Appraisal of Resources and Demands in Elementary School Teachers: Replicating Structural Models Across 20 Years

• In Event: 31.083 - International Perspectives on Occupational Stress, Coping, and Resilience in the Helping Professions

Abstract

Teacher stress has received considerable attention in recent years, due to the concerning rates of teacher turnover and intentions to leave the profession (McCarthy et al., 2012). Many researchers have sought to understand this historical trend by investigating teachers’ perceptions of demanding characteristics of the working environment (Ladd, 2011) and teacher satisfaction (Hanushek, 2008). However, few studies have focused on the critical role of cognitive appraisal in teacher’s experiences of stress, burnout, and job satisfaction. McCarthy, Lambert, Lineback, Fitchett, and Baddouh (2016) argued that accurate assessment of teachers’ appraisal of demands and resources is needed to develop a more nuanced understanding of teacher stress. Therefore, the current study sought to investigate whether teachers’ appraisals of resources and demands mediate the relationships between the teachers’ perceptions of the educational working environment, job satisfaction, occupational concerns, and burnout.
The current study used a subsample of elementary teachers in public schools in the United States using the national datasets of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) during the years of 1999-2000, 2003-2004, 2007-2008, 2011-2012, and 2015-2016. Using structural equation modeling, we tested the hypothesized structural model for model fit across the years of the SASS. The SASS items used to develop the latent constructs were based on the work of Lambert et al. (2015). Because of slight changes in the SASS items across the years, modifications were made to the latent constructs in the structural model according to the available items during that year. Results will only be reported for the 1999-2000 SASS.
We used a two-step procedure to estimate the measurement models and structural models and assessed model fit using the following fit indices: Chi-Square Goodness-of-Fit statistic, the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), the Tucker Lewis Index (TLI), the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), and the Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR). For 1999-2000, the researchers sought to determine if appraisal of demands and appraisal of resources mediated the relationships between classroom control, school influence, and job satisfaction. The chi square value for the structural model was χ2(219)=7664.66, p<.001; RMSEA=.060, CFI = .884, TLI = .867, SRMR = .067, indicating acceptable fit to the data though inconsistent across fit indices. All paths were statistically significant. Higher perceptions of classroom control and school influence were weakly associated with lower appraisals of demands. Higher perceptions of classroom control and school influence were strongly associated to higher appraisals of resources. Greater appraisals of demands were moderately associated with lower job satisfaction, and greater appraisals of resources were strongly associated with higher levels of job satisfaction. The bootstrapped indirect effect with Demands and Resources as mediators in the relationship between Class Control and Job Satisfaction (B= .14, Bootstrapped SE= .01, p<.001, 95% CI=.12 to .17) and School influence and Job satisfaction (B= .24, Bootstrapped SE= .009, p<.001, 95% CI=.19 to .24) were statistically significant. Results indicated that approximately 60% of the total effect of appraisal of demands and resources on job satisfaction is accounted for by teachers’ appraisals of demands and resources.

Authors

• Missy Butts

• Richard G. Lambert, University of North Carolina - Charlotte