AN EXPLORATION OF PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY AND TEACHING PRACTICES AMONG KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS IN MACAO

ABSTRACT

TEACHERS' JOB SATISFACTION AND JOB STRESS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A MAJOR CONCERN IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR. THIS STUDY AIMS TO EXPLORE THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE JOB SATISFACTION AND JOB STRESS AS WELL AS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB SATISFACTION AND JOB STRESS AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN MACAU. FOCUSING ON A GROUP OF 8 PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN MACAO, THIS STUDY USED SEMI-STRUCTURED AND SEMI-OPEN-ENDED INTERVIEWS TO CONDUCT IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH THE SELECTED PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN MACAO, COVERING BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS, AND WITH DIFFERENT TEACHING AGES, SUBJECTS AND GENDERS, AND THE RESULTS OF THE INTERVIEWS WERE CODED AND ANALYSED. THE INTERVIEW FINDINGS WERE CODED AND ANALYSED. THE STUDY EXPLORED THE TRUE INNER FEELINGS AND WORK EXPERIENCES OF INDIVIDUAL PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN MACAO. QUALITATIVE ANALYSES BASED ON THE SEMI-OPEN-ENDED INTERVIEW METHODOLOGY BETTER IDENTIFIED TEACHERS' PROFESSIONAL HAPPINESS STATUS AND STRESS LEVELS, AND ALLOWED THE INTERVIEWEES TO EXPRESS THEIR USEFUL SUGGESTIONS AND OPINIONS DISTILLED FROM THEIR WORK EXPERIENCES. BASED ON THE CODED RESULTS AND ANALYSES, THIS STUDY FOUND THAT TEACHERS' JOB SATISFACTION AND JOB STRESS WERE NOT SIMPLY POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY CORRELATED, BUT WERE INFLUENCED BY A VARIETY OF FACTORS SUCH AS SALARY LEVEL, JOB CONTENT, MULTIPLE RELATIONSHIPS (TEACHERS’ RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR COLLEAGUES, PARENTS, AND STUDENTS), CAMPUS ENVIRONMENT, DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS, ETC. TEACHERS' EVALUATIONS OF THEIR JOBS HAD MORE COMMONALITIES AND ALSO SHOWED SIGNIFICANT INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES. IN ORDER TO FULLY PROTECT THE CAREER SATISFACTION OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN MACAO, ALLEVIATE THE EXCESSIVE WORK PRESSURE, AND CONTROL THE OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AT A REASONABLE LEVEL, A SERIES OF IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS, SUCH AS IMPROVING THE SALARY STRUCTURE OF TEACHERS, REDUCING THE BURDEN OF ADMINISTRATIVE WORK, STRENGTHENING VOCATIONAL SKILLS TRAINING, CONSTRUCTING A HARMONIOUS AND HEALTHY CAMPUS ENVIRONMENT, AND DELINEATING THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN WORK AND LIFE, ARE WORTHY OF THE ATTENTION OF THE SCHOOLS, THE GOVERNMENTAL DEPARTMENTS, AND THE SOCIETY AS A WHOLE. IT IS BELIEVED THAT WITH THE CONCERTED EFFORTS OF ALL PARTIES, PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN MACAO WILL HAVE A HAPPIER AND BETTER CAREER PATH, AND THEY WILL BE ABLE TO FULFIL THEIR ROLES AND VALUES IN THEIR POSITIONS WITH MORE DIGNITY, PROTECTION AND CONFIDENCE, THUS REALISING THE OVERALL ENHANCEMENT AND PROGRESS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL EDUCATION IN MACAO. 教師的工作滿意度與工作壓力始終是教育學界熱切關心的重點話題。本研究旨在探索澳門小學教師的工作滿意程、工作壓力程度以及二者之間的關聯關係。聚焦澳門小學教師群體，本質性研究採用半結構半開放式的訪談方法對覆蓋澳門公立與私立、不同教齡、科目與性別的八位小學教師開展了深入訪談，並對訪談結果進行編碼與分析。 本研究深入挖掘了澳門小學教師個體的真實內心感受與工作體驗。基於半開放式訪談方法的質性分析更好地發現了教師的職業狀態與壓力水準，並允許其暢所欲言通過工作經驗而提煉出的有益建議和意見。 基於編碼結果和分析，本研究發現教師的工作滿意度與工作壓力並非簡單地正相關或負相關，而是收到薪資水準、工作內容、多重關係（同事、家長、師生）、校園環境、發展前景等諸多因素的影響。受訪教師對於工作的評價有著較多的共性，也展現出明顯的個體差異。 為了充分保障澳門小學教師的職業滿意度，緩解過高的工作壓力，將職業壓力控制在合理水準，一系列改善建議如完善教師的薪資結構體系建設、減輕行政工作負擔、加強職業技能培訓、構建和諧健康的校園環境、劃清工作與生活的界限等值得學校、政府部門與全社會共同關注。相信在各方的協同努力之下，澳門小學教師將迎來更加幸福美好的職業路徑，教師將更有尊嚴、更有保障、更有信心地在崗位上發揮自己的作用和價值，從而實現澳門小學教育的整體提升與進步。