Development and Validation of the Revised Teacher Working Conditions Scale (TWCS)

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Fed Up and Pushed Out: Teacher Working Conditions and Retention in the United States (Table 2)

Abstract

Measurement of teachers' working conditions is critical to address the teacher shortage issue. This study developed and validated a Teacher Working Conditions Scale (TWCS) measuring teacher working conditions using the Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Initial items were developed, revised, and administered to 4,106 teachers in 279 public schools. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested a 10-factor model structure (Autonomy, Administrative Support, Professional Development Support, Co-worker Support, Parent Support, Shared Governance, Workload, Student Engagement, Student Behavior, and Organizational Demands). TWCS demonstrated adequate composite reliability, concurrent validity, convergent and discriminant validity. The findings suggest that TWCS is a reliable and valid tool for assessing teacher working conditions, providing insights for policymakers and administrators to develop targeted strategies to improve teacher working conditions.

Authors

• Ruiqin Gao, University of South Carolina

• Angela D. Starrett, University of South Carolina

• Christine DiStefano, University of South Carolina

• Bryndle Bottoms, University of South Carolina

• Xiaobo Wei, University of South Carolina