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How Do School Climate and Professional Development in Multicultural Education Impact Job Satisfaction and Teaching Efficacy for STEM Teachers of English Learners? A Path-Analysis

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Abstract

Teachers’ job satisfaction and teacher self-efficacy in teaching are two of the main factors driving STEM teacher shortages in teaching students who are English Learners (ELs). This study investigated the impact of teachers’ perceptions of school climate and professional development (PD) participation on teacher self-efficacy in teaching and job satisfaction for STEM teachers of ELs. The public dataset TALIS 2018, including 985 public middle school STEM teachers of ELs in the USA, was used for the path analysis. The results showed that PD participation in multicultural education and STEM teachers’ perceptions of school climate had significantly positive direct effects on job satisfaction and self-efficacy in teaching ELs. Additionally, findings showed that STEM teacher self-efficacy in teaching mediates the relationship between school climate and teachers’ job satisfaction. This study contributes to the body of knowledge based on developing the capacity of STEM teachers of ELs and provides recommendations for future STEM teacher PD programs.

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Data Availability

This study used a public dataset for anlaysis. People can access the dataset via OECD, TALIS 2018 Database, https://www.oecd.org/education/talis/talis-2018-data.htm.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Xuan Zhou, Yolanda Padrón, Eunkyeng Baek & Sandra Acosta

  2. Department of Teaching Learning, & Culture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Hersh C. Waxman

Authors
  1. Xuan Zhou
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  2. Yolanda Padrón
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  3. Hersh C. Waxman
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  4. Eunkyeng Baek
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  5. Sandra Acosta
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Xuan Zhou, Yolanda Padron, and Hersh Waxman performed material preparation and data extraction. Xuan Zhou, Eunkyeng Baek, and Sandra Acosta contributed to the data analysis and result reporting. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Xuan Zhou, and all authors provided ethics and commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xuan Zhou.

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Appendix

Appendix

ITEMS EXTRACTED FROM TALIS 2018

School Climate

Q49_ How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about what happens in this school?

  1. a

    Teachers and students usually get on well with each other.

  2. b

    Most teachers believe that the students’ well-being is important.

  3. c

    Most teachers are interested in what students have to say.

  4. d

    If a student needs extra assistance, the school provides it.

Q41_ How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about this < target class > ?

  1. a

    When the lesson begins, I have to wait quite a long time for students to quieten down

  2. b

    Students in this class take care to create a pleasant learning atmosphere

  3. c

    I lose quite a lot of time because of students interrupting the lesson

  4. d

    There is much disruptive noise in this classroom

Q48_ How strongly do you agree or disagree with these statements, as applied to this school?

  1. a

    This school provides staff with opportunities to actively participate in school decisions

  2. b

    This school provides parents or guardians with opportunities to actively participate in school decisions

  3. c

    This school provides students with opportunities to actively participate in school decisions

  4. d

    This school has a culture of shared responsibility for school issues

  5. e

    There is a collaborative school culture that is characterized by mutual support

PD participation in Multicultural Education

Q23_Were any of the topics listed below included in your professional development activities during the last 12 months?

  1. a

    Approaches to individualized learning

  2. b

    Teaching students with special needs

  3. c

    Teaching in a multicultural or multilingual setting

Teacher Efficacy

Q34_ In your teaching, to what extent can you do the following?

  1. a

    Get students to believe they can do well in school work

  2. b

    Help students value learning

  3. c

    Craft good questions for students

  4. d

    Control disruptive behavior in the classroom

  5. e

    Motivate students who show low interest in school work

  6. f

    Make my expectations about student behavior clear

  7. g

    Help students think critically

  8. h

    Get students to follow classroom rules

  9. i

    Calm a student who is disruptive or noisy

  10. j

    Use a variety of assessment strategies

  11. k

    Provide an alternative explanation, for example when students are confused

  12. l

    Vary instructional strategies in my classroom

Job Satisfaction

Q53_ How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

  1. a

    I would like to change to another school if that were possible

  2. b

    I enjoy working at this school

  3. c

    I would recommend this school as a good place to work

  4. d

    All in all, I am satisfied with my job

  5. e

    The advantages of being a teacher clearly outweigh the disadvantages

  6. f

    If I could decide again, I would still choose to work as a teacher.

  7. g

    I regret that I decided to become a teacher

  8. h

    I wonder whether it would have been better to choose another profession

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Zhou, X., Padrón, Y., Waxman, H.C. et al. How Do School Climate and Professional Development in Multicultural Education Impact Job Satisfaction and Teaching Efficacy for STEM Teachers of English Learners? A Path-Analysis. Int J of Sci and Math Educ 22, 447–468 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-023-10381-y

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