Teaching in the Yukon: Exploring teachers’ efficacy beliefs, stress, and job satisfaction in a remote setting

• Published in: International journal of educational research 2009, Vol.48 (6), p.381-394
• Main Authors: Klassen, Robert M., Foster, Rosemary Y., Rajani, Sukaina, Bowman, Carley
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Canada; Cultural aspects; Cultural Influences; Efficacy; Faculty Workload; Foreign Countries; Geographic Location; Human Geography; Interviews; Job Satisfaction; Job stress; Motivation; Occupational stress; Questionnaires; Remote settings; Self Efficacy; Stress; Stress Variables; Teacher Attitudes; Teachers; Work Attitudes; Work Environment; Yukon; Yukon Territory
• ISSN: 0883-0355; 1873-538X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2010.04.002

This article presents a mixed methods examination of teachers’ job beliefs in the Yukon Territory in northern Canada. In Study 1 we used questionnaires to examine job beliefs for 221 teachers from the Yukon and western Canada. Teachers’ self- and collective efficacy and workload stress were lower for Yukon teachers, but levels of overall stress and satisfaction were similar across settings. In Study 2 we conducted interviews to examine how geographical, community, and cultural factors were related to Yukon teachers’ job beliefs. Results showed that job stress and job satisfaction were influenced by physical and human geography, level of connection with the community, and by the community's cultural transitions. The findings highlight the influence of cultural and community factors on teachers’ working lives.