; TLI = 0.977). A predominance of the unidimensional components of the SV-RES60 (general factor, ECV = 0.812; ωh = 0.975) and a high reliability (α = 0.981; ω of the general factor = 0.991) were observed. In conclusion, the SV-RES60 Resilience Scale is a suitable instrument for measuring the general factor of resilience in the investigated teaching environment. Future studies could contribute towards evidence of a reduced scale and transcultural validation to conduct comparative studies.