This study intends to examine the role of teach efficacy in the relationships between job stress and exhaustion. The followings are the study questions: first, how does special education teachers’ job stress affect their burnout; second, how does sp...
This study intends to examine the role of teach efficacy in the relationships between job stress and exhaustion. The followings are the study questions: first, how does special education teachers’ job stress affect their burnout; second, how does special teachers’ efficacy affect their burnout?; third, how does special teachers’ job stress affect teacher efficacy?; fourth, how does teacher efficacy affect the relationships between special teachers’ job stress and burnout?
This research sampled as its subjects the teachers of special schools and special classes in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. The purpose and method of the test were fully explained to special class teachers on the phone in advance, and then an email was sent to those who agreed to answer the questions. The author visited in person special teachers in special schools. The method used was survey that requires study subjects to directly answer questions. The research was conducted for 30 days from September 20th till October 10th of 2009. Total 240 questionnaires were distributed, and 229 were collected through emails or direct visits. The collection rate was 95.4%. Five unreliably answered questionnaires of all those were excluded, and 224 ones were used for final analysis.
The test tools used for this research were the burnout scale translating Maslach and Jackson (1981)’s MBI (Maslach Burnout Inventory), Kim Hyo-sun (2006)’s questionnaire measuring job stress which was used for her study after revising Wilson (1979)’s ‘Stress Profile for Teachers (SPT)', and Lee Hyeon-jeong’s teacher efficacy scale (1998) designed by supplementing the limits of Dembo and Gibson’s scale in measuring teacher efficacy in their tasks in general among local or foreign researches on teacher efficacy.
Multiple regression analysis was performed to investigate the role of teacher efficacy in the relationships between special teachers’ job stress and burnout.
The chief results gained from this study are summed up below.
First, job stress had negative correlation with subjective physical health, emotional health, and job satisfaction. Teacher efficacy showed positive correlation with age and educational career, and exhibited positive correlation with subjective physical health, emotional health, and job satisfaction. Exhaustion showed negative correlation with subjective physical health, emotional health, and job satisfaction.
Second, the group of special teachers indicated low levels of job stress and exhaustion in general. However, teacher efficacy was quite high. The average difference of the three variables was not significant by age, educational career, being in charge of a class, and school or class of work.
Third, according to the result of the correlation between job stress, burnout, and teacher efficacy, special teachers’ burnout, job stress, and teacher efficacy all showed statistically significant correlation. Exhaustion and job stress indicated relatively high positive correlation while burnout and teacher efficacy had high negative correlation. Job stress and teacher efficacy also showed negative correlation.
Fourth, based on the result of the effect of job stress upon exhaustion, teachers’ stress from inner conflict, stress from work pressure, and stress from time management among the kinds of job stress expected burnout statistically significantly.
Fifth, according to the result of examining the effect of job stress on special teachers’ efficacy, teachers’ stress from relationships with other teachers, stress from inner conflict, and stress from time management anticipated teacher efficacy statistically significantly.
Sixth, based on the result of stepped multiple regression analysis to verify the mediating effect of teacher efficacy in the correlation between special teachers’ job stress and burnout, job stress affected teacher efficacy and burnout statistically significantly. The effect of teacher efficacy, the parameter, upon burnout was statistically significant. The effect of special teachers’ job stress on burnout reduced when teacher efficacy was inputted.
These results concluded that teacher efficacy had mediating effect in the correlation between special teachers’ job stress and burnout.