Development of the teacher self-concept evaluation scale and its relation to burnout

Studies in Educational Evaluation PERGAMON

Studies in Educational Evaluation 27 (2001) 239-255 www.elsevier.nl/stueduc

D E V E L O P M E N T OF THE T E A C H E R S E L F - C O N C E P T E V A L U A T I O N S C A L E A N D ITS RELATION TO B U R N O U T

Aurelio Villa and Esther Calvete Department of Educational Sciences University of Deusto, Spain

Current models of quality management emphasize personal development and involvement as a fundamental concept (EFQM, 1999). From this point of view, schools can find the assessment of teachers' self-perceptions and satisfaction a useful tool for evaluating an important factor of the climate of the organization. In this article teacher self-concept is proposed as a construct that includes several dimensions related to satisfaction, involvement, learning disposition, and other elements important for quality development. Several authors have pointed out the importance of the teacher's self-concept, both for the teaching-learning process and for the development of pupils' own self-concept (Aspy & Butler, 1975; Burns, 1982; Elexpuru, 1988). Nevertheless, this interest has hardly been accompanied by studies that evaluate teacher self-concept and its impact on teachers' behavior and emotions. In the last few years a multidimensional perspective of the personal identity construct has been supported. One of the more relevant models is that initially proposed by Shavelson, Hubner, and Stanton (1976). According to this model, self-perceptions organize themselves in accordance with the nature of specific dimensions. The number of dimensions included in a person's self-concept depends on certain variables, such as age (Byrne, 1996; Marsh, 1993a), gender (Marsh, 1993b), cultural context (Watkins, Fleming & Alfon, 1989) or professional demands (Arthur, 1995). On the other hand, self-concept has frequently been approached from a cognitive point of view. Purkey (1970) defined self-concept as a complex and dynamic system of beliefs, which an individual considers as true with regard to him/herself, each belief having its corresponding value. From this point of view, self-concept could be defined as a set of 0191-491X/01/$ - see front matter © 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. PII: S0191-49 IX(01)00023-2

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self-schemata which organize the past experience and are used to process the information from social experiences (Brown & Taylor, 1986; Gonzalez, Nufiez, Gonzalez & Garcia, 1997; Markus, Smith & Moreland, 1985). Markus and Wurf (1987) suggested that not all the self-schemata included in the self-concept are active simultaneously; depending on the context, only certain selfschemata relevant to the task will be activated. This led the authors to propose the existence of a working self-concept, formed by central self-representations linked to the circumstances of a particular moment. On applying this idea to the professional concept, it makes sense to propose the existence of a professional self-concept, made up of selfschemata relating to the various facets of oneself as regards professional activity. Teachers' professional self-concept includes a series of beliefs, attitudes and assumptions about aspects such as self-accomplishment in teaching, relationships with students and with other teachers, and the reinforcing value of the teaching profession. A self-concept like this has, among others, the function of regulating teachers' conduct. The self-regulating process is not realized as a whole, but by means of the different selfperceptions or self-schemata that make up the self-concept (Markus & Rubolo, 1989). These self-schemata have been called possible selves by Markus and Nurius (1986), and they determine the different elements in the processing of information: which stimuli are heeded, how they are interpreted and which inferences the teacher draws from the events. It has been suggested that possible selves are an important, strong motivation source, which favours feelings of self-efficiency, competence and behavior control (Bandura, 1986). On the other hand, the cognitive therapy model stresses the influence of cognitive structures and schemata in people's emotional states and behavior (Beck, 1976; Ellis, 1962). According to this approach, the presence of dysfunctional self-schemata in a teacher's professional self-concept will lead him/her to evaluate in a negative way several aspects of his/her professional activity, such as relationships with pupils or his/her efficiency as a teacher. In some cases, he/she will even perceive his/her work as highly unsatisfactory or as a source of threat to his/her well-being. Such processes of dysfunctional cognitive evaluation may contribute to a psychological disorder in the teacher and, in the long run, to develop the burnout syndrome. The burnout syndrome has been described as a psychological syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment, which is a special risk for individuals who work with other people in some capacity (Leiter & Maslach, 1998). Burnout may seriously damage the capacity of teachers to carry out their job. When teachers experience this syndrome their feelings become negative, they develop a cynical attitude and lose contact with the students; there is an increase of physical and mental illness and, sometimes, of drugs and alcohol abuse (Jenkins & Calhoun, 1991). Several studies have shown how teachers' cognitive structures may contribute to the development of experiences of stress and burnout (Bernard, 1989; Calvete & Villa, 1999). Teachers who have dysfunctional beliefs about themselves act in a way that exacerbates the stressors in the school atmosphere (Forman, 1994). However, the acknowledgement of the importance of the teachers' self-concept in relation to the academic behavior of their students and to their own well-being and emotions, has not been accompanied by the development of measuring instruments of the teacher self-concept, or by studies about its impact on teachers' well-being and health.

