Browsing by Author "Hearn, Caitlin"

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    Exploring the effects of job crafting on the engagement and burnout of South African primary school teachers during the coronavirus pandemic
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Hearn, Caitlin; Boonzaier, Michèle; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Over time, the industrial and educational psychology literature has continuously shed light on the negative aspects of the teaching occupation in South Africa. Through these studies it has been found that teaching is a particularly stressful occupation. Teachers in South Africa regularly have to extend their occupational role to tackle issues that are beyond the scope of usual practice for primary school teachers. In some cases, these teachers need to address the healthcare, social and welfare needs of their students, amongst other issues. As with any organisation, the school environment represents an intricate balance of occupational stressors that, if not managed correctly, may cause strain and stress, as well as poor psychological health and well-being of employees. Researchers have found that, despite facing excessive job demands, some employees do not progress towards burnout. These employees have been shown to handle highly demanding and stressful working environments better than others. Instead of developing burnout, these employees are found to thrive in such challenging and taxing work environments. The employees who do not develop symptoms of burnout are said to instead experience a feeling of engagement with work, and have little to no intention to abscond from their occupation. The job demands-resources (JD-R) framework was used to guide this research in order to understand the well-being of teachers within South African primary schools during the Coronavirus pandemic. The overarching objective of this study was to establish a structural model and, through empirical testing, to test this proposed model. The proposed structural model is presented and tested within the context of recent literature to understand and rationalise how job demands; job resources and personal resources are related to engagement and burnout amongst South African primary school teachers. To evaluate the proposed hypothesis, an ex post facto correlational design was used. A total of 152 participants contributed to the quantitative data gathered for this study. Participants completed a self-reported electronic survey that was made of items from the 1) The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, 2) the Utrecht work-engagement scale, 3) the Job demands-resources scale and 4) the Job-crafting sale. Overall, seven of the 12 hypothesised relationships were shown to be significant, with two of the non-significant relationships being related to the proposed moderating effects. In addition, hypotheses 11 and 12 were also found to be statistically insignificant. Hypothesis 11 concerned the moderating effect of job resources on the relationship between challenging demands and burnout, whereas hypothesis 12 examined the moderating effect of hindering job demands on the relationship between job resources and work engagement. Therefore, individuals involved in the school environment, including teachers, principals and school management, should be aware of the interacting effects of job demands and resources on burnout and engagement. In addition, these individuals should understand how job crafting can optimise job resources and decrease burnout, as proposed in this study. Using the results and practical implications of this study, these individuals can optimise the engagement levels of primary school teachers while decreasing burnout levels and thereby incur maximum benefits for the school environment as well as for the teacher. This research has been useful in providing insights into the antecedents of burnout and engagement amongst primary school teachers in South Africa, and the role that job crafting may play in these relationships, specifically during the Coronavirus pandemic. The research findings have far-reaching consequences for researchers, industrial psychologists and those involved in the school environment, such as teachers and principals. The findings provide insights into how teacher burnout can be managed.