Abstract
This study aimed to extend the use of a validated assessment of social-emotional development (SED) from children and adolescents to teachers. We used correlation and regression analyses to examine the factor structure of this Holistic Teacher Assessment (HTA) and the relationships between teacher SED, self-efficacy, and burnout. Results from 284 teachers identified nine interpretable and useful SED dimensions for teachers. SED was a stronger (negative) predictor of burnout than self-efficacy, but together SED and self-efficacy accounted for more variance than either one separately. Supporting every teacher using the strengths-based HTA can inform proactive approaches, tailored to teachers’ strengths and needs.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 103827 |
| Journal | Teaching and Teacher Education |
| Volume | 119 |
| Early online date | 10 Aug 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 30 Nov 2022 |
Bibliographical note
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.Funding
This study aimed to extend the use of a validated assessment of social-emotional development (SED) from children and adolescents to teachers. We used correlation and regression analyses to examine the factor structure of this Holistic Teacher Assessment (HTA) and the relationships between teacher SED, self-efficacy, and burnout. Results from 284 teachers identified nine interpretable and useful SED dimensions for teachers. SED was a stronger (negative) predictor of burnout than self-efficacy, but together SED and self-efficacy accounted for more variance than either one separately. Supporting every teacher using the strengths-based HTA can inform proactive approaches, tailored to teachers’ strengths and needs.Thus, to promote a holistic approach to teacher SED, in creating the HTA we have focused on assessing teacher self-perceptions of social-emotional competencies that connect with the social-emotional competencies teachers are responsible for promoting in their students (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009). See Table 1 for social-emotional competencies included on the HTA, as well as evidence supporting the rationale for a holistic, whole-school approach to SED that promotes social-emotional skills in both students and teachers. To create a tool that can better support social-emotional learning and growth in teachers, we have used a developmental model (the Clover Model) because “When teachers are equally considered learners – rather than simply tools in service of student learning – then parallel approaches can be used to study their development, leading to similarly valuable means of supporting teachers' continued professional growth” (p. 942, Rodriguez et al., 2020). To understand the motivation underlying teacher SED and teaching performance, we (like many others) have drawn on self-determination theory, which proposes that optimal teaching motivation and performance depends on teachers’ self-perceived (as opposed to actual) competence: “perceived competence energises individuals into action, and drives development and performance … it is perceived competence that is considered to play a central role in driving ongoing skill development” (p. 704).The HTA was designed to assess social-emotional experiences, a reflection of teachers’ perceived competence in ten social-emotional competencies shown to be important for students. Recent research has found that social-emotional experiences measured using the HSA can be used for planning, implementing, and evaluating preventative strategies or skill-developing trainings to promote health and well-being (Malti et al., 2018; Noam et al., 2012), suggesting that the HTA could be used for the same benefit to teachers. For example, in a recent study involving 5946 students (49% female, Mage = 13.2 years) from six U.S. states, Malti et al., (2018) found that several resiliencies measured by the HSA relate to internalizing and externalizing psychopathology measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ, Goodman, 2001) in expected ways, supporting the construct validity of the HSA. Specifically, students who reported more prosocial behaviors on the SDQ tended to endorse higher ratings for empathy, emotion control, reflection, and trust on the HSA; students who reported more externalizing problems on the SDQ (e.g. conduct problems) tended to endorse lower ratings for emotion control and reflection on the HSA; and students who reported fewer internalizing problems (e.g. symptoms of depression) tended to endorse higher ratings for optimism, assertiveness, action orientation, and emotion control on the HSA. Additionally, the researchers found evidence for measurement invariance across three age groups (late childhood, early adolescence, and mid-adolescence) using a multiple-group analytic framework, demonstrating differences in social-emotional experiences across age groups as well as between individuals (Malti et al., 2018).Built on years of practical experience and validation research (Malti et al., 2018; Noam & Goldstein, 1998; Noam et al., 2012), the HSA is now widely used to help schools and youth-serving organizations support the social and emotional well-being of students (Noam & Triggs, 2017). Since its inception in 2007, the HSA has been administered to more than 75,000 unique students across 48 U.S. states. Wide use of the HSA made possible the development of a normative sample based on a stratified random sample of 9000 male and female participants ages 9–18 (Price, 2018). Reliability estimates derived from structural equation modeling were found to be adequate across all scales for the three age groups: Late Childhood (9.0–11.9 years), Early Adolescence (12.0–14.9 