Exploring teachers’ social goal orientations with the job demands-resources model

• Published in: Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) Vol. 42; no. 28; pp. 24326 - 24338
• Main Authors: Chang, Chiung-Fang, Hall, Nathan C., Horrocks, Phoenix T. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; Goals (Psychology); Job satisfaction; Practice; Psychological aspects; Psychology; Social aspects; Social goals; Social Sciences; Students; Teachers; Canada; Job demands-resources model; Social goals; Teacher burnout; Teacher engagement
• ISSN: 1046-1310; 1936-4733
• DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03570-5

Positive teacher-student relationships are recognized as critical social resources for promoting dyadic well-being and adaptive instruction. However, there is scarce research on the relationship between teachers’ motivation for connecting with students and teachers’ psychological adjustment. To explore the relationship, this study applied the job demands-resources model to investigate how teachers’ social goal orientations corresponded with their well-being, job satisfaction, and school commitment, with burnout and work engagement as mediating variables. Whereas teachers’ social mastery-approach goals (attempting to improve student relationship-building competencies) were expected to serve as beneficial psychological resources, their social work-avoidance goals (putting minimum effort into student relationships) were hypothesized to function as would detrimental occupational demands. Findings from mediational structural equation modeling of questionnaire responses from Canadian K-12 teachers ( N  = 154) showed teachers with stronger social mastery-approach goals to be more engaged and, in turn, report greater well-being, job satisfaction, and school commitment. In contrast, teachers with stronger social work-avoidance goals reported less work engagement that was further associated with lower well-being and job satisfaction, as well as greater burnout and, in turn, poorer job satisfaction. Implications concerning teachers’ interpersonal appraisals and psychological health initiatives were discussed.