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Generally, the few studies that have analysed the influence of teacher self-concept, have used instruments that were not specific for teachers. (Sugawara, Harris, & O'Neill, 1988). The development of a measuring instrument that evaluates the professional selfconcept was undertaken by Arthur (1995) in relation to nursing. The Professional SelfConcept of Nurses Instrument (PSCNI) evaluates five dimensions of the professional selfconcept of nurses: flexibility / creativity, skill / competence, communication / empathy, leadership, and satisfaction. Since it was first developed, the structure of the instrument has been replicated in several countries (Arthur et al., 1999). Guskey (1988) developed a scale of 20 items to measure teacher self-concept from a one-dimensional perspective. Villa, (1985, 1992), in his turn developed an instrument which evaluated two dimensions of the teacher self-concept: self-accomplishment and teaching competence. This instrument has been used in studies that have found an association between the two dimensions and teachers' assessment of their pupils' selfconcept (Elexpuru, 1988). However, from the multidimensional point of view now being suggested, it would be desirable to increase the number of dimensions evaluated to include aspects such as satisfaction and self-schemata related to teachers' interpersonal relations with their students and with other teachers. In this sense, the main aim of this study was to develop an instrument to evaluate teachers' professional self-concept from a multidimensional perspective. The hypothesis was that the following six dimensions, in tune with the literature on the topic, would be included in the construct: competence, interpersonal perceptions, satisfaction, taking of risks and initiatives, self-acceptance, and relationships with pupils. In the second place, and in order to be able to contribute to evaluate the empirical validity of the teacher professional self-concept construct, the relationship with other cognitive variables and with several indicators of psychological disorder were analysed. The study of the association between the self-concept dimensions and the symptoms of burnout in teachers was particularly stressed, the hypothesis being that the presence of functional dimensions in teacher self-concept would be associated with fewer symptoms of exhaustion, depersonalization and personal achievement.

Method

Participants Questionnaires were sent to a total of 378 secondary school teachers from 24 schools. These 24 schools were selected randomly from Basque Country's 349 schools, using a cluster sampling procedure and balancing variables, such as the educational model and district. Questionnaires were returned by 197 teachers and they constitute the final sample for this study. Of the participants 52.1% were female and 47.9% male. Socioeconomic status of the schools was mixed. Age ranged between 30 and 40, and 64% had more than 12 years of teaching experience.

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Teacher Self-Concept Evaluation Scale (TSCES) The TSCES is made up of 33 items, 26 indicating positive self-concept and 7 indicating negative self-concept. The TSCES is based on the theoretical dimensions described by Volpi (1996) and also on a previous scale of teacher self-concept (Villa, 1992). Items refer to six dimensions: Competence, Interpersonal Perceptions, Satisfaction, Risk and Initiative, Self-Acceptance, and Relationships with Pupils. Participants were requested to rate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with the statements on a 6-point Likerttype scale: l(Strongly Disagree), 2 (Disagree), 3 (Slightly Disagree), 4 (Slightly Agree), 5 (Agree) and 6 (Strongly Agree). Alpha coefficients for the scale are presented in the results section.

