Educational Psychology, 2014

Vol. 34, No. 7, 876–899, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2013.814193

Efficacy beliefs, job satisfaction, stress and their influence on the

occupational commitment of English-medium content teachers in
the Dominican Republic
Rachel Barouch Gilbert, Olusola O. Adesope* and Noah Lee Schroeder

Washington State University, Educational Leadership & Counseling Psychology, Pullman,

USA
(Received 21 August 2012; final version received 23 May 2013)

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of efficacy, job
satisfaction, job stress and their influence on the occupational commitment of
English-medium content teachers. A total of 109 practicing English-medium and
Spanish-medium content teachers from the Dominican Republic volunteered to
participate in the study. Findings suggest both teacher self-efficacy and collec-
tive efficacy measures were inversely but significantly correlated with occupa-
tional commitment and positively correlated with job satisfaction. The results
also showed significant differences between English-medium and Spanish-med-
ium content teachers’ self-efficacy, job satisfaction, job stress and occupational
commitment. These findings have significant implications for advancing theory
and practice. Recommendations for further research are discussed.
Keywords: belief; school; teacher motivation; self-efficacy; teaching efficacy

An increasing body of research has investigated efficacy beliefs, job satisfaction and
job stress in the teaching occupation. Researchers have noted the importance of these
factors in the professional life of teachers, and how the factors have influenced
teachers’ beliefs of their teaching capabilities (Bandura, 1993; Caprara, Barbaranelli,
Borgogni, & Steca, 2003). Conceptually, efficacy beliefs, job satisfaction and job
stress are independent constructs. However, an interactional relationship exists
among them (Betoret, 2006; Caprara et al., 2003; Leithwood & Beatty, 2008).
Evidence suggests that teaching is a highly emotional and stressful job
(Kyriacou, 2001). When teachers decide to leave the field of teaching, factors such
as low efficacy, job stress (Klassen & Chiu, 2011), job dissatisfaction or
occupational commitment (Hackett, Lapierre, & Hausdorf, 2001) may be involved
(Glickman & Tashmiro, 1982; Stockard & Lehman, 2004). In the USA, the
tendency of teachers leaving their jobs has been referred to as a ‘significant
phenomenon’ which creates school staffing problems (Ingersoll, 2001, p. 23). These
problems are compounded by trends in increasing school enrolment (Ingersoll).
Thus, it is apparent that teacher attrition places severe stress on school functioning,
which consequently impacts students and the school’s overall effectiveness (Hong,
2008).

*Corresponding author. Email: olusola.adesope@wsu.edu

Ó 2013 Taylor & Francis

 Educational Psychology 877

Despite increasing research on efficacy beliefs, job satisfaction, job stress and
their impact on teachers’ occupational commitment, little research has focused on
how these emotional factors and beliefs might affect teachers in different educa-
tional and cultural settings (Andrews, 1991; Ayala-Acevedo, 2004; Ho & Hau,
2004; Klassen, Tze, Betts, & Gordon, 2010). In order to expand the literature in
this area, we have chosen to investigate these constructs with a sample of teachers
in the Dominican Republic.
In the Dominican Republic, some private schools provide bilingual education.
In these educational environments, academic content is taught in both Spanish, the
official language of the Dominican Republic, and English. Researchers have found
that teachers at bilingual schools experienced greater amounts of stress and burnout
than those in monolingual schools (Andrews, 1991). In bilingual classrooms, where
the immediate object of study is focused on acquiring the academic content through
a second language, both students and teachers encounter a number of unique chal-
lenges. For example, students may struggle to learn academic concepts or skills
through a language in which they are not as proficient as they are in their native
language (Wesche & Skehan, 2002). Similarly, English-medium content teachers
face the arduous task of teaching academic content in English to non-native English
speakers. In the present study, we refer to English-medium content teachers as those
who use the English language as the primary medium of instruction with second-
and foreign-language student populations. On the other hand, Spanish-medium
content teachers are those who teach in Spanish. These teachers primarily have to
worry about their students’ acquisition of knowledge in specific subject areas.
However, English-medium content teachers must be concerned not only about their
students’ learning process in specific subject areas, but also their students’ acquisi-
tion of the second language.
English-medium content teachers create classroom activities specific to the sub-
ject being taught and are designed to encourage the student’s thinking and learning
in the target language. The challenges involved in teaching academic content
through a second language may contribute to teachers’ negative emotions experi-
enced in the work environment. These challenges, when coupled with regular daily
teaching demands, may add to the stress experienced by these teachers (Andrews,
1991). Consequently, these strenuous circumstances increase teachers’ stress levels
(Leithwood & Beatty, 2008), thus affecting teachers’ efficacy beliefs (Betoret,
2006). Teachers’ efficacy beliefs in turn may influence job satisfaction (Caprara
et al., 2003) and decrease their school commitment, thereby increasing the probabil-
ity of leaving the profession (Leithwood & Beatty, 2008).
Over the past few years, researchers have called for the expansion of psycho-educa-
tional research in non-North American settings (Arnett, 2008; Klassen, Tze, Betts,
& Gordon, 2010). Researchers have also suggested that there is a need for further
studies with bilingual teachers, suggesting that additional research would be benefi-
cial in understanding the factors which are unique to them and their circumstances
(Ayala-Acevedo, 2004). More recently, Pajares (2007) suggests that there is a need
for ‘culturalizing educational psychology’ (p. 19) which will lead to a better under-
standing of how these motivational processes vary throughout different cultural
practices. Bandura (2000) acknowledged these ideas, stating that ‘culture shapes
how efficacy beliefs are developed, the purposes to which they are put, and the
sociostructural arrangement under which they are best expressed’ (p. 77). Exploring
how these beliefs affect teaching within different cultural settings will benefit how
878 R. Barouch Gilbert et al.

this construct is understood (Ho & Hau, 2004). By examining the differences in
these constructs within a unique sociocultural setting, new insights might be gener-
ated. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine teaching efficacy, job satis-
faction and job stress and how they influence the occupational commitment of
English-medium content teachers in the Dominican Republic.

