Reciprocal Relationship Between Teachers' Work Engagement and Their Emotions: A Cross-Sectional Study at Elementary Level
Keywords:
Teachers' work engagement, Emotions, Reciprocal relationshipAbstract
The present study explored the reciprocal relationship between elementary teachers' work engagement and emotional experiences, considering gender and the school sector as moderating variables. Stratified random sampling yielded a sample of 889 teachers. Descriptive (Mean, SD) and inferential statistical analyses (Independent samples t-test, Pearson's R correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression) were utilized. Data collection used a questionnaire incorporating two established scales: The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004) and the Teacher Emotion Inventory (TEI) (Chen, 2018), to assess teachers' work engagement and emotions in teaching. Out of 889 distributed questionnaires, 710 (80%) were completed. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) verified the scale's factor structure. Control variables included gender, age, teaching experience, and school location, examining their impact on emotions in teaching and work engagement. Notably, factors within work engagement (vigor, dedication, absorption) significantly influenced the relationship between work engagement and teaching emotions. Based on the findings, it is recommended that elementary institutions implement career guidance and counseling strategies to enhance emotions in teaching. Variations in teachers' work engagement were observed across different academic and professional qualifications. The study's results conclusively demonstrate a positive correlation between teachers' work engagement and emotions in teaching, as evidenced by the coefficient values of 'r.'
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