Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-04T21:53:26.196Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

School Climate: Teachers’ Perspective. A Report from a Study on Elementary Schools Faced with Poland’s Current Education Reform

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 July 2022

Get access

Summary

Abstract

School is an organization where relationships are intense, dependent, and occurring on a daily basis. The onus for shaping relationships is largely on teachers. Thus, it is of key importance to study and foster the emotional well-being of teachers in the workplace. This study aimed to explore and diagnose the psychosocial functioning of teachers faced with the changes brought about by Poland's current education reform; it also investigates relationships between personal variables (gender, age, and professional experience) and perceptions of the workplace; additionally, it was aimed at validating the School Climate Questionnaire (SCQ). The questionnaire study involved 224 teachers working at 10 elementary schools in little towns and villages across one county in the Lesser Poland. Selected outcomes demonstrate that particularly young teachers are burdened with workload and responsibilities. The study group has a positive outlook on their relationships with pupils, administrative staff, and other teachers. However, the outlook on their relationships with headmasters and parents is less positive. The same applies to their perceptions of Poland's current education reform. Further analysis reveals that the perceived school climate is shaped by their self-worth, self-agency, and self-esteem. The study suggests that young teachers (still learning the profession) and headmasters (faced with frustration and negative emotions from staff) are particularly in need of support. Both headmasters and teachers might benefit from know-how and experience in group processes. This may improve their understanding of group functioning and dynamics, regardless of the age and professional experience of group members.

Keywords: school climate, personal variables, interpersonal relationships, education reform

Klimat szkoły – perspektywa nauczycieli. Raport z badań prowadzonych w szkołach podstawowych w sytuacji reformy edukacji w Polsce Streszczenie

Szkoła jest organizacją, w której relacje miedzy uczestnikami są intensywne, codzienne i pełne zależności. Odpowiedzialność za kształtowanie relacji w znaczącej mierze spoczywa na nauczycielach. Stąd ważnym aspektem jest badanie i kształtowanie samopoczucia emocjonalnego nauczycieli w pracy. Celem prezentowanych badań była eksploracja i diagnoza funkcjonowania psychospołecznego nauczycieli w sytuacji zmiany, związanej z reformą w edukacji oraz poszukanie zależności pomiędzy zmiennymi podmiotowymi (płeć, wiek, staż pracy) a percepcją środowiska pracy oraz walidacja kwestionariusza Klimatu szkoły (SCQ).

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Jagiellonian University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×