Theoretical framework
Efficacy beliefs
Grounded in Bandura’s social cognitive theory (1989), self-efficacy beliefs are the
expectations of personal capability. Thus, these beliefs can determine an individual’s
choice of activities and the effort expended to adapt and sustain those activities in
stressful situations. All forms of psychological action ‘serve as means of creating
and strengthening expectations of personal efficacy’ (Bandura, 1977, p. 193).
Efficacy beliefs play an important part in human functioning because they affect
not only behaviour, but also other elements such as goals, aspirations, affective ten-
dencies and perceptions of the obstacles and opportunities within the social environ-
ment (Bandura, 2000). For instance, teachers analyse, consider and integrate
information regarding their teaching capacity, which consequently moulds their
behaviour and effort. According to Bandura’s (1989, 1990), bi-directional triadic
reciprocal causation model of social cognitive theory, cognition, behaviour and the
environment all interact and affect efficacy beliefs. Thus, a teacher’s course of
action is more or less a product of the interactions between their beliefs, behaviour
and environment (Bandura, 1989).
Teachers’ belief in their inherent capacity to promote learning has a direct effect
on the learning environment they create and the level of academic achievement their
students gain (Bandura, 1993). For example, a teacher who does not possess high
levels of self-efficacy will perform according to their belief in his/her inherent
teaching capabilities. High levels of self-efficacy may facilitate teachers’ use of cog-
nitive resources when confronted by organisational difficulties (Wood & Bandura,
1989). Research has shown that when teachers have confidence in their capabilities
of applying and accomplishing appropriate learning strategies, they begin to experi-
ence an ongoing commitment towards the profession (Klassen & Chiu, 2011).
Social cognitive theory does not only reflect on individual human agency, it also
regards the person to be part of a whole. Collective efficacy is the inherent belief
within the group of their capacity to pursue a desired goal (Bandura, 2000). Bandura
suggested that the desired outcome gained through collective action, the effort put
into the tasks within the group and their persistence in the face of failure and
opposition are all determined by the people’s shared belief in their collective effi-
cacy. Collective efficacy beliefs are essential within the educational environment,
being a predictor of the school’s level of academic achievement (Bandura, 1993).
Individuals’ efficacy beliefs are not disconnected from the influence of the other
members’ enabling or obstructing behaviour (Bandura, 2000). Skaalvik and Skaal-
vik (2007) hypothesised that the existing relationship between individual and collec-
tive efficacy beliefs may be a result of teachers’ vicarious experiences, which are
one source of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977). For example, teachers may observe
and then utilise the teaching strategies and classroom management techniques car-
ried out by their colleagues in the classroom. Furthermore, school conditions where
teachers’ perceptions of their peers successfully fulfilling their duties provide a
 Educational Psychology 879

strong influence on the collective efficacy beliefs of the group. For instance, teach-
ers who believe that they have the ability to perform a task may doubt their ability
to perform on the same task in a group if they believe other members lack the abil-
ity to carry out the task successfully (Caprara et al., 2003). Individual self-efficacy
beliefs may be partially mediated by teacher collective efficacy beliefs and school
climate. For instance, when teachers feel highly efficacious of their personal and
collective abilities to successfully carry out school-related tasks and promote student
learning, they are also more likely to perceive their school as competitive, with high
standards and be committed to student learning (Chong, Huan, Wong, Klassen, &
Allison, 2010).

Job satisfaction and job stress

Job satisfaction has been regarded as the gratifying emotional state resulting from
the appraisal of one’s job, and is associated with higher levels of performance
(Caprara et al., 2003; Locke, 1969). Evans (1997) interpreted job satisfaction as a
state of mind that is determined by the degree in which the individual distinguishes
that her/his job-related needs are being fulfilled. Translating these definitions to the
teaching profession, researchers have suggested that teachers experience a sense of
satisfaction by working with students, having a strong sense of efficacy, maintaining
a small class size and having a positive school environment (Perrachione, Rosser,
& Peterson, 2008). Among the reasons for dissatisfaction are perceptions of overly
complex teaching tasks and extrinsic factors such as low salary, lack of parent sup-
port and student misbehaviour (Leithwood & Beatty, 2008; Perrachione et al.,
2008). Ostroff (1992) found that job satisfaction made the largest contribution to
school performance. Furthermore, his findings indicated that organisations with the
most satisfied staff tended to be more effective than the ones with a less satisfied
staff.
Teaching conditions are in part affected by extrinsic factors, such as a low sal-
ary, as well as intrinsic factors, such as the will to carry out instruction. Conse-
quently, these conditions define teachers’ experiences within their profession and
their general feeling towards their job (Rhodes, Nevill, & Allan, 2004). Teacher job
satisfaction has been found to be influenced by teachers’ beliefs in successfully car-
rying out instructional tasks, efficiently managing classroom situations and having
positive relationships with other school members (Caprara, Barbaranelli, Steca, &
Malone, 2006).
Job satisfaction or dissatisfaction is perceived as the resulting outcome of an
action assessed by the individual (Locke, 1970). Individuals have the innate capac-
ity to conceptually identify dissatisfaction, being able to adopt among alternative
behaviours that would ameliorate it. Generally, job dissatisfaction may lead to the
avoidance of the job itself, which translates into temporary (absenteeism) or even
permanent avoidance (attrition). Usually, past experiences mould an individuals’
satisfaction and serve as incentives to keep or change a course of action (Locke,
1970).
Even though self-efficacy beliefs influence overall job satisfaction, it does not
account for all of the variance in this construct. Job satisfaction is also strongly
influenced by collective efficacy, which in turn is indirectly mediated by individual
self-efficacy beliefs (Caprara et al., 2003). When teachers perceive that other school
members perform according to their obligations, the school members become more
880 R. Barouch Gilbert et al.

confident of the system’s collective ability and in turn collective efficacy is

increased. Hence, job satisfaction is not solely determined by the belief that individ-
uals can successfully perform school-related tasks, but also by the belief the school
as a whole has the inherent ability to successfully pursue a determined mission
(Caprara et al., 2003).
Researchers have shown that teachers’ beliefs in successfully meeting school
challenges is shaped by other colleagues’ attitudes and beliefs of the schools’ avail-
able resources and overall organisational environment (Chong et al., 2010). These
findings provide a rationale for school administrators and policy-makers to promote
a sense of mutual appreciation and collaboration among their school teachers.
School principals should cultivate innovation and encourage collaboration among
teachers, students, families and other school staff. Effective leadership resonates in
teacher effort and devotion towards the attainment of school-related success
(Caprara et al., 2003).
Teacher job stress has been defined as the experience of unpleasant emotions
resulting from a particular aspect within the work of a teacher (Kyriacou, 2001). In
addition, researchers have shown that teacher job stress has an effect on teachers’
general attitude towards instruction as well as the quality of their relationships with
students (Yoon, 2002). Teachers have mostly identified different stressful factors
including student misbehaviour, poor working conditions, time limitations (exces-
sive paperwork, little time for individual intervention and after school time) and
classroom climate (Abel & Sewell, 2001).
There is some evidence that teachers with high levels of self-efficacy and better
abilities to cope experience less stress than teachers with a lower sense of self-effi-
cacy (Betoret, 2006). Bandura (1993) suggested that occupational stress leads to
emotional and physical exhaustion, feelings of detachment from colleagues and a
sense of uselessness of their personal accomplishments. Hence, job stress may be
caused by environmental factors which affect teachers’ sense of fulfilment derived
from their work. When teachers experience stress and job dissatisfaction, their sense
of self-efficacy is affected as well (Betoret, 2006; Caprara et al., 2003). As a result
of this interaction between beliefs and environment, self-efficacy, job stress and job
satisfaction can mould teachers’ beliefs, and therefore affect their actions.

