Subjective Aspects of the Teaching Profession Scale

Abstract

The Subjective aspects of the teaching profession scale is a specialized psychological scale designed to measure critical personality traits of teachers that significantly influence teacher-student interaction dynamics. The instrument is structured around 32 items distributed across three distinct subscales: Occupational Satisfaction, Perceived Aptitude, and Experienced Stress. Developed within a research framework focusing on subjective teacher theories, the scale assesses the underlying psychological conditions that determine a teacher’s coping mechanisms and relevance of their personal beliefs regarding aggressive or disruptive classroom behavior.

Keywords

Occupational Satisfaction, Job Satisfaction, Perceived Aptitude, Experienced Stress, Teacher Personality, Classroom Interaction, Subjective Theories, Psychometrics, German

Authors

While the scale was developed as part of a research project (SFB 23 at the University of Konstanz), key researchers involved in the instrument’s application and replication studies include Tennstädt (1986) and Tennstädt and Dann (1986).

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Subjective aspects of the teaching profession scale is to quantify key subjective variables relating to a teacher’s professional life. The instrument originated from a research project investigating the role of subjective theories held by secondary school teachers (Hauptschullehrern). Specifically, the scale was designed to help explain how and under what conditions these subjective theories influence teacher behavior during aggressive or disruptive classroom interactions, and what impact these differing theories have on student behavior. The three core subscales capture the intrinsic conditions that modulate the action relevance of these subjective theories.

Construct

The scale measures three distinct, yet interrelated, psychological constructs relevant to the teaching profession:

• Occupational Satisfaction (Berufszufriedenheit): This dimension measures the general level of fulfillment and joy a teacher derives from their profession, encompassing attitudes toward work environment and career choice.
• Perceived Aptitude (Wahrgenommene Eignung): This construct assesses a teacher’s self-efficacy and confidence regarding their pedagogical and disciplinary abilities, including managing difficult students and maintaining classroom order.
• Experienced Stress (Erlebte Belastung): This subscale quantifies the level of psychological burden and perceived strain resulting from professional duties, including time pressure and the negative impact of work on personal life. The measurement of experienced stress is central to understanding teacher well-being.

Validity

Direct evidence for comprehensive construct validity is not explicitly provided in the initial documentation. However, the intercorrelations between the three subscales are presented and utilized as indicators of criterion validity. Theoretical assumptions suggest that Occupational Satisfaction should correlate positively with Perceived Aptitude. The reported intercorrelations (N=475 primary and secondary teachers) are:

• Correlation between Occupational Satisfaction and Perceived Aptitude: .62
• Correlation between Occupational Satisfaction and Experienced Stress: -.58
• Correlation between Perceived Aptitude and Experienced Stress: -.44

These correlations align with theoretical expectations, showing a strong positive relationship between job satisfaction and perceived competence, and a negative relationship between satisfaction/aptitude and perceived burden.

Reliability

The internal consistency, a key measure of reliability, was calculated for the three subscales using the Kuder-Richardson Formula 20. The reported reliability coefficients (internal consistency) demonstrate high internal consistency across all dimensions, confirming the scales’ psychometric robustness:

• Occupational Satisfaction: .91
• Perceived Aptitude: .85
• Experienced Stress: .88

The overall range of internal consistency is reported to be between .85 and .91.

Factor Analysis

While formal confirmatory or exploratory factor analysis results are not detailed, the development process implicitly assumes unidimensionality for each of the three subscales. This assumption, however, was not formally tested. Instead, the homogeneity of the scales was assessed using the average item-total correlations as indicators, which is a common practice in psychometrics during initial scale development. The homogeneity values reported are:

These values indicate a satisfactory level of internal consistency and shared variance among the items within each respective subscale.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire

Format: 32 items distributed across three subscales (12 items for Occupational Satisfaction, 10 for Perceived Aptitude, 10 for Experienced Stress). Items are rated on a 4-point Likert-type scale.

Language Available: German (deutsch)

Population Group: Teachers (specifically Grundschullehrer and Hauptschullehrer, or primary and secondary school teachers)

Age Group: Adult working population (Teachers)

Population Details: The initial standardization and validation samples consisted of teachers in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The main study sample included N=1176 teachers.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to rate their personal experiences, attitudes, and knowledge related to their daily teaching practice. The response scale is defined as follows:

• (- -) = trifft in keiner Weise auf mich zu (applies to me in no way)
• (-) = trifft eher nicht auf mich zu (tends not to apply to me)
• (+) = trifft mit gewissen Einschränkungen auf mich zu (applies to me with certain restrictions)
• (+ +) = trifft voll und ganz auf mich zu (applies completely to me)

Scoring is achieved by summing the values of the individual items within each scale.

Keywords

Teacher Stress, Self-Efficacy, Pedagogical Aptitude, Job Fulfillment, Psychometric Instrument, SFB 23, Unidimensionality

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not available

Affiliation Email addresses: Not available

Correspondence Address: Not available

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Information regarding specific permissions and fees is not available in the source documentation. The scale development and associated replication studies by Tennstädt and Dann date back to 1986, indicating the scale’s initial operational year was likely around the mid-1980s.

Reference’s

The scale development drew upon and cited the following earlier works and foundational research:

• Cloetta (1980): Persönlichkeitsfragebogen (Personality Questionnaire).
• März (1980): Fragebogen zur Allgemeinen Berufszufriedenheit von Lehrern (Questionnaire on General Job Satisfaction of Teachers).
• Tennstädt (1986): Report detailing an integrative self-help program for teachers addressing aggression and disruption in the classroom, utilizing the three subscales of this instrument for empirical evaluation.
• Tennstädt und Dann (1986): Report concerning a second replication study of the instrument.

Items of the Subjective aspects of the teaching profession scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Skala: Berufszufriedenheit (Occupational Satisfaction)

Skala: Wahrgenommene Eignung (Perceived Aptitude)

Skala: Erlebte Belastung (Experienced Stress)