Teachers’ Motivation and Its Association with Job Commitment and Work Engagement

Abstract

The aim of the current quantitative research was to design and validate a scale assessing the English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ motivation and employing the scale to investigate the association between teachers’ motivation, job commitment, and work engagement. In order to design the scale, the collected data from a triangulated qualitative study by Pourtoussi et al. (Int J Instruct 11(4):175–190, 2018) were employed. The researchers designed the questionnaire based on five factors (teacher-related, administrative, student-related, non-human-related, and immediate environment) rated on a five-point Likert scale. The proposed model was tested via confirmatory factor analysis using the LISREL 8.50 statistical package. Afterwards, we probed the interrelationship between motivation, work engagement, and job commitment via structural equation modeling. The results demonstrated that EFL teachers’ motivation positively and significantly predicted work engagement and job commitment. Work engagement positively influenced job commitment.

Appendix: EFL teachers’ motivation scale (refined version)

Dear Participant,

I greatly appreciate your valuable time and efforts that you will spend in filling out this questionnaire. The researcher promises that all the information you share in this survey is going to be confidential and only used in the scientific purposes of the research.

Thank you.

Please indicate your answers to each item by choosing the appropriate rate on the five-point scale below. Your answers will be kept confidential. (1 = strongly agree, 2 = Agree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Disagree, 5 = strongly disagree).

No	Item	1	2	3	4	5
1	I have enough access to audiovisual materials (CDs, smart boards, etc.) in my classroom
2	The supplementary materials (any book, photocopies, pictures, flashcards, etc.) are easily available
3	The class has appropriate physical features which I can manipulate and change according to the class needs such as the design of chairs, light, temperature, etc.
4	The relevant facilities (library, gym, movie lab, etc.) are available in order to teach according to the relevance of the lessons
5	The cultural differences of my students are low and I can minimize them as much as possible
6	Students are well motivated in the context of classroom while I am teaching
7	Students’ behavior is appropriate and decent in the classroom
8	Students respect each other as well as their teacher in the classroom
9	Students have enough cooperation and scaffolding among each other
10	I believe that I belong to the right profession
11	My colleagues frankly discuss their negative and positive experiences after instruction
12	Other teachers judge each other in the right way to construct effective learning and teaching environment
13	Teachers work together and they try to build positive environment
14	The supervisor has realistic expectations
15	The load of observation sessions by the supervisor does not exceed my expectation
16	I have a free hand in my classroom activities, teaching materials, and methodology
17	The supervisor has a friendly and supportive behavior
18	I receive appropriate payment which is in line with what I do
19	I receive bonus for any outstanding performance
20	I teach the classes with students with homogenous proficiency level
21	The textbook is appropriate in terms of tasks, pictures, etc.
22	Parents have high and unrealistic expectations from me
23	The administrator expects more than my capacity
24	The disruptive or defiant students can ruin the entire lesson
25	I teach in a class with heterogeneous students in terms of their proficiency level
26	The textbook does not match students’ needs and expectation
27	The classroom does not have appropriate setting (e.g., the position of chairs is fixed, so I cannot make any changes in the class).
28	Students are in competition with each other rather than in cooperation
29	I cannot effectively respond to defiant students
30	I am not paid enough and the amount of payment does not match my expectation
31	The institute does not provide up to date audiovisual equipment for playing CDs and videos
32	I can adjust my lessons to the proper level for individual students
33	The administrator forces me to follow the strict rules in my classes in which there must be no deviation
34	While preparing classes, I do not set pre-specified goals for myself
35	I feel exhilarated after working closely with my students
36	I feel students blame me for their learning difficulties
37	Working with students all the day is a strain for me
38	I like my profession because I can better prepare my students for life
39	It is important to be a successful teacher to please school principal or institute supervisor
40	It is important to be a successful teacher to satisfy myself professionally
41	I am proud of working as a teacher
42	I can control disruptive behavior in my class