Occupational commitment and intentions to quit

Occupational commitment may be regarded as an individual’s attachment to their
career or profession (Meyer, Allen, & Smith, 1993). Although occupational commit-
ment has been theoretically and empirically distinguished from the intention of quit-
ting, the two constructs are closely related (Klassen & Chiu, 2011). For example,
Hackett et al. (2001) emphasised the importance of enhancing the worker’s level of
occupational commitment given the fact that this construct directly or indirectly
affects the employee’s intention of staying or leaving the work environment.
Researchers have suggested that within a work environment, occupational com-
mitment interacts with other emotional factors. For instance, Klassen and Chiu
(2011) showed that teacher stress is inversely related to occupational commitment
and that both constructs have a direct influence on an individual’s intention to leave
the profession. In other words, higher stress levels lowered teaching commitment
and indirectly stimulated intentions to quit. Furthermore, Klassen and Chiu found
that the effects of teachers’ stress on occupational commitment were mediated by
 Educational Psychology 881

their self-efficacy beliefs and that occupational commitment had direct influence on
a teachers’ decision to leave the profession. They found that teachers who believed
in their inherent teaching capabilities showed more commitment towards the profes-
sion and were less likely to express their intent to quit. More importantly, the
authors argued that teachers with higher levels of confidence in their teaching skills
‘are more likely to remain in the profession and less likely contribute to the crisis
of teacher attrition’ (Klassen & Chiu, 2011, p. 126).

English-medium content teachers

Throughout the world, the role of English language and its use within bilingual
environments may not be uniform. English use may differ according to a multitude
of factors, including the languages spoken in the country, the present political situa-
tion and the culture (Baker, 2006). In many countries, English has no official status
but is used for specific purposes (i.e. education). Within these educational contexts,
students must focus on acquiring the academic content through a second language.
Content-based instruction (CBI), which is the simultaneous combination of teaching
specific content with language-teaching, may exemplify this educational context
(Brinton, Snow, & Wesche, 2003). The general goal of CBI is the students’ acquisi-
tion of the information through a second language, while developing their academic
language skills.
Content-based instruction, depending on how the information is acquired
through the second language, considers the target language as the means through
which subject matter content is learned rather than the actual object of study (Brin-
ton et al., 2003). Although learning may be achieved, the target language used by
the student must be ‘sufficiently well developed’ (Baker, 2006, p. 170). A poorly
developed second language may inhibit a student’s ability to process and compre-
hend academic content. Hence, students may be unable to solve complex learning
tasks (Baker). Teachers are then faced with the arduous task of facilitating instruc-
tion in spite of the student’s language limitations. In more global settings, there are
forms of education where two languages are used for instruction, which encourage
bilingualism and biliteracy. International schools may exemplify this circumstance.
International schools are usually private institutions attended by students whose par-
ents want their children to receive an internationally driven education (Baker,
2006). The primary and secondary curriculums of these schools reflect US, British
and local curriculum tradition (Baker).
In countries like the Dominican Republic, schools that provide bilingual
education are very common. However, these schools are popularly referred to as
‘bilingual’ or ‘U.S. type’ schools. A central idea in bilingual education is language
separation. Generally, language boundaries are established in terms of the curricu-
lum, academic content, time of instruction and teaching (Baker, 2006). Bilingual
and US type schools are the same in that they foster two languages, in the case of
the Dominican Republic, this means English and Spanish. Bilingual and US type
schools are different in that bilingual schools have a dual curriculum in which usu-
ally the same amount and the same type of classes are given in both languages,
while US type schools have English as a primary language and the lesser classes
(e.g. Dominican History and Spanish Language) are given in Spanish. In the
Dominican Republic, the General Law of Education mandates that all schools must
follow the national curriculum, and all students must take national exams at the end
882 R. Barouch Gilbert et al.

of grades eight and twelve. Private schools are allowed to enhance the curriculum
as long as they prove that the government-mandated content has been taught
(Scheker, 2007). Therefore, the ministry of education mandates schools to include a
number of subjects (e.g. Social Studies, Dominican History, Moral and Civics, and
Spanish Language) that reflect Dominican culture and language. Hence, these US
type schools include a minimal number of classes taught in the Spanish language.
Nevertheless, because both bilingual and US type educational systems implement
two programmes in two distinctive languages, their student population is bilingual.
Despite the popularity bilingual and US type schools enjoy, they still confront
challenges that are foreign to more traditional educational systems. For example,
teaching students in a second language introduces a whole new repertoire of chal-
lenges for English-medium content teachers. Students may struggle to learn aca-
demic concepts or skills through a language in which they are not as proficient as
they are in their native language. For example, some students are not fluent in
English and therefore struggle in their academic work. Consequently, teachers end
up having heterogeneous classrooms, with students functioning at different levels of
bilingualism.
Another factor that sets apart bilingual educational systems is the added culture.
In the case of bilingual or US type schools, implementing an educational pro-
gramme in the English language requires a curriculum that mirrors the teaching
benchmarks of those in the USA or the country the language is implemented. Most
often, written texts used for academic purposes with these students are the ones
‘originally’ used with native speakers (English) with a purpose of teaching content
rather than language. Thus, these students learn in context, and the instructional sit-
uation creates an orientation into a new culture (Wesche & Skehan, 2002).

Research objectives
Substantial evidence exists suggesting that schools’ environmental factors may
cause job dissatisfaction, low self-efficacy, job stress and decreased occupational
commitment which lead to teacher attrition (Klassen & Chiu, 2011; Ostroff, 1992;
Perrachione et al., 2008; Stockard & Lehman, 2004). However, research has yet to
investigate the interaction of these emotional factors in various educational settings
(Andrews, 1991; Ayala-Acevedo, 2004; Pajares, 2007). The purpose of this study
was to investigate teachers’ occupational commitment by investigating an area that
has seldom been explored: efficacy, job stress, job satisfaction and how they influ-
ence the occupational commitment and intentions to quit of English-medium content
teachers. Many researchers have advocated for more research on factors that affect
a teacher’s decision to leave the work environment outside North American settings
(e.g. Klassen, 2004; Klassen et al., 2010). The Dominican Republic provides an
opportunity to examine the variations of these motivational constructs and how they
influence teachers’ commitment to the profession, in a different cultural context.
This study addresses the following research questions:

(1) What is the relationship between efficacy beliefs, job satisfaction, job stress,
occupational commitment and intentions to quit among English-medium
content teachers and Spanish-medium content teachers?
 Educational Psychology 883

(2) How do self-efficacy, collective efficacy, job satisfaction and job stress differ
between English-medium content teachers and Spanish-medium content
teachers?
(3) What is the difference in the occupational commitment and intentions to quit
among Spanish-medium content teachers and English-medium content
teachers?