Psychological Symptoms In order to assess psychological symptoms, a brief version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL; Derogatis, Lipman, Rickels, Uhlenhuth, & Covi, 1974) was used. This version is made up of 30 items and includes five subscales: Somatization, Depression, Anxiety, Cognitive Difficulties and Interpersonal Sensitivity. Previous studies have shown adequate psychometric properties for the dimensionality of this scale, and Alpha coefficients ranging from .67 to .83 in other Spanish samples (Calvete & Villa, 1999; Calvete & Cardefioso, 2001). The factor termed Depression inclffdes several symptoms that characterize depressive manifestations in accordance with the DSM-IV (APA, 1994), such as lack of energy, wanting to cry, and finding it difficult to get to sleep. The Cognitive Difficulties subscale describes cognitive problems such as finding it hard to remember things, concentrating or making decisions. The Somatization subscale brings together a number of possible somatic problems that could arise from states of stress, such as headaches or heaviness in limbs. The Interpersonal Sensitivity subscale includes items that deal with feelings regarding relationships with others. A person who scores high in this factor feels lonely and misunderstood and thinks that the others have a negative attitude towards him/her. Finally, the Anxiety subscale includes feelings of fear and the need to avoid certain places or objects. In addition to the scores for each of the above mentioned factors, the list employed provides a total score of the symptoms experienced by the teacher during the previous few months with a reported Alpha coefficient of .89.

The Burnout Syndrome Burnout symptoms were assessed by means of the Spanish version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach & Jackson, 1981), which is a 22-item scale using a Likerttype scale ranging from 0 (never) to 6 (every day). The MBI includes three factors, based on three hypothetical components of the Burnout Syndrome: Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment. In general, this factorial structure has been confirmed by several studies (Enzmann, Schaufeli, & Girault, 1994; Gold, Roth, & Wright, 1992; Leiter & Durup, 1994). The Emotional Exhaustion subscale items describe the feeling

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of being emotionally drained and exhausted due to work. Depersonalization refers to a cold, impersonal attitude towards the user (pupils), and Personal Accomplishment expresses the feelings of success and competence when doing one's job. The Cronbach alpha levels for the three subscales are generally in the .70 to .90 range. The adjustment of the MBI in a Spanish teacher sample has been shown recently (Calvete & Villa, 2000).

Irrational Beliefs The Teacher Irrational Belief Scale (Bernard & DiGuiseppe, 1994) is a measure of irrational beliefs of teachers derived from Ellis's (1962) theory. Three subscales were used in this study. The Self-Downing Attitude subscale (eight items) includes the need of being accepted by others and high self-expectancies. The Low Frustration Tolerance Attitudes subscale (four items) includes items such as "I shouldn't have to work so hard". The Authoritarian Attitude Toward Students subscale (five items) expresses the belief that the teacher should have the power to make students do what he/she wants. Responses to items are based on a Likert-type scale ranging fi'om 0 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Previous research with the Spanish version of these subscales showed alpha coefficients ranging from .71 to .74 in secondary school teachers (Calvete & Villa, 1999).

Procedure Once the schools had been selected, they were contacted by telephone in order to explain the aims of the survey and to ask for their collaboration. The investigating team undertook to debrief them on the results of the study. If one of the selected schools refused to take part, then another in the same area was chosen at random. In order to protect participants' anonymity and get more honest answers, teachers were not required to give their name. The number of questionnaires sent to each participating school corresponded to the number of teachers in secondary education. An accompanying letter with instructions for the school principal was also enclosed, as well as a post-paid envelope to aid the return of the completed questionnaires. The 197 teachers who returned the questionnaires constituted 52 % of the total approached.

Results

Measurement Model of the Teacher Self-Concept Evaluation Scale The correlation matrixes of the items from the Teacher Self-Concept Evaluation Scale (33 items) were computed using the PRELIS2 program (JOreskog & S6rbom, 1996a). Previously, items indicating negative self-concept were recoded. The different models fitted in this study were conducted via maximum likelihood estimation with LISREL8 (J6reskog & S6rbom, 1996b). Goodness of fit was assessed by the Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI), the Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA), and the Comparative Fit Index (CFI). Browne and Cudeck (1993) suggested that an RMSEA of about 0.05 reflects a close fit of the model in relation to its degrees of

