What makes an efficacious teacher? The role of basic psychological needs and recovery from stressors in relation to teachers' self-efficacy and performance

Abstract

Background Studies suggest that teachers’ ability to perform their work tasks well is one of the most important antecedents of the achievements of students. This project was focused on verifying an underresearched relation among basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration, the way the teachers use their time to recover from work stressors, with their performance and self-efficacy. Material and Methods The participants were 503 teachers from a representative sample of schools in Poland. In the study performance (Individual Work Performance Questionnaire ), self-efficacy ( Norwegian Teachers Self-Efficacy Scale ), basic psychological needs ( Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Scale ), and recovery processes ( Recovery Experience Questionnaire ) were measured. Results As expected, the results showed that there is a strong relation between basic psychological needs and teachers’ individual performance and self-efficacy. However, this relation is partially mediated by some recovery processes, mostly control and detachment. Conclusions The results prove that, to some extent, the relation between basic psychological needs satisfaction and teachers’ performance and self-efficacy could be explained by the stress recovery processes undertaken by teachers in their free time. This study focused on explaining these relations and suggesting ideas for further studies in this domain. Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2024;75(4):309–320

Keywords

• teachers
• self-determination theory
• basic psychological needs
• individual performance
• recovery from stressors
• teachers self-efficacy