Method
Participants and procedure
First, 16 bilingual-private-school owners, principals or directors in the Dominican
Republic were contacted to seek participation in this study. The schools were
selected due to their Bilingual/US type educational system (i.e. dual curriculum
design, mode of instruction in the target language, etc.). Nine schools agreed to par-
ticipate in the study, thus the teachers from these schools were invited to participate
by completing a set of questionnaires entitled ‘teacher survey’. Links to a secure
webpage containing the consent forms and teacher survey were provided through
email. Questionnaires were available online for the duration of the study, which
was approximately 10 months. A total of 109 practicing teachers of all grade levels
and major content areas participated in this study. Although research around teacher
motivation and retention usually involves only K-12 teachers (e.g. Caprara et al.,
2006; Klassen & Chiu, 2011; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2007), most private schools in
the Dominican Republic are comprised of all grades from preschool to high school.
Therefore all grade levels, including preschool were included in the study. Pre-
school is comprised of students from ages of three to five years, with five-year-old
children being in the highest grade (Kindergarten). Elementary school is comprised
of grades one through five. In both preschool and elementary, teachers provide
instruction in all major subjects. Middle school includes grades six through eight,
while the high school grades are nine through twelve. Academic content taught in
middle school and high school includes both major subjects (e.g. Language Arts,
History, Math and Science) and minor subjects (e.g. Moral and Civics and Com-
puter Science). In the present study, approximately 64% of the middle school teach-
ers taught subjects in the field of Humanities (e.g. Language Arts and Social
Studies), while 18% taught Mathematics and 18% taught Science. Of the high
school teachers who participated in this study, 41% reported teaching in the field of
Humanities, 31% taught Science and 19% taught Mathematics. About 9% of the
secondary teachers failed to report the subjects they taught.
Of the 75 English-medium content teachers that participated in the study, 78%
were females. Their ages ranged from 20 to 63 and the mean age was 34.56 years
(SD = 11.6). The English-medium content teachers average teaching experience was
about 9.52 years (SD = 8.98), and 32% taught in secondary school, 31% in elemen-
tary school, 21% in preschool, and 16% in middle school. Of the 34 Spanish-med-
ium content teachers that participated in the study, 70% were females. Their ages
ranged from 19 to 66 and the mean age was 34.44 years (SD = 10.14), and their
average teaching experience was about 10.24 years (SD = 6.88). Of the Spanish-
medium content teachers 35% taught in preschool, 24% in secondary school, 24%
in elementary school and 15% in middle school. About 2% of the Spanish-medium
content teachers failed to report the grade level they teach.
884 R. Barouch Gilbert et al.

Measures
Teacher self-efficacy scale (TSES)
TSES was created by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001). The TSES short
form was used for this study. The scale has produced a strong internal consistency
reliability (α = .90) (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). The TSES short
form has also shown strong reliability with scores obtained in several countries
(Klassen et al., 2009). The short form consists of 12 items that measure three
factors that assess a teacher’s confidence to manage classroom behaviour (e.g. How
much can you do to control disruptive behaviour in the classroom?), carry out
effective instructional strategies (e.g. How much can you do to craft good questions
for students?) and engage students in learning (e.g. How much can you do to moti-
vate students who show low interest in school work?). Participants answered
through a nine-point response scale ranging from 1 (nothing) to 9 (A great deal)
(Klassen & Chiu, 2011). The Teacher Self-efficacy Scale and other measures used
in the present study are shown in Appendix A while the reliability estimates for the
scores are shown in Table 1.

Perceived collective efficacy

Collective efficacy was measured using Caprara et al.’s (2003) one-factor, eight-
item questionnaire. The items, which consist of a nine-point response scale ranging
from 1 (strongly disagree) to 9 (strongly agree), measure the teachers’ belief that
the school as a whole is capable of handling the demands related to the institutional
mission. The scale has shown high internal consistency reliability (α = .82) (Caprara
et al.). For this measure, the item ‘Our school is able to plan and put into action
interventions to prevent students’ drop-out’ was removed from the original scale
due to the cultural irrelevance with this population.

Job satisfaction and job stress

Job satisfaction was measured using Caprara et al.’s (2003) one-factor, four-item
scale, with strong internal consistency reliability (α = .82) (Caprara et al.). This
construct was measured with a nine-point response scale ranging from 1 (strongly
disagree) to 9 (strongly agree). Job stress was measured using eight items from
focus group feedback about sources of teachers’ stress and Boyle, Borg, Falzon,
and Baglioni’s (1995) Teacher Stress Inventory, which measures teacher classroom

Table 1. Reliability coefficients, means and standard deviations for english-medium and
spanish-medium content teachers.

English-medium (n = 75) Spanish-medium (n = 34)

Scale α M SD α M SD
Teacher self-efficacy 0.84 7.39 0.90 0.87 7.98 0.89
Teacher collective efficacy 0.90 6.82 1.53 0.94 7.47 1.79
Job satisfaction 0.88 6.56 1.92 0.87 7.54 1.88
Teacher job stress 0.84 5.09 1.62 0.88 4.25 1.81
Occupational commitment 0.84 6.36 1.55 0.71 6.99 1.37
Intentions to quit 0.90 3.19 2.21 0.86 2.37 1.47
 Educational Psychology 885

stress. The stress items were presented with the stem, ‘As a teacher what factors do
you predict being the greatest source of stress for you?’ Responses ranged from 1
(no stress) to 9 (extreme stress). In prior studies, the scale has shown strong internal
consistency reliability (α = .81) (Boyle et al., 1995; Klassen & Chiu, 2011).

Occupational commitment and intention to quit

Teachers’ commitment to the teaching profession included items that measure a tea-
cher’s level of occupational commitment as well as their intentions of quitting.
Occupational commitment was assessed using Hackett et al.’s (2001) eight-item
scale, that ranges from 1 (Disagree strongly) to 9 (Agree strongly). Intention to quit
was measured by three items adapted from Hackett et al.’s 2001 occupational with-
drawal intentions scale, with responses ranging from 1 (Disagree strongly) to 9
(Agree strongly). Both measures have shown strong internal consistency reliabilities
(α = .80) and (α = .87), respectively (Klassen & Chiu).

Translations
The Spanish version of the questionnaires was translated following established
translation protocols from cross-cultural psychology (Klassen & Chiu, 2011). A
team of three bilingual translators with knowledge in research, education and psy-
chology provided back translations. This process consisted of translating the content
into a second language and then back into its original language (Chapman & Carter,
1979). Translations for each bilingual translator were examined and compared. If
discrepancies were found, further discussion was carried out until consensus was
reached among the translators.

Contextual factors
Teachers reported their teaching position (teacher or teacher assistant), level (pre-
school, elementary, middle school or high school), years of experience, qualifica-
tions (i.e. whether having a teaching diploma), gender, language used during
instruction, mother language, nationality and years residing in the Dominican
Republic if being of American or another nationality. These contextual factors were
included as demographic variables in the analyses.

