Physical Education Teachers’ Learned Helplessness, Job and Life Satisfaction Levels During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study was conducted to measure physical education teachers’ learned helplessness, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction, as well as to determine the relationship between these factors, during the Covid-19 pandemic. The sample consisted of 333 physical education teachers (234 males and 99 females) working in public and private institutions in the city of Mersin, Turkey during the spring term of the 2020-2021 academic year. The “Learned Helplessness Scale”, “Minnesota Job Satisfaction Scale”, and “Life Satisfaction Scale” were used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson Correlation, and regression analysis were employed for statistical analysis, with 0.05 considered the margin of error. The results of the descriptive analysis indicated that the learned helplessness levels of the participants were moderate, their intrinsic job satisfaction levels were high, and their extrinsic job satisfaction and life satisfaction levels were moderate. With respect to gender, men’s learned helplessness levels were higher than those of the female participants. The learned helplessness scores of teachers over 45 years old were higher than those of the under 35 and 35-44-year-old age groups. Concerning intrinsic job satisfaction and life satisfaction, participants over the age of 45 scored significantly higher than those under 35. According to the results of the correlation analysis, learned helplessness scores were correlated in the same direction with all variables except intrinsic job satisfaction; the latter was correlated in the same direction with the other variables. As the levels of extrinsic job satisfaction increased, an increase in life satisfaction and intrinsic helplessness levels was also observed. Finally, according to the regression analysis, learned helplessness and job satisfaction were found to predict life satisfaction by 24.8%. Our analyses determined that as the intrinsic helplessness levels of the participants decreased, their extrinsic helplessness levels increased, while intrinsic job satisfaction was found to be the most important predictor of life satisfaction. Compared with the results of previous studies, the participating teachers’ learned helplessness and job satisfaction levels during the pandemic were elevated, while no significant change was observed in their life satisfaction levels. Gender was determined not to affect job satisfaction or life satisfaction, age was shown to be a significant variable, and learned helplessness, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction were revealed to be interrelated psychological variables.