Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA in Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Elizabeth Brondolo

Second Advisor

Robin Wellington

Abstract

A sense of purpose and meaning in work among teachers is a vital resource protecting against burnout, reducing anxiety and depression, and enhancing student engagement in the classroom (Boreham & Schutte, 2023; Lavy, 2022). The inherently social nature of schools prompts investigation into social predictors of purpose at work among teachers, including feelings of trust. The specific relationship between trust in one’s colleagues and administration and one’s sense of purpose at work among teachers in Vietnam is unexplored in empirical literature. We examine trust as a predictor of purposefulness at work and self-efficacy as a potential mediator of this relationship in a sample of 1961 teachers in Vietnam. We hypothesized that feelings of trust would be positively associated with purposefulness and that the relationship would be mediated by self-efficacy. Measures of trust and purposefulness were derived from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2021 Teacher Questionnaire (TQ). Self-efficacy was measured using the 12-item Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) –Short Form. Job satisfaction was measured with items derived from the PISA 2021 TQ describing satisfaction both in their overall profession and their current working environment. All items were translated for use with Vietnamese-speaking teachers. Regression analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between trust and purpose (β = 0.40, SE = 0.02, p < .0001). A significant positive relationship was found between trust and job satisfaction (β = 0.40, SE = 0.03, p < 0.0001). Trust, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction explained over 30% of the variance in teachers’ purposefulness (Adjusted R2 = 0.307). Mediation analysis confirmed a significant indirect effect of trust on purpose through self-efficacy (β = 0.10, bootSE = 0.017, CI = 0.07–0.13). The direct effect remained significant, which suggests partial mediation (β = 0.36, SE = 0.024, CI = 0.31–0.41). Findings highlight the importance of occupational trust in promoting both self-efficacy and a sense of purpose among teachers. Improving trust in the relationships between teachers and their colleagues and administration has the potential to enhance purposefulness, perceived professional efficiency, and occupational well-being.

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