Data analysis
Prior to data analysis, all variables were examined for accuracy of data entry, outly-
ing cases and normality of distributions through IBM® SPSS® Statistics software
(version 18). Furthermore, internal consistency reliability of the questionnaire items
was obtained. Descriptive statistics-reliability coefficients, means and standard devi-
ations for the six variables (teacher self-efficacy, collective efficacy, job satisfaction,
job stress, job commitment and occupational withdrawal intentions) were examined.
Correlational analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between the study
variables. Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient was used for the correla-
tion analyses. Assumptions for the Pearson’s correlation coefficient, including the
use of interval and normally distributed data, were examined and met prior to data
analysis. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted to examine
886 R. Barouch Gilbert et al.

how the dependent variables combined, differ among the levels of the independent
variable (i.e. English-medium or Spanish-medium content teachers). To control for
the unequal sample sizes, sum of square type III was applied on both group of
teachers prior to conducting MANOVA.
The assumption of homogeneity of covariance for MANOVA was addressed by
first conducting a Levene’s test which confirms the assumption of normality to be
true for univariate tests as heterogeneity of variance was not significant (p > .05).
Thereafter, Box’s test was conducted to assess the assumption of equality of covari-
ance matrices (Field, 2009). Results showed that the assumption of equality of
covariance matrices was satisfied (p > .05).

Results
Distributions were normal and fell within acceptable levels of skewness and
kurtosis (±1.0 to ± 2.0) (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2006) for English-medium and Span-
ish-medium content teachers. Table 1 presents the internal consistency reliability
coefficients, means and standard deviations for the study variables. All measures
displayed adequate levels of reliability ranging from α = .71 to α = .94. For English-
medium content teachers, reliability coefficients for teacher self-efficacy was
α = .84, collective efficacy α = .90, job satisfaction α = .88, teacher stress α = .84,
occupational commitment α = .84 and intentions to quit α = .90. Reliability coeffi-
cients for Spanish-medium content teacher were equally high with teacher self-effi-
cacy α = .87, collective efficacy α = .94, job satisfaction α = .87, teacher stress
α = .88, occupational commitment α = .71 and intentions to quit α = .86.
In the next section, results of the statistical analysis are reported based on the
research questions.
Research question 1: What is the relationship between efficacy beliefs, job satis-
faction, job stress, occupational commitment and intentions to quit among English-
medium content teachers and Spanish-medium content teachers?
The purpose of the first research question was to examine the relationships
among the dependent variables. Tables 2 and 3 present bivariate correlations among
the study variables for English-medium and Spanish-medium content teachers,
respectively. We found that for English-medium content teachers’, self-efficacy was
found to be positively and significantly correlated with collective efficacy (r = .28,
p = .015). Teacher self-efficacy and collective efficacy were also found to be posi-
tively and significantly correlated to job satisfaction (r = .29, p = .010 and r = .52,
p < .001 respectively). Furthermore, teacher self-efficacy and collective efficacy were

Table 2. Correlations among variables for english-medium content teachers.

Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Teacher self-efficacy 1
2. Teacher collective efficacy 0.28⁄ 1
3. Job satisfaction 0.29⁄ 0.52⁄ 1
4. Job stress 0.40⁄ 0.26⁄ 0.42⁄ 1
5. Occupational Commitment 0.36⁄ 0.35⁄ 0.71⁄ 0.51⁄ 1
6. Intentions to quit 0.18 0.34⁄ 0.56⁄ 0.26⁄ 0.76⁄ 1
⁄
Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed).
 Educational Psychology 887

Table 3. Correlations among variables for spanish-medium content teachers.

Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Teacher self-efficacy 1
2. Teacher collective efficacy 0.11 1
3. Job satisfaction 0.00 0.78⁄ 1
4. Job stress 0.06⁄ 0.05 0.01⁄ 1
5. Occupational Commitment 0.32⁄ 0.14 0.11⁄ 0.49⁄ 1
6. Intentions to quit 0.28 0.27 0.06⁄ 0.07⁄ 0.75⁄ 1
⁄
Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed).

found to be negatively and significantly correlated with job stress (r = .40,

p < .001 and r = .26, p = .026 respectively). Teacher collective efficacy was inver-
sely and significantly correlated with intentions to quit (r = .34, p = .003). Teacher
self-efficacy and collective efficacy were found to be positively and significantly
correlated with occupational commitment, r = .36, p = .001 and r = .35, p = .001,
respectively. Job satisfaction was found to be negatively and significantly correlated
with job stress, r = .42, p < .001, and intentions to quit, r = .56, p < .001. Further-
more, job satisfaction and occupational commitment were positively and signifi-
cantly correlated, r = .71, p < .001 in the sample of English-medium content
teachers. Our findings also showed that teacher job stress was found to be posi-
tively and significantly correlated with intentions to quit, r = .26, p = .011 and nega-
tively and significantly correlated with occupational commitment, r = .51, p < .001.
Moreover, occupational commitment was found to be negatively and significantly
correlated with intentions to quit, r = .76, p < .001 for English-medium content
teachers.
For Spanish-medium content teachers, teacher collective efficacy was found to
be positively and significantly correlated to job satisfaction, r = .78, p < .001.
Furthermore, teacher self-efficacy was found to be positively and significantly corre-
lated with occupational commitment, r = .32, p = .031. Moreover, findings showed
that occupational commitment was negatively and significantly correlated with job
stress, r = .49, p = .002 and intentions to quit, r = .75, p < .001.
Research question 2: How do self-efficacy, collective efficacy, job satisfaction,
and job stress differ between English-medium content teachers and Spanish-medium
content teachers?
To answer the second research question, MANOVA was conducted to test the
differences between English-medium and Spanish-medium content teachers across
levels of teacher self-efficacy, collective efficacy, job satisfaction and job stress.
Levene’s test of equality of error variance revealed normality for all dependent
variables.
Results from the MANOVA revealed statistically significant differences between
English-medium content teachers and Spanish-medium content teachers, (Wilks’
Lambda = .861, F = 2.74, p = .016, partial η2 = .139). Univariate follow-up tests
revealed significant differences between English-medium and Spanish-medium con-
tent teachers’ self-efficacy, F(1, 107) = 10.27, MSE = 8.25, p = .002, partial η2 = .09;
job stress, F(1, 107) = 5.88, MSE = 16.64, p = .017, partial η2 = .05; and job satisfac-
tion, F(1, 107) = 6.21, MSE = 22.66, p = .014, partial η2 = .06. However, the differ-
ence between English-medium and Spanish-medium content teachers’ collective
888 R. Barouch Gilbert et al.

efficacy was marginally insignificant, F(1, 107) = 3.80, MSE = 9.90, p = .054, partial
η2 = .03.
Results across both group of teachers revealed that Spanish-medium content
teachers have higher levels of self-efficacy and job satisfaction when compared to
English-medium content teachers. As predicted, English-medium content teachers
were found to have higher levels of job stress compared to Spanish-medium content
teachers. However, no significant differences were found between English-medium
and Spanish-medium content teachers’ collective efficacy (Table 4).
Research question 3: What is the difference in the occupational commitment
and intentions to quit among Spanish-medium content teachers and English-medium
content teachers?
MANOVA was conducted to examine the differences between English-medium
and Spanish-medium content teachers’ occupational commitment and intentions to
quit. All assumptions for conducting a MANOVA were met (Table 5).
Results reveal significant differences between English-medium and Spanish-
medium content teachers’ occupational commitment, F(1, 107) = 4.16, MSE = 9.33,
p = .044, partial η2 = .04. No significant difference was found between English-med-
ium and Spanish-medium content teachers’ intentions to quit, F(1, 107) = 3.84,
MSE = 15.51, p = .053, partial η2 = .04. Differences across both groups of teachers
revealed that Spanish-medium content teachers have higher levels of occupational
commitment when compared to English-medium content teachers. However, pair-
wise comparisons across both groups of teachers revealed no significant differences
between English teachers’ and Spanish teachers’ intentions to quit the work
environment.

