مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - A Mixed Methods Study on Developing Teachers’ Psychological Capital

Abstract :

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of the Psychological Capital Development Training Intervention (PCDTI) on middle school teachers’ psychological capital. In the first phase of the study, an 8-week training intervention was designed, and the training intervention was administered to middle school teachers included in the experimental group. In the second phase of the study, teachers’ views about the PCDTI were gathered. Meanwhile, all of the sessions of the PCDTI were recorded using a camera. Embedded mixed methods research design was used in the study. The sample of the research consisted of middle school teachers working at schools located in Şahinbey and Şehitkâmil districts of Gaziantep province in the academic year of 2014-2015. A total of 44 teachers were assigned to the experimental (N=22) and control groups (N=22). In order to examine the effectiveness of the PCDTI, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, which was developed by Luthans, Avolio, Avey and Norman (2007), was used as a data collection tool. The participants’ views about the PCDTI were gathered using a 20-item evaluation form developed by the researcher. Videos recorded during the sessions were analyzed to observe the participants’ attitudes and reveal their perceptions regarding the intervention. The findings of the research indicated that the PCDTI was effective in developing teachers’ psychological capital. In the control group, however, no statistically significant differences were detected in terms of psychological capital post-test scores. It was revealed that the participants were satisfied with “Purpose”, “Content”, “Methods-Techniques-Materials” and “Evaluation” dimensions of the PCDTI at high levels. Video analysis results demonstrated that the participants had positive attitudes and perceptions regarding the PCDTI. The study concludes by offering some implications based on the findings.