Academic Optimism, Work-Related Flow and Personal Effectiveness Among Indian Secondary School Teachers: Testing a Mediation Model Across SSC, CBSE and ICSE Boards
Keywords:
academic optimism; work-related flow; personal effectiveness; secondary teachers; teacher efficacyAbstract
The purpose of the study was to examine if secondary school teachers' academic optimism was a predictor of work-related flow, and if flow experience mediated teachers' personal effectiveness. Guided by the principles of positive educational psychology and social cognitive theory, the study combined a belief-based resource, academic optimism, with an experiential motivational state, work-related flow, to explain interpersonal aspects of teacher effectiveness. Using a descriptive correlational design, the study drew on a purposive sample of 343 secondary school teachers from India, representing Secondary School Certificate (SSC; n = 143), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE; n = 100), and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE; n = 100) schools. Participants completed standardized instruments assessing academic optimism, work-related flow, and personal effectiveness. Academic optimism significantly predicted work-related flow (? = .51, R² = .41, p < .001), with efficacy as the strongest component-level predictor (? = .19, p = .001). Both academic optimism (? = .36, p < .001) and work-related flow (? = .42, p < .001) contributed significant unique variance to personal effectiveness (R² = .37). Mediation analysis confirmed that flow partially mediated the association between academic optimism and personal effectiveness (indirect effect ? = .26, 95% CI [0.15, 0.38]). Board-wise comparisons revealed significant differences, with ICSE teachers reporting higher levels than SSC teachers (p < .01). The results suggest that teachers' optimistic beliefs and conditions that facilitate flow can be beneficial in improving interpersonal teacher effectiveness.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.25.4.6
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