Discussion
In the first research question, we examined the relationship between efficacy beliefs,
job satisfaction, job stress, occupational commitment and intentions to quit among
English-medium content teachers and Spanish-medium content teachers. The results

Table 4. MANOVA Test of Differences in Teacher Efficacy, Job Satisfaction, and Job
Stress Across Group of Teachers (n = 109).

Variables M SD F p Partial η2
Self-efficacy 10.27 0.002 0.09
English-medium 7.39 0.90
Spanish-medium 7.98 0.89

Collective efficacy 3.80 0.054 0.03

English-medium 6.82 1.53
Spanish-medium 7.47 1.79

Job satisfaction 6.21 0.04 0.06

English-medium 6.56 1.92
Spanish-medium 7.54 1.88

Job stress 5.88 0.017 0.05

English-medium 5.09 1.62
Spanish-medium 4.25 1.81
Note: For English-medium content teachers, n = 75; for Spanish-medium content teachers, n = 34.
 Educational Psychology 889

Table 5. MANOVA Test of Differences in Occupational Commitment and Intentions to

Quit Across Group of Teachers (n = 109).

Variables M SD F p Partial η2
Occupational Commitment 4.16 0.044 0.04
English-medium 6.36 1.55
Spanish-medium 6.99 1.37

Intentions to quit 3.84 0.053 0.04

English-medium 3.19 2.21
Spanish-medium 2.37 1.47
Note: For English-medium content teachers, n = 75; for Spanish-medium content teachers, n = 34.

showed that correlations among the dependent variables for our English-medium
content teachers revealed a positive relationship between teacher self-efficacy
and collective efficacy. This finding corroborates Bandura’s (2000) claim that self-
efficacy is not completely detached from the group’s collective efficacy beliefs due
to the fact that judgements of our personal capacity take into account the distinctive
dynamics within a group. For Spanish-medium content teachers, even though self-
efficacy and collective efficacy were positively related, the strength of this relation-
ship was not observed for this sample. A plausible reason for the differences in
findings with Spanish-medium content teachers could be as a result of the differ-
ences in validity of measures used for teacher self-efficacy and collective efficacy.
Both TSES and collective efficacy scales measure different aspects of efficacy:
teachers’ inherent beliefs of their personal capacity in successfully carrying out a
teaching task or their belief that as a group they are able to carry out a task success-
fully within school environment. Sample size increases the probability of obtaining
a statistically significant result (Field, 2009). Therefore, it is possible that due to the
larger amount of English-medium content teachers, this lack of relationship between
both item measures was not observed. Measures for personal efficacy and collective
efficacy and what each of them actually capture represents enough differences that
could explain why the two were not correlated as expected for Spanish-medium
content teachers. The test items for both scales are essentially capturing two differ-
ent aspects of teaching behaviour, with the items for each measure not necessarily
measuring the same factors. When trying to capture the relationship between self-
efficacy and collective efficacy constructs, future researchers should focus on using
comparable measures that would allow for more direct relationships between both
constructs.
Similar to findings from Klassen and Chiu (2010), results from the present study
indicated a positive relationship between both self-efficacy and collective efficacy
with job satisfaction for English-medium content teachers. This evidence suggests
that self-efficacy and collective efficacy beliefs influence English-medium content
teacher’s overall attitude and behaviour towards the organisation they work in.
Chong et al. (2010) suggested that when teachers feel highly efficacious of their
personal and collective abilities to successfully carry out school-related tasks and
promote student learning, they are also more likely to perceive their school as com-
petitive, with high standards and be committed to student learning. Job satisfaction
is strongly influenced by collective efficacy, which in turn is indirectly mediated by
individual self-efficacy (Caprara et al., 2003). Interestingly however, for
890 R. Barouch Gilbert et al.

Spanish-medium content teachers, only teacher collective efficacy was found to be

significantly correlated to job satisfaction. This brings into question the mediating
relationship between self-efficacy, collective efficacy and job satisfaction suggested
by Caprara et al. (2003).
Results showed that English-medium content teacher self-efficacy and collective
efficacy were negatively correlated with teacher job stress. This finding is closely
aligned with self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977), which suggests that efficacy
beliefs affect teachers’ level of motivation and the amount of stress they endure in
difficult situations. This implies that teachers with a stronger sense of efficacy are
more capable of coping with and enduring stressful situations. Consequently, these
teachers experience less stress when compared to those who possess lower levels of
teaching efficacy (Betoret, 2006). Recent research also has shown that teachers’ col-
lective beliefs in their shared capacities provide support for the effects stressful
teaching situations bring (Klassen, 2010). Results suggested that English-medium
content teachers with higher levels of job satisfaction experienced more commit-
ment towards the profession and lower levels of stress and intentions to quit. This
finding corroborates previous research indicating that teachers who experience
higher levels of work stress feel less satisfied (Klassen & Chiu, 2010) and more
committed (Ostroff, 1992) with their jobs in teaching, consequently influencing
teachers’ attitudes and intentions to quit the work environment (Ostroff).
Klassen and Chiu (2011) found that teacher stress is inversely related to occupa-
tional commitment and both have a direct influence on the intentions of leaving the
profession. Similarly, study findings show that both English-medium and Spanish-
medium content teachers’ occupational commitment was found to be negatively
related with job stress and intentions to quit. This suggests that the more committed
English-medium and Spanish-medium content teachers are to their teaching careers,
the less likely they are to feel work-related stress and desire to quit the teaching
profession. The inverse relationship between teacher stress and occupational com-
mitment suggests that in order to increase teachers’ commitment, school administra-
tors may apply strategies geared towards the reduction of stress inducing factors
present in the school environment.
Results of the present study showed that the higher English-medium content
teachers’ collective efficacy the less their intentions to quit their jobs in teaching.
For English-medium content teachers, the notion of solid beliefs in the capabilities
of the group ultimately influence their motivation, actions and goals to pursue
(Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2007). A groups’ collective efficacy influences the future an
individual wishes to obtain through collective action, the effort put into the task
and the persistence of staying on the job in the face of failure. English-medium
content teachers, when experiencing higher levels of collective efficacy, may there-
fore be able to sustain pressure in the face of difficult classroom situations.
In the second research question, we examined how self-efficacy, collective effi-
cacy, job satisfaction, and job stress differ between English-medium content teach-
ers and Spanish-medium content teachers. Results from multivariate analysis
indicated that English-medium content teachers possessed lower levels of self-effi-
cacy and job satisfaction, and higher levels of stress when compared to Spanish-
medium content teachers. English-medium content teachers may experience higher
levels of stress due to their low levels of self-efficacy which enable them to access
the necessary resources to successfully respond in the face of difficult situations.
Researchers have suggested that teachers with high levels of self-efficacy and better
 Educational Psychology 891