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freedom, whereas values as high as .08 reflect a reasonable error o f approximation. Generally, GFI, and CFI values between .80 and .90 represent adequate to good fit and values greater than or equal to .90 reflect good fit. First, we tested the hypothesis that teacher self-concept (TSC) is a multidimensional construct composed o f six correlated factors against two alternative hypotheses (a) that TSC is a one-factor structure, and (b) that TSC is a six-uncorrelated factor structure. Three different models were tested in a series of confirmatory factor analyses: Model 1: Teacher Self-Concept as a one-factor structure. Model 2: Teacher Self-Concept as a six-factor orthogonal model: Competence, Interpersonal perceptions, Satisfaction, Taking of risks and initiatives, Self-acceptance, and Relationships with pupils. Model 3: Teacher Self-Concept as a six-factor oblique model: Competence, Interpersonal perceptions, Satisfaction, Acceptance of risks and initiatives, Self-acceptance, and Relationships with pupils. In all the models, the factor loading matrix was full and fixed (LY). Each item had a nonzero loading on the latent variable which was designed to measure, and zero loading on the other factors. The error variance-covariance matrix (TE) was symmetrical, with diagonal elements free and off-diagonal elements fixed at zero, except for the parameter TE (25,20) which was freely estimated. Comparison o f the models (see Table 1) supported the third model as more adequate. Model 3 reduced the value o f chi-square significantly with respect to Model 2, V Z2 (15) = 340,p < .0001. Table 1:

Goodness-of-Fit Indexes for the Teacher Self-Concept Scale Measurement Models

Model

df

Z2

RMSEA

GFI

CFI

Model 1. One factor: Teacher self-concept

494

1282"

0.09

0.68

0.61

Model 2. Six-factor orthogonal model

494

1188*

0.085

0.71

0.66

Model 3. Six-factor oblique model

479

848*

0.061

0.80

0.83

Model 4. One second order factor

488

870*

0.063

0.79

0.82

* p < .01

Finally, the viability o f Model 4 was tested, proposing that the six first-order factors were explained by one higher order structure. This model has essentially the same firstorder factor structure, but a higher order general teacher self-concept was hypothesized as accounting for, or explaining all o f the covariances among the first-order factors. The comparison between Models 3 and 4 showed that the first increased chi-square significantly, A ;~2 (9) = 22, p < .01). The fit indexes showed that Model 3 provided a better adjustment for the TSCES and, consequently, that the second-order model was untenable.

A. Villa and E. Calvete/ Studies in EducationalEvaluation 27 (2001) 239-255 Table 2:

245

The Six Factor Oblique Model Measurement Model (English translation)

Teacher Self-Concept Evaluation Subscales

Lamda- Y

Theta-Epsilon

0.67 0.58 0.62 0.73 0.80 0.55 0.54 0.66 0.41

0.55 0.66 0.62 0.46 0.37 0.70 0.70 0.57 0.83

0.73 0.82 0.56 0.60 0.50

0.46 0.32 0.68 0.64 0.75

0.65 0.61 0.48 0.48 0.54

0.57 0.63 0.77 0.77 0.71

0.78 0.58 0.68 0.46

0.40 0.66 0.54 0.78

0.68 0.51 0.68 0.47 0.53

0.54 0.74 0.54 0.78 0.72

0.66

0.56

0.74 0.72 0.52 0.40

0.46 0.48 0.73 0.84

Competence 6 1 36 3 26 12 38 39 24

1 feel very competent. Generally speaking, I think I am a good teacher. I think I have good teaching abilities/skills. I believe in my own abilities. I feel self-confident. I have a reputation for being an efficient teacher. I feel that I am a valuable person. I am not very confident about my own ideas and capacities. My colleagues regard me as a competent teacher.

Interpersonal Perception 19 8 14 9 4

I feel integrated with my colleagues. I enioy my interpersonal relations at work. I feel appreciated by others. It is easy for me to share and cooperate with others. I am well accepted by others.

Acceptance of Risks and Initiatives 27 13 5 11 18

I enjoy thinking about new plans. Changes do not worry me. 1 find it difficult to take the initiative. I like taking risks. I am not afraid of criticism from either colleagues or pupils.

Relationship with Pupils 30 29 28 17

I feel secure about my student-teacher relationships. I have full confidence in my pupils. I usually enjoy my classes. In general, pupils hold me in high esteem.

Satisfaction 40 15 10 22 32

I am a failure. It is very difficult to be successful in my present circumstances. My teaching work is not satisfactory. I would change my profession if possible. I cannot stand myself.

Self-Acceptance 35 34 20 33 21

1 feel free and not afraid to be myself and to accept the consequences. I feel at ease with myself although I am not perfect. I know very well what I want and what I can do. I learn a lot from my own mistakes. I find myself continually learning.

