Reconstructing the Meaning of Work to Promote Teachers' Mental Health | ||
| Health Education and Health Promotion | ||
| Article 15, Volume 11, Issue 2, 2023, Pages 273-278 PDF (813.09 K) | ||
| Document Type: Qualitative Research | ||
| DOI: 10.58209/hehp.11.2.273 | ||
| Authors | ||
| R. Aziz* 1; R. Mangestuti1; Y. Sholichatun1; Ali. Ridho1; M. Mukhibat2 | ||
| 1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, East Java, Indonesia | ||
| 2Department of Islamic Education, Faculty of Education and Teachers Science, Institute Agama Islam Negeri Ponorogo, East Java, Indonesia | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Aims: Teachers often encounter work-related challenges that can compromise their mental health. We used a dual-factor model to evaluate the relationship between the meaning of work and teachers’ mental health. Mental health is defined as a high level of psychological well-being and a low level of psychological distress. Participants & Methods: This qualitative study involved a survey completed by 261 elementary school teachers in East Java, Indonesia, and five teacher interviews. Data were collected through documentation, interviews, and a Mental Health Scale, and data analysis was performed through descriptive and thematic analysis. Findings: Many problems of teachers in performing their duties and teachers' inability to interpret their behavior have caused the level of mental health to decrease. Conclusion: Our results contribute to a better understanding of teacher challenges that can affect overall mental health and provide useful strategies to improve teaching conditions. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Mental health; work; School Teachers; Teaching | ||
| Full Text | ||
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Introduction
The complexity and severity of teachers’ workload at various levels of education have increased psychological disorders. For example, several studies have shown a tendency for increased stress experienced by teachers in carrying out their profession [1, 2]. Teachers also experience anxiety with different work demands to complete [3, 4]. There is a tendency of depression in teachers [5, 6]. These conditions indicate the existence of psychological problems that require a serious resolution. The meaning of work in teachers is one of the factors that are suspected to affect mental health [7, 8]. Some studies of meaning in the context of teacher mental health can be grouped into two types. The first focuses on the meaning of life in general. Research finds that the meaning of a teacher's life is influenced by creativity in teaching [9]. Other research has found that teachers' life meanings are influenced by performance [10]. The second type of study focuses on the meaning of work. Several experts have also carried out research on this theme [11, 12]. The relationship between these two types of meanings has a close relationship as meaning in work can be a moderator to achieve the meaning of life [13]. This article examined the meaning of work in teachers, involving mental health as a factor influenced by the meaning of teacher work. We described three research objectives related to the meaning of work regarding the mental health of elementary school teachers. The first objective was to identify and describe teachers’ problems recorded online in the last three years. The second objective was to describe and analyze the perceptions of teachers toward their profession. The third objective was to describe and evaluate the impact of teachers’ problems regarding mental health. The theoretical framework for the study depicts mental health based on a dual-factor model. This approach is defined as a state of a high level of psychological well-being and a low level of psychological stress. Through these three objectives, the study is expected to add scientific benefits by providing alternative solutions to support teacher’s mental health by reconstructing the meaning of work as a teacher. Mental health can be defined by two approaches: positive and negative. The first approach defines mental health as fulfilling positive aspects of a person's psychological state. The conditions in question include a sense of pleasure, experiencing satisfaction in life, and the growth of constructive social relationships [14]. The second approach defines mental health as avoiding mental illnesses, such as anxiety, depression, and loss of behavioral control [15]. These two approaches became known as the dual-factor theory of mental health [16]. Thus, individuals who have a healthy mentality, according to this approach, are those who have a high level of psychological well-being and a low level of psychological distress. The positive approach explains that healthy individuals are those with three positive characteristics. First, they are individuals who had a pleasant experience in their life [17]. Second, they have a sense of love as an expression of a positive feeling in cultivating relationships [18]. Finally, they are individuals who have a high level of life satisfaction. This means they can enjoy the experiences in their lives accompanied by joy [19]. Thus, it can be concluded that according to the positive approach, people with positive characteristics of mental health are those with pleasure, love, and satisfaction. The negative approach explains that healthy people avoid feelings of anxiety, depression, and loss of control. Anxiety is a psychological condition representing characteristics of worry, heartache, or fear [20]. Depression is defined as a mood disorder characterized by deep feelings of sadness and a sense of indifference [21]. The loss of control is defined as a person's inability to control him/herself consciously; thus, they produce behaviors that harm others [22]. Thus, according to the second approach, the absence of anxiety, depression, and loss of control are characteristics of mentally healthy individuals. Furthermore, the relationship between work meaningfulness and mental health in teachers has been demonstrated in various studies. Research on the meaning of work in teachers has found that a teacher's positive view of his/her work correlates with his/her level of happiness [23]. Other studies have found that the meaning of work has a very important role in various aspects of life [24]. The meaning of work can be used to predict teachers’ high or low mental health. Some studies have widely studied mental health by linking to other variables (free and bound variables) and using different approaches. This article was built on the premise that a psychologically