Developing a context-specific instrument for teacher well-being in Colombia

• In Event: Prioritizing Teachers in Fragile and Crisis Contexts: Contextually-Grounded Approaches to Understanding Teacher Well-being in a Digital Age - Part 2

Proposal

Teacher well-being is crucial for both their performance and the quality of education. In Colombia, teachers face unique challenges such as violence, migration, poverty, and inequality, which may impact their well-being (Quintero & Hernández, 2021; Diazgranados et al., 2006). Hence, measuring teacher well-being and its associated factors is essential to understanding and addressing these challenges effectively. The international literature proposes that teacher well-being encompasses aspects such as job satisfaction, self-efficacy, stress, and burnout (Falk et al., 2019). However, developing an assessment tool tailored specifically to the Colombian context is vital. Most existing instruments have been developed in high-resource, stable contexts and may not accurately capture the unique challenges and strengths of Colombian teachers (Halle & Darling-Churchill, 2016; INEE, 2021). Context-specific instruments can provide more accurate and relevant data, leading to better-informed policies and interventions. Studies have highlighted significant issues such as burnout, stress, and physical health problems among Colombian teachers. For example, Quintero and Hernández (2021) found that nearly 30% of teachers in Envigado reported burnout. Diazgranados et al. (2006) reported high levels of fatigue, voice disorders, respiratory problems, and muscle pain among teachers. However, research on the positive aspects of teacher well-being, such as social and emotional skills, is lacking (Velásquez et al., 2016; Diazgranados et al., 2016). Understanding these positive aspects is also crucial as they can buffer the negative effects of the challenges teachers face and contribute to their overall well-being.

This study aimed to pilot and validate a teacher well-being measurement instrument designed specifically for the Colombian context. The development of the instrument started with a bottom-up approach that collected the views and perspectives of 92 teachers about their experiences of well-being in their jobs. This led to the prioritization of four factors to be measured: teachers’ subjective well-being, school climate, working conditions, and socioemotional skills. An online survey with 132 close-ended questions was built and tested with 249 teachers from different regions of the country (75% identified themselves as women). Results showed high reliability indices for all the scales (Omega coefficients ranged from 0.81 to 0.97). Additionally, the validity of the constructs was established through confirmatory factor analyses, which showed a good fit to the data. Finally, exploratory regression analyses showed that socioemotional skills and positive school climate were stronger predictors of teachers’ subjective well-being and health (both physical and mental) compared to working conditions. These results are discussed in terms of the value of the final instrument as a tool for researchers and policymakers to better understand and improve teacher well-being in Colombia. By addressing the unique challenges faced by Colombian teachers, this study seeks to contribute to the development of more effective and contextually relevant educational policies and practices.

Authors

• Ana M. Velasquez, Universidad de los Andes

• Enrique Chaux, Universidad de los Andes