abilities to cope suffer less stress compared to teachers with a low sense of self-effi-
cacy (Betoret, 2006). This relationship is closely aligned with the study findings
between English-medium and Spanish-medium content teachers. Teachers that pos-
sessed higher levels of self-efficacy also experienced more satisfaction in their work
environment (Caprara et al., 2003). In fact, it is very unusual for teachers who pos-
sess strong efficacy beliefs to feel unsatisfied with their job. Therefore, it is more
commonly expected to observe higher satisfaction among efficacious teachers com-
pared to those who doubt their personal capabilities (Caprara et al., 2006). Evidence
presented in this study validates this statement as results indicated that Spanish-
medium content teachers, when compared to English-medium content teachers, not
only possess higher levels of personal teaching efficacy, but also higher levels of
job satisfaction.
Schunk (2008) suggested that teachers with low self-efficacy may not expend
much effort looking for resources to teach in ways that students might understand
better. Alternatively, teachers with high self-efficacy may expend a greater effort to
develop ways in which student learning might be more successful. This statement
has serious implications for English-medium content teachers, considering that these
teachers have the responsibility to carry out instruction of subject matter through a
target language (Brinton et al., 2003). Although learning may be achieved, the tar-
get language used by the student in the classroom must be ‘sufficiently well devel-
oped’ (Baker, 2006, p. 170). A poorly developed second language may inhibit a
student’s ability to process and comprehend academic content. Hence, students may
be unable to solve complex learning tasks (Baker). Teachers then face the arduous
task of facilitating instruction in spite of the student’s language limitations. Due to
the instructional implications involved in content-based teaching, English-medium
content teachers should expend greater effort in their teaching practices compared
with Spanish-medium content teachers. English-medium content teachers face the
challenges of engaging students with a variety of academic abilities in learning
tasks while delivering instruction in the target second language. If not possessing
adequate levels of teaching efficacy, these teachers may confront difficulties of
being able to successfully boost and maintain student achievement.
In the third research question, we sought to examine the differences in the occu-
pational commitment and intentions to quit among Spanish-medium content teach-
ers and English-medium content teachers. Intrinsic factors such as self-efficacy, job
stress, or job satisfaction define a teacher’s way of acting, ultimately influencing the
course of action taken in situations that may arise in the work environment
(Bandura, 1993, 2000; Ostroff, 1992; Schunk, 2008; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2007;
Wood & Bandura, 1989). For instance, Bandura (1993) claimed that teachers who
lack a good sense of ‘instructional efficacy’ (p. 134) usually spend little time on
school duties, showing a weak commitment to their job. This suggests that teachers
who believe in their inherent teaching capabilities will show more commitment
towards the profession and are less likely to express their intent to quit. Similarly,
results showed that English-medium content teachers possessing lower levels of
self-efficacy and higher levels of stress also experienced less commitment towards
the teaching profession when compared to Spanish-medium content teachers.
Research suggests that teachers suffering from excessive stress are increasingly
absent from the job and those who feel dissatisfied with their job tend to perma-
nently avoid the work environment (Leithwood & Beatty, 2008; Locke, 1970). In
fact, teachers who experience satisfaction in their teaching jobs are more likely to
892 R. Barouch Gilbert et al.

remain in the profession (Perrachione et al., 2008; Stockard & Lehman, 2004). Nev-
ertheless, despite experiencing higher levels of job stress coupled with lower levels
of self-efficacy, job satisfaction and occupational commitment when compared to
Spanish-medium content teachers, English-medium content teachers did not show
significant differences in their intentions to quit when compared to Spanish-medium
content teachers. Hackett et al. (2001) suggested that a worker’s level of occupa-
tional commitment should be enhanced, due to the fact that this construct is likely
to affect the employee’s intention of staying or leaving the work environment. Yet,
interestingly, even though English-medium content teachers felt less committed
towards their profession, their intention to quit their teaching job was not signifi-
cantly different from Spanish-medium content teachers. A plausible explanation of
this finding could be that even though English-medium content teachers feel less
committed to the teaching profession, they might stay in the work environment due
to extrinsic reasons. In the Dominican Republic, bilingual education is known to be
a prestigious form of education which only people from higher socio-economical
class are able to afford (Scheker, 2007). English-medium content teachers believing
their job in teaching is prestigious may be unwilling to quit despite experiencing
job dissatisfaction, job stress, lower self-efficacy and less occupational commitment
when compared to Spanish-medium content teachers. Salary is also considered to
be an extrinsic factor which influences teacher retention (Borman & Dowling,
2008). Instruction in bilingual education is provided in a foreign target language,
therefore, bilingual schools in the Dominican Republic usually pay English-medium
content teachers a higher salary compared to their Spanish-medium content teacher
counterparts. Therefore, another plausible reason why English-medium and Spanish-
medium content teachers’ intentions to quit do not significantly differ could be that
English-medium content teachers stay due to an increased salary.

Limitations
Our study may be limited by its sample size, specifically for Spanish-medium con-
tent teachers. A larger sample size may provide a more precise explanation of the
variations among these emotional factors between English-medium and Spanish-
medium content teachers. Furthermore, findings in the present study should be inter-
preted in relation to the dimensions of culture, school and teacher behaviour. Teach-
ers that participated in this study come from a single country (Dominican
Republic). Therefore, one may not be able to generalise the results to other cultures
(Bandura, 2002). Nevertheless, responding to the need for research outside of North
American settings (Klassen, 2004; Klassen et al., 2010), the results provided by this
study should be compared and contrasted with results among other culturally
diverse educational contexts.
The present study looks at data that was collected to provide a snapshot of the
sample of English-medium and Spanish-medium content teachers at a single point
in time. A longitudinal study following teachers’ school or career migration may
provide a more comprehensive view of the differences between English-medium
and Spanish-medium content teachers.

Future research
Researchers should continue to explore self-efficacy, job satisfaction and job stress
in non-North American settings and alternative forms of educational environments,
 Educational Psychology 893

such as bilingual education. Similar to the study conducted by Woolfolk Hoy and
Burke Spero (2005) which examined the changes in teacher efficacy from entry into
a teacher preparation programme through the induction year, a longitudinal study
may provide a more comprehensive view of the differences between English-
medium and Spanish-medium content teachers. Keeping track of the teachers’
career choices may confirm if English-medium content teachers’ occupational
commitment through time, affects their quitting intentions.
Future researchers should also examine how student performance is affected by
teachers’ work motivation in bilingual educational contexts. The evidence in the
present study show that variations in the school context, such as language used dur-
ing instruction, influence teachers’ self-beliefs and motivation. Chong et al. (2010)
explored how prior student achievement, through school types, predicted teacher
self-efficacy and collective efficacy and perceived academic climate of teachers in
Singapore. Similarly, future research can take a step further and apply a more holis-
tic approach of teacher motivation research. By including student performance,
researchers may examine teachers’ self-beliefs and their students’ performance by
comparing schools which provide education in the native language to those that
provide bilingual education.

