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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 11, No. 2
Publication Date: February 25, 2024
DOI:10.14738/assrj.112.16513.
Aouani, H., & Amara, S. (2024). Comparative Study of the Work Engagement of Interns and Secondary School Teachers. Advances
in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(2). 449-458.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Comparative Study of the Work Engagement of Interns and
Secondary School Teachers
Hajer Aouani
High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, Manouba University,
Manouba, Tunisia and Tunisian research laboratory "Optimization of sports
performance", National Center of Medicine and Sciences in Sport, Tunis, Tunisia
Sofiene Amara
High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, Manouba University,
Manouba, Tunisia
ABSTRACT
Background: Professional engagement is a complex process and likely varies
depending on the individual's personality and characteristics such as years of
experience. There are conflicting results regarding the effect of professional
engagement and its impact on work performance among physical education
teachers and interns. Our study aims to examine the relationship between work
engagement among physical education teachers and interns. Objectives: In this
study, we compared work engagement between interns and physical education
teachers. Methods: Two hundred fifty individuals (130 young interns, 120 qualified
teachers) participated in this study. The teachers were classified based on their
years of experience (1-2 years and 2-5 years). All participants completed the
questionnaire translated and adapted by Loadhal and Kejner (1965), readapted by
Alem, Bujold, et Bertrand, 2003 to evaluate the parameters of engagement. Results:
Interns had significantly higher values in all dimensions of work engagement
overall (all P < 0.001). Interns are more involved and motivated in their work,
leading to better professional engagement overall. Comparison based on years of
experience revealed that as the number of years increases, work engagement
decreases among physical education teachers. Conclusions: Based on the results
from our current study, we conclude that teacher's professional commitment
decreases over time.
Keywords: Work Engagement, Tunisian Teachers, Student Interns
INTRODUCTION
Anglo-Saxon research distinguishes between the concepts of "organizational commitment" and
"job involvement," which "refer to the cognitive or affective relationships linking the employee
to their work environment" (Neveu, 1996, p. 63). In France, the term "implication" is more
commonly used (Ripon, 1987; Michel, 1991; Thévenet, 1992), in a broader sense covering both
notions. Implication is considered one of the goals of HRM, and efforts can be made to influence
the necessary conditions for its emergence (Neveu, Thévenet, 2002). As Neveu and Thévenet
(2002) emphasize: "the concept is interesting regardless of its definition. It emphasizes what a
person invests in their work or organization." The authors therefore distinguish between
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Aouani, H., & Amara, S. (2024). Comparative Study of the Work Engagement of Interns and Secondary School Teachers. Advances in Social Sciences
Research Journal, 11(2). 449-458.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.112.16513
METHODS
Participants
A total number of 250 participants were recruited (130 trainees, and 120 teachers) constituting
52% and 48% respectively. Participants were prospectively classified into two groups: trainees
(n=130; 52%) consisting of sports education students from Higher Institute of Sport and
Physical Education of Ksar Said, and teachers (n=120 ;48%) comprising physical education and
sports teachers from several institutions in Tunis region. Stratifying according other years’
experience (1-2 years, and 2-5 years); 60 participants representing 50% each group with
experience ranging between 1 to 2 years and in another group ranging between 2 to 5 years.
Procedure
Participants were requested to attend two sessions, with a one-week interval between them.
The first session (control) aimed to help participants become familiar with the psychometric
tool, without gathering any data. In the second session, participants were instructed to
complete the questionnaire in the presence of a member of the research team who was
available to address any questions or concerns. Participants were given twenty to thirty
minutes to finish.
The questionnaires were administered in a comfortable environment. Participants were
thoroughly informed of their rights during the study to ensure anonymity of results. No details
about the objectives of the study were provided to the participants until after they completed
the protocol, which had been reviewed and approved by the Ethical Committee of the National
Center of Medicine and Science in Sports of Tunisia, Tunis, before the beginning of assessments.
Each subject provided signed informed written consent before participating in the study.
Measures
Work Engagement:
Work engagement, as considered by Meyer and Herscovitch (2001), is "a force that binds an
individual to behavior that has meaning for one or more targets." It is a prevalent psychological
configuration that can influence or even determine someone's conduct. The interest in the
concept of engagement lies in its ability to explain a person's motivation to act independently
from their attitudes and extrinsic benefits. Engagement explains significant changes that may
seem contrary to an individual's own interests; therefore, it provides a complementary way to
explain people's behavior, justifying its relevance (Meyer et al., 2004). Thus, engagement is
defined as an individual's psychological attachment to a target (O'Reilly & Chatman, 1986).
Work engagement was assessed using a questionnaire translated and adapted by Loadhal and
Kejner (1965), readapted by Alem, Bujold et Bertrand (2003). The items are ordered
sequentially on this scale which remains widely used for measuring work engagement and its
hierarchically related subdomains within psychology research. Half of these items are
formulated inversely; participants respond to 17 elements expressing feelings of engagement
on a 4-level Likert scale ("Strongly Disagree" - "Strongly Agree"). This measurement tool was
designed specifically for evaluating parameters related to work engagement in teaching.
Data Analysis:
Descriptive statistics expressed key results as mean ± standard deviation presented in Table 2.
The normality test for each variable was conducted using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test.