Abstract

Teachers’ perceptions of their occupational stress, job satisfaction, and teaching efficacy may vary over stages of their careers. Using a subsample of teachers from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (n = 982), we used a multiple group structural regression model to test perceptions of occupational stress and job satisfaction as predictors of teaching efficacy and to examine differences among early-, mid-, and late-career teachers. Results indicated that while both occupational stress and job satisfaction predicted teaching efficacy in the early-career group, only job satisfaction predicted teaching efficacy in the mid-career group, and neither occupational stress nor job satisfaction predicted teaching efficacy in the late-career group. Tests for moderation revealed only that the link between job satisfaction and teaching efficacy was significantly stronger in the early-career group compared to the other groups. Early-career teachers also reported lower efficacy and higher stress compared to later-career teachers. Limitations and implications for research and intervention are discussed.

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