Conclusions
Evidence examined in the present study showed similar patterns of interaction dis-
cussed throughout the literature surrounding teacher efficacy, job satisfaction, job
stress and occupational commitment. Aligned with Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy
theory, relationships among the dependent variables mostly showed that efficacy
beliefs are central to a teacher’s motivation and behaviour. Overall, results exam-
ined in the present study mostly showed a strong influence of efficacy beliefs with
teachers in the Dominican Republic. Findings corroborate Bandura’s (1989, 1990)
social cognitive theory, which suggests that psychosocial functioning occurs within
a triadic reciprocal causation, where factors like cognition (which include efficacy
beliefs), personal aspects, behaviour and environment operate as interacting ele-
ments that influence each other bi-directionally. As mentioned previously, English-
medium and Spanish-medium content teachers have their efficacy beliefs hindered
when facing difficult situations that may arise in the classroom. Under these circum-
stances, their lack of confidence in their teaching abilities may increase their stress
levels and with time experience dissatisfaction towards their teaching job. The inter-
action among these factors such as, teachers’ efficacy beliefs (cognition), classroom
context where stress is experienced (environment), and job dissatisfaction was
which defined by Locke (1970) as the result of an action as well as teachers’
intention of leaving the work environment (behaviour) support Bandura’s triadic
reciprocality (Bandura, 1989).
English-medium content teachers have a great responsibility to carry out instruc-
tion of subject matter through a target language (Brinton et al., 2003) which usually
is a second language or foreign language to the students. The arduous task of
facilitating instruction in a target language suggests that English-medium content
teachers may expend greater effort in their teaching practices compared with
Spanish-medium content teachers. Therefore, greater emphasis should be put on
English-medium content teachers and the adequate levels of teaching efficacy they
should possess. School administrators may adjust school working conditions in
894 R. Barouch Gilbert et al.

order to increase teachers’ sense of individual and collective efficacy, as well as

their job satisfaction. Some of these working conditions may include good commu-
nication, school improvement planning and regular feedback (Leithwood & Beatty,
2008).
Even though English-medium content teachers’ intentions to quit did not signifi-
cantly differ from Spanish-medium content teachers’ intentions to quit, the factors
which did differ between them (e.g. efficacy beliefs, job satisfaction, job stress and
occupational commitment) may represent enough concern for school administrators.
Correlations among the dependent variables in the present study showed a strong
relationship between occupational commitment and intentions to quit for both Eng-
lish-medium and Spanish-medium content teachers. Occupational commitment
inversely relates and also directly or indirectly affects a teachers’ intention of stay-
ing or leaving the work environment (Hackett et al., 2001). Therefore, if English-
medium content teachers continue to experience low occupational commitment,
their chances of leaving their teaching jobs may increase than if they were to feel
more committed to the teaching profession.
The present study provides a new insight for research on efficacy-beliefs, job
satisfaction, job stress and how these factors influence teacher retention. Moreover,
the results showed how these variables differ between English-medium and Span-
ish-medium content teachers. Comparing teachers who use a target language with
those who use the students’ native language for content teaching provides a glimpse
of how different educational contexts greatly influence teachers’ motivation. The
larger the scope which teacher efficacy, job satisfaction and job stress is researched
worldwide, the better the attempts to provide strategies that would enable a better
teacher performance throughout the school year as well as to ensure teacher
commitment to their work environment.

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Appendix A. Teacher Survey
This questionnaire is designed to improve understanding about some of the things that influence teachers in their school activities. Your answers to this
survey are confidential.
1. Teaching position? (e.g. teacher, teacher assistant)
2. Teaching level? (e.g. elementary/middle school/secondary)
3. Major subject(s) that you teach?
4. Do you hold a teaching diploma or any other teaching certification? (Circle one) Yes No
5. Years of experience working as a teacher?
6. Your age?
7. Gender? (circle one) Female Male
8. In what language do you carry out instruction? (Circle one) Spanish English
9. What is your mother language? (Circle one) Spanish English Other
10. Nationality? (Circle one) Dominican American Other
11. If of American nationality, how many years have you been residing in the Dominican Republic?
Section A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Please circle the number that best answers the question
How much can you do? Nothing Very Some Quite a A great
little bit deal
1 How much can you do to control disruptive behaviour in the classroom? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2 How much can you do to motivate students who show low interest in school work? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
3 How much can you do to get students to believe they can do well in school work? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4 How much can you do to help students value learning? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
5 How much can you do to craft good questions for students? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
6 How much can you do to get children to follow classroom rules? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
7 How much can you do to calm a student who is disruptive or noisy? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
8 How much can you do to establish a classroom management system with each group of students? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
9 How much can you do to implement a variety of assessment strategies? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 How much can you do to provide an alternative explanation when students are confused? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
11 How much can you do to assist families in helping their children do well in school? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
12 How much can you do to implement alternative strategies in your classroom? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Educational Psychology

Disagree strongly … Agree strongly

13 I think about quitting the teaching profession 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
14 I intend to quit the teaching profession 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
897

15 I expect to move into another profession/occupation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Section B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
898

Please circle the number that best answers the question Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Agree
strongly Strongly
If I could get a job different from being a teacher that paid the same amount, I would take it 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I definitely want a career for myself in teaching 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
If I could do it all over again, I would not choose to work in the teaching profession 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
This is the ideal profession for me 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I am disappointed that I ever entered the teaching profession 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I talk down the teaching profession 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I believe teaching is a very stressful job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I consider my student teaching assignment to be stressful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Section C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
R. Barouch Gilbert et al.

What do you predict will be the greatest sources of teaching stress for you? No stress Mild stress Moderate stress Much Extreme
stress stress
Adapting curriculum for a range of student needs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Students’ lack of effort 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Noisy students 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Too much work to do (e.g. preparing lessons/marking) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Maintaining class discipline 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Students’ impolite behaviour or rudeness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Having extra duties/responsibilities (e.g. extracurricular) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Large class size 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Section D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Please circle the number that best answers the question Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Agree
strongly strongly
I am fully satisfied with my job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I am happy with the way my colleagues and superiors treat me 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I am satisfied with what I achieve at work 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I feel good at work 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Section E 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Please circle the number that best answers the question Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Agree
strongly strongly
Our school is capable of promoting and supporting important initiatives and activities in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
the community
Our school is capable of earning full collaboration from public entities and agencies 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Our school is capable of earning credibility and prestige within the community 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Our school is capable of achieving all the educational objectives set in accordance with 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
national standards
Our school is capable of accommodating teaching activities to the newest 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
technological innovations
Our school is capable of obtaining full cooperation and participation from parents in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
the school activities
All people in our school are able to work together to maximise school functioning, even 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
when facing unexpected challenges and problems
Our school is capable of overcoming successfully the various difficulties that may arise 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Educational Psychology
899
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