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In Table 2, the translation into English o f the items and the main parameters o f the m e a s u r e m e n t model for the six-factor structure are shown. The m e a s u r e m e n t m o d e l specifies the pattern b y which each item loads on a particular factor. The regression coefficients labeled Lamb.da-Y represent the magnitude o f expected change in the items for every change in the related latent factor. The Theta-Epsilon coefficients represent the random measurement error (Byrne, 1998). All the L a m b d a - Y coefficients were statistically different from zero (T-Student>[ 1.96[). Table 3 contains the correlation coefficients between the six subscales. The alpha coefficient for the Teacher Self-Concept Evaluation scale was .89, with the following values for the subscales: .85, .77, .67, .74, .70, and .74, for Competence, Interpersonal Perceptions, Satisfaction, Risk and Initiative, Self-Acceptance, and Relationships with Pupils, respectively. Table 3:

Correlations Between Teacher Self-Concept Evaluation Subseales CO

IN

FL

RE

SA

CO

1

IN

.42**

1

RI

.48**

.21'*

1

RE

.39**

.33**

.37**

1

SA

.31'*

.45**

.17"

.38**

1

AC

.58**

.43**

.49**

.19"*

.38**

AC

1

CO = competence, IN = interpersonal perceptions, RI = acceptance of risks and initiatives, RE= relationships with pupils SA = satisfaction, and AC = self-acceptance Differences in Teacher Self-Concept Evaluation subscales between female and male teachers were assessed. The univariate analysis of variance showed significant effects for the Interpersonal Perception subscale. Women scored more positively in this self-concept dimension, F(1,190)=4.87, p<.02). The means and standard deviations of the TSCES among female and male teachers respectively are displayed in Table 4. Table 4:

Means and Standard Deviations of Teacher Self-Concept Evaluation Subscales

Competence

Women sample N= 100 41.08 (5.24)

Men sample N=97 41.41 (5.43)

Total sample N= 197 41.25 (5.33)

Interpersonal

21.99 (3.16)

23.05 (3.49)

22.54 (3.37)

Risk and initiatives

20.45 (3.91)

20.49 (4.22)

20.47 (4.06)

Relationship with pupils

18.02 (2.55)

18.13 (2.79)

18.08 (2.67)

Satisfaction

28.62 (4.68)

29.63 (4.74)

29.15 (4.72)

Self-acceptance

23.35 (3.07)

24.17 (3.35)

23.78 (3.24)

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Teacher Self-Concept and Psychological Adjustment

Correlation coefficients among the Teacher-Self Concept Evaluation Subscales and the other psychological variables were computed. Table 5 shows several significant correlations. Low correlations were observed between TSCES and teacher irrational beliefs. Higher correlations were found between TSCES and burnout dimensions. Based on these data, the relationships between teacher-self concept and burnout subscales were studied, using structural equation modeling. Responses to the items of each subscale were assigned randomly into two parallel halves. Thus, two split-half measures were used as indicators for each latent variable in the model, following the procedure described by J6reskog and SOrbom (1993, 1996b). In total, 18 indicators were used to measure the hypothesized structural model. The six teacher self-concept subscales were hypothesized to be independent latent variables and their influence on the three-burnout subscales (emotional exhaustion, personal achievement, and depersonalization) was estimated. First, all the regression coefficients linking dependent and independent factors (Gamma) were freely estimated. Six of them were statistically significant (T-Student>] 1.961 ), showing the influence of three teacher self-concept subscales (Interpersonal Perception, Relationships with Pupils, and Satisfaction) on burnout dimensions. No statistically significant paths were found between the three other teacher self-concept subscales and burnout. The significant paths from selfconcept variables to the three dimensions of burnout are displayed in Figure 1. The structural model was re-estimated with the gamma coefficients estimated and the rest fixed to zero. The goodness-of-fit indexes for this model were adequate, RMSEA = 0.065, GFI = 0.90, CFI = 0.94. Table5:

Correlation Between Teacher Self-Concept Evaluation Subscales, Beliefs, Psychological and Burnout Symptoms

AU

FR

SD

EE

PA

DE

SO

AN

D

CD

SE

CO

-.02

-.13

-.15"

-.21"*

.43**

.23**

-.05

-.26**

-.26**

-.27**

-.30**

IN

.07

-.09

-.12

-.30**

.44**

-.22**

-.05

-.15"

-.21"*

-.08

-.33**

RI

-.09

-.24**

-.23**

-.12

.32**

-.13

-.09

-.24**

-.19"*

.20**

-.12"*

RE

-.16"