healthy teacher will have a positive effect on his or her ability to perform professional and responsible duties. In addition, such teachers will also be able to educate and direct their students to become healthy individuals. Teachers’ high level of mental health is influenced by their perception and behavior in interpreting their work; in other words, developing the mental health of teachers is a meaningful work as a teacher. Thus study was done to evaluate the relationship between the meaning of work and teachers’ mental health. Participants and Methods Qualitative research was chosen to understand teachers' problems in interpreting their work-related mental health at the basic education level. The selection of themes about the meaning of work and teachers’ mental health using a qualitative approach was based on three reasons. First, online mass media revealed the need to explain more about the problems of teachers in the last three years. Second, it is necessary to know the teacher's perception of work as a teacher, and finally, the need to know the level of mental health in carrying out his/her duties as a teacher. These three reasons make it possible to find solutions in solving teachers’ problems Research data was obtained from basic education level teachers in several cities in East Java province. The mental health survey was completed by 261 teachers from 15 primary schools (61 men and 200 women). Most subjects were married (67.5%), had honorary teacher status (83.5%), were uncertified (81.6%), were under 30 years old (55.5%), and had work experience under five years (42.1%). Five teachers were selected for the interview regarding perceptions of the teaching profession and had three criteria, namely 1) having a high level of psychological pressure, 2) having a low level of psychological well-being, and 3) willingness to participate in the research. The method of determining the level of psychological well-being and psychological distress of the subjects was carried out through the analysis of mental health scales. The criteria for a subject having a high level of psychological well-being is when the subject's score is higher than the mean score, while the low criteria are obtained when the score is lower than the subject's mean score. Three methods were used for data collection: Documentation, interviews, and psychological scales. Documentation was carried out to obtain information about the problems of teachers in carrying out their profession. The documentation in question was as documents on online mass media. The interview method was used to obtain information about the teacher's opinion of his/her profession. Interviews were conducted only on selected subjects on a limited basis. A psychological scale, based on Aziz and Zamroni’s health measuring instrument, was used to determine the teacher’s mental health [25]. This tool is called the Brief Mental Health Scale (BMHS-12), which reveals mental health from positive (positive emotions, positive social relationships, and life satisfaction) and negative (anxiety, depression, and loss of control) aspects. The number of items in each aspect is 12. The scale is scored on a Likert scale with five alternative answers: very often, often, sometimes, rarely, and never. The scoring process for the psychological well-being aspect ranges from one to five, while for the psychological distress aspect, it ranges from five to one. Content validity testing showed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.824. Construct validity testing was done through confirmatory factor analysis and showed that the goodness of fit of the model meets the specified requirements. Descriptive and thematic analysis was used according to the type of data obtained. A descriptive analysis was carried out to analyze the mental health profile of teachers, both in the form of psychological pressure and psychological well-being. Analysis was performed by grouping subjects into two categories: high and low. The high category was obtained when the subject obtained a higher score than the empirical mean, while the low category was obtained when the subject's score was equal to or lower than the empirical mean. The thematic analysis categorizes teachers' problems and perceptions of their work as teachers. The thematic analysis focused on aspects related to teachers' lack of rewards (both psychological and economic) and teachers' perceptions of unfairness. Both issues show the existence of teachers’ problems related to the meaning of the teaching profession. Findings Teachers’ work problems on online media This section describes recorded online personal and professional teachers’ problems. The presentation of the data focused on the problems recorded in the last three years. All data are presented in Table 1. Table 1) Online recorded teachers’ work problems  Table 1 reveals that teachers had psychological issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the numerous administrative requirements, teachers were under too much pressure and struggled with workplace issues. Also, the financial struggles of teachers and the lack of professionalism in teachers in performing their jobs due to personality problems are highlighted.
Meaning of work
This section outlines two important findings from interviews with five primary school teachers who were selected purposively. The findings are presented in Table 2. Table 2) Teachers’ perception of the meaning of work
 Table 2 shows that there are two issues that indicate a tendency toward a lack of meaning in teaching. The first is the lack of rewards for teachers, both psychological and financial. The second is the unfair treatment of the teaching profession. The data showed that teachers feel a lack of meaning in their work. Both issues show the existence of teachers’ problems related to the meaning of the teaching profession. An overview of the teacher’s mental health This section describes the teacher's mental health through the psychological measurement scale of mental health. The data obtained from 261 teachers were categorized into high and low categories (Table 3). Table 3) Teacher’s mental health  Table 3 explains that out of 261 teachers surveyed on mental health, there were teachers who experienced high psychological distress, both in the aspects of anxiety and depression and in the aspect of loss of control. Some teachers had a low level of psychological well-being regarding positive emotions, satisfaction, and positive social relationships. Teachers' mental health problems needing more attention were about psychological well-being rather than psychological distress.