years), and Middle Adolescence (15.0–18.9 years).Significant progress has been made by the educational research and practice communities to develop effective SED programs and assess social-emotional experiences of children and adolescents to inform educational practice (Bridgeland et al., 2013; CASEL, 2019; Oberle et al., 2016). However, to help teachers effectively meet the social-emotional needs of students, teachers must be socially and emotionally supported themselves (Duffrin, 2020; Schonert-Reichl, 2017). This study provides evidence to extend the utility of a self-report measure of social-emotional strengths and challenges from students (HSA) to teachers (HTA), so that teachers’ mental health and wellness can be better supported with data-driven solutions. Notably, this study demonstrated that more positive social-emotional experiences, measured using the HTA, predicted less perceived burnout among teachers; the predictive validity of the HTA scales improved when combined with self-efficacy.The HTA has several implications for educational practice, including: (1) increasing awareness of teachers' social-emotional strengths and challenges, which could be considered at different grain sizes (from classroom level, to school, district, state, etc.) to inform local and national policies and practices; (2) providing reliable data to inform the planning, implementation, and evaluation of skill-development trainings for teachers; (3) empowering teachers by including their voices and subjective experiences in the discourse around teacher social-emotional well-being; (4) providing a strengths-based approach that focuses on teachers' strengths and avoids stigmatizing language that can cause resentment or fear of judgment; and (5) promoting more equitable teaching and learning environments through effective SED education and training for teachers. The HTA can be used to increase teacher's self-awareness of SED and in support of professional development to show how SED is connected to social identities and shapes interpretations of other teachers' and students' behaviors. While there are many constructive uses of HTA data, we must state explicitly that this assessment is not intended, and should never be used, to judge teacher ability, set salary levels, quantify performance, or take punitive actions. We also wish to directly acknowledge that the study sample was predominantly White, and therefore the findings may not represent the social-emotional experiences of racially and ethnically diverse teacher populations (see Implications and Limitations, below).We concentrate the remaining discussion on describing how our findings relate to existing burnout literature and how building social-emotional resilience can help protect against the significant problem of teacher burnout. We highlight three social-emotional dimensions that showed the strongest relationships with teacher burnout, and consider the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, which began after these data were collected. We conclude with a vision for how the HTA can “support every teacher” as the field moves toward more holistic, proactive, collaborative, and evidence-based approaches to education.Prior to the pandemic, there were many efforts focused on reversing burnout among teachers. A meta-analysis of 55 burnout intervention studies—including 34 centered on teachers, for a total of 2376 teacher participants—reported on the success of burnout interventions with medium to large effect sizes (Richardson & Rothstein, 2008). However, such interventions are costly, requiring significant investments of time and money, and often are not delivered until substantial consequences of burnout have set in. Thus, rather than a crisis response, the HTA was conceived as a data tool to understand strengths and challenges of teachers so that administration can provide supports targeted to their staff's needs. It is essential to use evidence-based tools like the HTA for planning, implementing, and evaluating trainings, resources, and supports for teachers as early as possible, in times of crisis but also as part of routine educational best practices. The pandemic has exacerbated existing burnout problems, and even if there is a return to “normal” school functioning, the issue of teacher burnout will remain key to youth outcomes.In this study, we verified that social-emotional dimensions measured by the HTA were significantly and negatively correlated with three dimensions of burnout (as measured using the CBI) and significantly and positively associated with three dimensions of teacher self-efficacy (as measured by the TSES). As expected, we found that both self-efficacy and social-emotional dimensions were strong, negative predictors of teacher burnout. While the social-emotional dimensions defined by the HTA more strongly and negatively predicted teacher burnout than self-efficacy, combined ratings from both measures were stronger negative predictors of teacher burnout than either measure alone (accounting for 35% of the variability). Thus, we conclude that (1) the TSES and HTA capture different constructs important for understanding teacher experiences; and (2) using the HTA to collect data on social-emotional dimensions will help school administrators understand the strengths and needs of their teachers so they can provide more targeted and relevant interventions and supports (informed directly by the social-emotional experiences of their teachers). However, this study does not provide causal evidence and requires additional follow-up.
Keywords
- Burnout
- Resilience
- Self-efficacy
- Social-emotional competence
- Teacher assessment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education