-.29**

-.30**

-.39**

.56**

-.40**

-.04

-.24**

-.23**

-.23**

-.28**

SA

-.19"*

-.26**

-.28**

-.51"*

.35**

-.46**

-.14"

-.34**

-.28**

-.21"*

-.38**

AC

-.01

-.15"

-.14"

-.31"*

.41"*

-.24**

-.06

-.24**

-.23**

-.14"

-.25**

CO = Competence, IN = Interpersonal Perceptions, RI = Acceptance of Risks and Initiatives, RE = Relationships with Pupils, SA = Satisfaction, AC = Self-Acceptance, AU = Authoritarian Attitudes Toward Students, FR = Low Frustration Tolerance Attitudes, SD = Self-Downing Attitudes, EE = Emotional Exhaustion, PA = Personal Accomplishment, DE = Depersonalization, SO = Somatization, AN = Anxiety, D = Depression, CD = Cognitive Difficulties, IS = Interpersonal Sensitivity

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~x~0.31

Interpersonal

(

Emotional Exhaustion

~--

0.54

-0.25

0.23 "

-0.41//)

-0.51 /

Satisfaction

x"~/ (

-0.41 _[

Depersonalization

]~--

0.49

Figure 1: Significant Paths from Self-Concept Variables to Dimensions of Burnout Discussion The main aim of this study was to develop a scale for the measurement of teacher selfconcept from a multidimensional perspective. The proposed scale is based on previous research by Villa (1985, 1992) and the instruments developed by Marsh (1987, 1990b), and encloses six subscales as relevant dimensions of the professional self-perception of teachers: Competence, Interpersonal Perceptions, Satisfaction, Risk and Initiative, SelfAcceptance, and Relations with Pupils. Several measurement models were assessed using confirmatory factorial analysis. A six-factor oblique model showed the best fitting of the data. The first dimension was called Competence. Teachers' perception of their competence turns out to be an essential condition of their image as teachers. This factor comprises such features as teachers' confidence in the classroom, their sense of being a valuable person and a good teacher, possessing the qualities necessary to carry out their task without any problems or at least being capable of solving those that arise. The competence dimension encompasses teachers' self-assessment of their teaching ability. This factol is quite similar to personal efficacy, identified as one of the principal components of self-efficacy (Soodak & Podell, 1996).

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The second dimension, lnterpersona ! Perception, deals with feelings of interpersonal and social integration. Teachers scoring high in this subscale feel appreciated by others and accepted for the way they are, which leads to enjoying their relationships with others. The third factor, Satisfaction, refers to the positive aspects of the teaching profession for teachers. The feeling of doing things well and being successful at work leads teachers to consider their job to be satisfactory, and prevents them from wanting to leave it or to be someone else. Lack of these positive aspects, or negative experiences, lead them to look for a way out or makes them want to leave the profession as they knows it. The fourth factor deals with Taking Risks and Initiatives. This dimension bears similarity with the flexibility component identified in other self-concept scales (Arthur, 1995). A person who takes risks and is willing to take the initiative shows self-confidence and a will to do things better, and tries to do so by different means. A fearful person, by contrast, who does not believe in his/her own power is afraid of risks and prefers anything that represents stability and immobility. In relation to the Risks and Initiatives dimension, Guskey (1988) found that teachers with positive self-perceptions showed a better attitude toward the implementation of new instructional practices. Self-Acceptance, the fifth factor, occurs in numerous measuring instruments of selfconcept and self-esteem. It reflects a feeling of understanding oneself, of being aware of both one's positive and negative features and the acceptance of such qualities. This subscale include items such as "I find myself continually leaming", which means that the individual accepts the fact that he/she does not know everything and therefore has to keep on the move to learn and find out about new issues and other things. The sixth factor is called Relationship with Pupils. This is a very important reference point for teachers. A high score in this factor means that there are no particular problems concerning the pupils, that the teacher enjoys the class and feels appreciated by the pupils, and that this esteem is reciprocated. This block of subscales provides an assessment strategy adapted to the complexity of the topic. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to strengthen the psychometric properties of the Teacher Self-Concept Evaluation Scale and to confirm the dimensionality proposed in this research with samples of other teachers. In our study a second order factor model showed a lower fit for the data and this result contrasts with the proposals made by a number of authors about a hierarchical structure of self-concept dimensions (Byme & Shavelson, 1996; Marsh, 1990a, Marsh & Shavelson, 1985). Therefore, these results should be considered with cautioun because only 52 % of the total sample answered the questionnaires. Future research should present new evidence for the matter. The development of assessment scales for the teacher self-concept can be an important contribution to teacher evaluation instruments (Millman & Darling-Hammond, 1990) and to the possible interaction between internal and external evaluation, or selfevaluation and evaluation by others (Nevo, 1995). A teacher involved in self-evaluation might be more receptive to external teacher evaluation conducted by inspectors or other evaluation authorities increasing the probability of evaluation utilization (Nevo, 2001). It is also important to notice the influence of the teacher's self-image on several pedagogical variables such as efficiency, pupil performance and pupil self-esteem. Teachers who have a positive self-concept tend to value themselves and others in a favorable way. This fact is reflected in the classroom atmosphere and in the pupils' self-concept and their academic

