Assessing teacher self-efficacy: A mediation model of occupational stress, job satisfaction and social support

Recently, there has been an increasing scientific interest in teaching self-efficacy. The three-dimensional model suggested that self-efficacy contains three teaching domains: efficacy for student engagement, efficacy for instructional strategies, and efficacy for classroom management. Teachers’ occupational stress has been associated with lower levels of job satisfaction and self-efficacy. Nevertheless, the directional relationships between the aforementioned constructs remain unclear. This study aimed to identify the mediating and direct effects among job satisfaction, occupational stress, social support and teachers’ self-efficacy. For the aim of this study, a quantitative methodological approach was employed. A total sample of 613 mainstream and special education teachers participated in the study. The Occupational Stress Scale for teachers, the Teacher Job Satisfaction Scale, the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale and the Copenhagen Psychological Questionnaire were administered to the participants. Structural equation modeling analyses suggested statistically significant relationships between job satisfaction and teacher self-efficacy for both mainstream and special education teachers. Moreover, job satisfaction largely was found to mediate the relationship between occupational stress and self-efficacy. The findings of the study add to the growing literature in the field, highlighting the significance of psychological aspects in teachers’ training and suggesting interventions to improve teacher working conditions and quality in education.