The Relationship Between Occupational Stress And Professional Commitment Of Teachers In The County: The Mediating Role Of Teaching Efficacy

A sample of 383 county high school teachers in D city was tested by teachers' occupational stress questionnaire, teaching self-efficacy scale, and professional commitment scale. This research was used to investigate the current situation of county high school teachers' occupational stress, teaching self-efficacy and professional commitment, and explore the relationship of within the three factors. SPSS and Amos were used to analyze the data, such as descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, correlation analysis, regression analysis and the intermediary effect test. Based on the results, we obtained the results that showed as followed:(1) As a whole, the level of county high school teachers' occupational stress was beyond the average. The main pressure source of county high school teachers were examination, workload and occupational expectations. County high school teachers had a strong confidence in their teaching ability, while the confidence and trust in the role of education is relatively weak. Their professional commitment level was in the medium level, but the affective commitment level is relatively low.(2) Occupational stress, teaching self-efficacy and professional commitment had significant differences in demographic variables. For instance, occupational stress differed in gender, marriage, age, the length of teaching services, educational background and teaching grade. Teaching self-efficacy had significant differences in marriage, age, the length of teaching services and teaching grade. Professional commitment differed in gender, the length of teaching services, educational background and teaching grade.(3) Occupational stress had a significantly negative positive correlation with teaching self-efficacy and had a significantly negative correlation with professional commitment. Teaching self-efficacy was significantly and positive correlated with professional commitment.(4) Occupational stress had significantly prediction to professional commitment. For example, affective commitment was significantly predicted by students'factors, self-development needs, family and interpersonal stress. Continuance commitment was obviously predicted by the stress from workload and occupational expectations. And normative commitment could be significantly predicted by the stress from self-development needs.(5) Occupational stress had significantly prediction on teaching self-efficacy. For instance, the stress from students' factors, self-development needs, and occupational expectations could predict the level of general teaching efficacy significantly. The individual teaching efficacy could be significantly predicted by the stress from students' factors, family, interpersonal and occupational expectations.(6) Teaching self-efficacy could predict professional commitment significantly. Individual teaching efficacy could predict the affective commitment significantly. And normative commitment could be significantly predicted by general teaching efficacy and individual teaching efficacy.(7) Teaching self-efficacy mediated the relationship between occupational stress and professional commitment. General teaching efficacy had significant partial mediating effect on the relationship of self-development needs stress and normative commitment. Individual teaching efficacy had significant partial mediating effect on the relationship of students' factors and affective commitment, and mediated the relationship between family, interpersonal stress and affective commitment.