| Many K-12 public school teachers experience job dissatisfaction, burnout, and feelings of inferior teacher efficacy. While subjective well-being research has increased, the well-being of educators has rarely been examined. Under the theoretical framework of positive psychology, subjective well-being was conceptualized as life satisfaction, engagement, positive affect, and negative affect. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to investigate the relationship between subjective well-being and teacher efficacy (beliefs in one's ability to educate students successfully), in a purposive convenience sample of 120 educators in a school district in Southeastern Michigan. The participants, predominantly female (81.7%) and White (98.3%), with an average age of 46.32 years (SD = 10.38 years), completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Orientations to Happiness Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale. Bivariate correlations and multiple linear regression were utilized. The Pearson correlation results indicated life satisfaction was not significantly related to teacher efficacy; engagement was not significantly related to teacher efficacy after controlling for the predictor variables; positive affect was significantly related to teacher efficacy, r(118) = .45, p < .001; and negative affect was significantly and negatively related to teacher efficacy, r(118) = -.29, p = .001. Multiple linear regressions were computed to determine the contribution of the predictor variables to teacher efficacy after controlling for age, years of teaching experience, and number of students. Multiple regressions showed that the seven control and predictor variables explained 26% of the variance in Teacher Efficacy scores, R2 = .26, adjusted R2 = .22, F(7,105) = 4.71, p < .001. In the multiple regression analysis participants with higher Positive Affect scores (beta = .43, p < .001) and participants with lower Negative Affect scores (beta = -.25, p = .007) tended to have higher Teacher Efficacy scores. Recommendations include the development of a process to educate teachers on ways to increase well-being. Future research could include similar investigations with larger samples of teachers and with teachers in other geographic areas. Both positive psychologists and educators would benefit from collaboration in investigating ways to build resilience and well-being for school teachers. |