Discussion There are at least four fundamental issues that basic education teachers must deal with to practice their profession. These four problems can be grouped into two categories: personal problems [2, 5] and professional ones [26]. Several studies have shown that teachers' inability to solve their problems will result in various mental problems [7, 8]. Therefore, the efforts of different parties are necessary to resolve the practice of their profession. This research reflects the importance of attention and development of teachers' knowledge and skills in their profession. Schools and policymakers in the field of education should address this issue [27]. The principal has to provide opportunities for teachers to develop professionalism through various training and education programs [28, 29]. The education office is responsible for making policies that favor teachers for growth opportunities. The policy in question can be in the form of providing scholarships or the existence of rules that provide opportunities for teachers to develop professionally [30, 31]. Both policies can overcome problems experienced by teachers in carrying out their professional duties. Psychological and financial rewards and injustices felt by teachers are the main problems in carrying out their profession. These results align with several previous studies [32, 33]. Addressing both issues should be a priority for all parties. Several studies have shown that happy teachers can complete their duties and obligations satisfactorily [23, 34]. In other words, the handling of psychological and financial problems of teachers must be a priority in formulating policies in educational programs. Teachers who have a low level of mental health, that is, those who have a low level of psychological well-being and have a high level of psychological stress, are less likely to be able to carry out their professional tasks satisfactorily, including their ability to perform learning in the classroom [5, 6]. Ignoring these conditions will lower the academic performance of students and have a greater impact on the low quality of education [37]. This study assessed teacher mental health studies by examining the two positive and negative aspects together in a study. Our results provide a further understanding that the teachers' meaning of work affects their level of mental health. In other words, teachers with a high level of meaning of work tend to have a high level of psychological well-being [13, 35] and a low level of psychological pressure [8, 36]. These results provide an important understanding that teachers' interpretation of work can influence their high level of psychological distress and low level of psychological well-being. The findings of this study demonstrated the importance of supporting teachers' mental health to be optimally developed. Based on the theory of dual mental health models, development can be carried out in two ways: optimization of aspects of psychological well-being and minimization of psychological distress [14, 38]. Optimizing psychological well-being and minimizing teacher psychological pressure can be done by developing the teacher's meaning toward his/her work [12, 13]. In other words, the results of this study provide an understanding of the importance of meaningful work to develop teachers' mental health. The development of mental health through the meaning of work as a teacher can be done through three strategies: developing motivation to work, seeking to have meaning, and contributing to meaning [39]. The first technique requires the principal to encourage teachers to work professionally. This encouragement can be both financial and psychological support. In the second approach, educators are given a chance to explain and contextualize each task. This tactic is used to help teachers get meaning out of each piece of work they produce. The final possible strategy is allowing the teacher to contribute to work that is considered significant for the teacher. Conclusion The high problems experienced by teachers in performing their duties and the inability of teachers to interpret their behavior resulted in low levels of mental health. They experience psychological distress as anxiety, depression, and loss of control. In addition, they also had a low level of psychological well-being. This condition is characterized by a low level of positive emotions, disturbed social associations, and a low level of satisfaction with living life. Teachers’ high level of mental health can be overcome by their ability to reconstruct the meaning of work as teachers. The results of this study reflected the importance of improving and developing the teaching profession to be carried out with various models. Leaders at the school and government levels, especially the education office, should follow up on the results of this research by providing opportunities for teachers to improve their insights and skills as professional teachers. Education and training are strategies that can be carried out for this purpose. In addition, the level of the economic welfare of teachers that is felt to be still unsatisfactory should receive attention from policyholders. This research was conducted qualitatively to describe the condition of the meaning of work and teachers' mental health. Both concepts were only studied descriptively without statistical testing of the relationship between them. Therefore, subsequent studies can consider using a mixed-method type of research as sequential models to test the relationship between the two variables while proposing alternative models for mental health development through the meaning of working as teachers. Another area for improvement lies in taking research subjects that only involve teachers at the primary education level. Further research should involve teachers at all levels of education; thus, the generalizations are getting wider. Acknowledgments: We are thankful to Andrea Madson Gardner, Ph.D. Lecturer in the Department of English Language, Idaho University, USA who assisted in writing the discussion and proofreading of this manuscript. Ethical Permissions: This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines for research. Required permissions were obtained from the State Islamic University of Malang. Conflicts of Interests: None to declare. Authors’ Contribution: Aziz R (First Author), Introduction Writer/Main Researcher (20%); Mangestuti R (Second Author), Methodologist/Assistant Researcher (20%); Sholichatun Y (Third Author), Assistant Researcher/Discussion Writer (20%); Mukhibat M (Forth Author), Assistant Writer/Data Analysis (20%); Ridho A (Fifth Author), Assistant Researcher/Data Analysis (20%). Funding/Support: This research was funded by the Directorate General of Islamic Higher Education, Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia through the Institute for Research and Community Service, Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University of Malang in 2022. | ||
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