新谷, 龍太朗

鈴木, 勇

Shintani, Ryutaro

Suzuki, Isamu

This paper examines the factors influencing the motivation of teachers, and the stresses associated with their work by focusing on the characteristics of schools and their socio economic status (SES). The data were collected by the Japan Teachers Union and International Economy & Work Research Institute in 2009 from fi ve prefectures. The fi ndings of the study are as follows. The diff erence between individual variables (i.e., age, gender) affected teacher’s motivation as shown previously in several studies. However, the characteristics of teachers’ work (clarity about the role, autonomy, diversity of work, clearness about the outcomes) had a greater eff ect than the individual variables. Furthermore, we found the schools’ characteristics (supportiveness of teachers, calmness of pupils/students behavior in class, school-parent relationship, etc.) were the most effective variables influencing teachers’ motivation. In contrast to motivation, the stress of work was more affected by the working conditions (e.g. work duration) than the schools’ characteristics. When schools were classifi ed according to SES, the characteristics of teachers’ work did not aff ect their motivation except in the case of low SES schools. The factors that are generally benefi cial and encouraged, such as systematic actions or collaboration within local community, did not always help the motivation of teachers. However we were not able to clearly identify why these factors did not succeed. An interpretation of this result is that these factors are promoted through the calm environment of the school. The factors also encourage such an environment in schools. Thus, when teachers recognize that these factors stimulate a calm environment, it will in turn aff ect their motivation. In summary, the study concludes that, as far as can be told from the data, the most important factor influencing teachers’ motivation is the schools’ characteristics, especially the supportiveness of teachers. Additionally, the duration of work is the key working condition aff ecting the stress of teachers.

新谷, 龍太朗

鈴木, 勇