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achievement (Elexpuru, 1988). One teacher objective is to ensure that pupils gain a positive image of themselves as well as accepting their limitations and defects. Bearing this in mind, enhancing pupils' self-concept will be difficult if teachers do not project a positive image of themselves from the word go. As Marchago (1991) pointed out, teachers who have a positive impression of themselves project this image to their pupils and give them a role model to imitate. Those teachers who have realistic conceptions of themselves, accept themselves and others the way they are. When teachers highlight their positive features they help pupils to appreciate themselves objectively and to regard themselves positively. This strengthening of pupils' self-concept will benefit their performance, as has been pointed out in several studies (Elexpuru, 1988; Sugawara, Harris, & O'Neill, 1988). In consequence, the development of a positive self-concept in teachers can be considered as an important strategy in the educational quality improvement process. A second objective in our research was to study the relationship between professional self-concept and burnout. Previous research considered the relations between selfperceptions and symptoms of stress and burnout in other professions, mainly in the field of health (Beer & Beer, 1992; Carmel, 1997; Flett, Biggs & Alpass, 1995). However, few studies have paid attention to the role of self-concept on the welfare and psychological adjustment of teachers. From a cognitive approach, the beliefs and attitudes that constitute the self-concept play an important mediating role between events and feelings and/or behaviors. In accordance with this model, the hypothesis can be made that teachers with positive beliefs about themselves will experience fewer symptoms of stress and burnout. The results of this study showed numerous positive correlations between teacher self-concept subscales and psychological symptoms. The pattern of structural equations obtained showed that the dimensions Relations with Pupils, Interpersonal Perceptions, and Satisfaction were the ones more strongly associated with burnout components. These data underline the relevance of self-perceptions relating to relations with other people. From a transactional perspective (Lazarus, 1966, 1993, 1995), such data suggest that self-concept dimensions act as a moderating variable between stress factors at work and the behavior and emotions of the teachers. In accordance with this model, teachers with negative self-concept will perceive and assess events and circumstances affecting them in such a way that they will feel awful and even threatened by the prospect of having to go to work. On the other hand, teachers enjoying a more positive self-concept will assess events in a more favorable way and will feel better prepared to cope in adverse circumstances. This interpretation is close to the plasticity hypothesis (Brockner, 1988), according to which people with a negative self-image are more vulnerable to environmental events, particularly those affecting work. This way, teachers with low self-concept, for example, will tend not to believe very much in their ability to influence their pupils, especially in matters that could positively affect their self-concept. Finally, the role of self-concept mediation in the relationship between teachers and their environment suggests that an improvement in self-concept can serve as an important means of intervention in the prevention and reduction of stress in teachers. Such an intervention strategy has recently been incorporated into a project designed to prevent and reduce stress in secondary school teachers (Project Deusto 14-16, Calvete & Villa, 1997). The intervention program includes techniques for the improvement of teachers' selfconcept, together with relaxation training, cognitive restructuring and social problem

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The Authors AURELIO VILLA is senior professor o f research methodology at the University o f Deusto. His research interests include issues pertaining to educational innovation, evaluation methods, management and training teachers. He has published several books and journal articles analyzing stress in teachers, and self-concept. ESTHER CALVETE is an assistant professor at the University o f Deusto. She also works at the Institute for Social Assistance in Bizkaia as a training officer. She received her doctorate in psychology in 1990. She has published journal articles on stress and burnout syndrome. Her current research focuses on cognitive assessment and the cognitive predictors o f psychological maladjustment.