Development of the Korean teachers’ occupational work ethic scale: its factor structure, validity and reliability

Abstract

The Teachers' Occupational Work Ethic Scale (TOWES) was developed for assessing teachers' work ethic in Korea. Based on an extensive literature review of work ethic instruments and focus group interviews of 15 principals from elementary, middle, and high schools, 77 initial items were developed. Content and face validity of the items were examined by a panel of experts. A total of 388 teachers across elementary, middle, and high schools provided usable data. Factor analyses verified the scale's structure as fitting a four-factor model: integrity, interpersonal skills, respect for students, and professional development. Construct validity of the TOWES was established by scores of each of the four factors being moderately correlated. Convergent validity was tested using the Teachers' Vocation Ethics and the Korean Occupational Work Ethic Inventory-Short Form. Finally, internal consistency was examined using coefficient alpha scores. Implications and suggestions for further studies and practice are discussed.

College Students' Perspective Towards Lecturers' Work Ethics

“…This finding implies that there are instances that teachers cannot return written class requirements in which students find it frustrating. This finding is somewhat contrary to what (Park & Hill, 2020). contends that a good employee or teacher should manage time wisely, emphasize punctuality, and observe deadlines.…”

“…This finding points to the importance of time management. According to Park & Hill (2020), being punctual in reporting to work, and in this situation, to the class is an indicator of a good work ethic. Being punctual in starting the course means more instructional time, which is equivalent to having more time to teach on the part of the teacher and more time to learn on the part of the students.…”

The influence of students’ sense of social connectedness on prosocial behavior in higher education institutions in Guangxi, China: A perspective of perceived teachers’ character teaching behavior and social support

“…In addition, teachers have a modeling role for students in their classes, and different teachers have different patterns of teaching behaviors and dealing with students' behavioral expressions (Asif et al, 2020). Good teacher character teaching behaviors also influence students to develop good character (Cheon et al, 2018;Popovska and Popovski, 2021), and when teachers' teaching behaviors have character characteristics such as reliability, initiative and good interpersonal relationships (Park and Hill, 2020), which can influence students to exhibit more PB (Hannah et al, 2015;Fogelgarn et al, 2021). Thus, teachers who want to improve students' PB should first improve their own moral character.…”

“…In schools, teachers are central to education, key determinants of student progress, and can have both positive and negative effects on students ( Fogelgarn et al, 2021 ). In addition, teachers character teaching behaviors heavily influence the lives of students at critical stages of development ( Park and Hill, 2020 ). Students can gain interpersonal trust through perceived teacher reliability ( Dong et al, 2020 ), interpersonal competence ( Park and Hill, 2020 ) and initiative skills ( Park and Hill, 2020 ), among other character traits, which influence their PB ( Longobardi et al, 2021 ).…”

“…In addition, teachers character teaching behaviors heavily influence the lives of students at critical stages of development ( Park and Hill, 2020 ). Students can gain interpersonal trust through perceived teacher reliability ( Dong et al, 2020 ), interpersonal competence ( Park and Hill, 2020 ) and initiative skills ( Park and Hill, 2020 ), among other character traits, which influence their PB ( Longobardi et al, 2021 ). It has been noted that there is a positive relationship between instructors’ character teaching behaviors and individual students’ character behaviors ( Nejati and Shafaei, 2017 ).…”