Werken in het onderwijs; is dat even schrikken? De relatie tussen de ervaren reality shock en het welbevinden onder startende docenten

Abstract

Abstract There’s a high dropout of beginning teachers in secondary schools due to burn-out complaints. In this study, the relationship between the experienced reality shock and wellbeing, including burn-out complaints and enthusiasm, is measured. Self-efficacy, social support as job resource, workload and emotional load as job demands, and the person-environment fit are in this study related to the relationship between the experienced reality shock and wellbeing. The variables were measured by a questionnaire among Dutch teachers who have been working as teachers in secondary schools for no more than five years. The respondents were approached through educational institutions and personal networks. The questionnaire was taken online and was fully completed by 141 respondents. The experienced reality shock was significantly positively related to emotional load, exhaustion (component of burn-out) and distance (component of burn-out), and significantly negatively related to social support, enthusiasm, competences (component of burn-out) and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy had a significant mediation effect on the relationship between the reality shock and wellbeing, but not for the relationship between the reality shock and exhaustion. It can be concluded that reducing the reality shock is relevant for the prevention of burn-out complaints among beginning teachers in secondary schools. This can be done by increasing social support and self-efficacy, and reducing emotional load. Burn-out complaints can also be prevented directly: exhaustion can be prevented by lowering workload and emotional load, distance by improving the person-environment fit and competences could increase by improving the person-environment fit and increasing the self-efficacy.