Abstract:

Due to recent social changes, teachers experience a sharp increase in stressful factors (e.g. high workload, poor feedback from students and families), which often leads to burnout and lowers the general quality of pupils’ educational process (Santavirta, Solovieva & Theorell, 2007). Several researches demonstrate that self-efficient and engaged teachers are less likely to experience burnout, and are also more efficient in their professional practice at different levels (Chesnut & Burley, 2015; Mostafa & Pál, 2018).

Therefore, the self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997) - defined as the teacher's perception of being able to act professionally in a competent manner in terms of the tools and methodologies used (Tschannen-Moran et al, 1998) - and the work engagement (Høigaard et al, 2012) - defined as a mix of vigor, dedication, and absorption (Schaufeli et al, 2002) - are crucial in teachers professional practice. But these factors are also crucial when investigating the goodness of a teachers’ training course: a positive change in these dimensions can be interpreted as the effectiveness of a course in terms of its impact on students’ knowledge, skills and self-perception as an effective teacher, with important implications in daily professional practices.

This study, conducted after a 75-hour Course on ICT for Special Education, aims to identify the protective role of training for teachers' well-being in the work context with a special focus on increasing self-efficacy and work engagement (Gil-Flores et al, 2017; OECD, 2019).

The research is based on a self-report structured survey conducted on a sample of 176 Italian teachers which attended the course between June and July 2021. The survey is composed by nationally and internationally validated scales and it is divided into 4 sections: socio-demographic data; subjective well-being and work well-being (Sinclair & Wallston, 2004; Schaufeli et al, 2017); perceptions of changes at work after the training experience of TFA (Euromobility, 2020); self-efficacy in the use of technologies in teaching (Benigno et al., 2013).

Our hypothesis is that positive perceptions of learning outcomes after a TFA experience lead to better perceptions of some individual resources and attitudes toward work, and of the following dimensions of ITIS questionnaire: Self-efficacy, Performance Outcome Expectations (the belief that using technologies in the classroom could make the teaching activities more effective), Self-Evaluative Outcome Expectations (the belief in personal satisfaction that a teacher might experience using technologies in the classroom), Social Outcome Expectations (the belief that colleagues favorably evaluate the use of technologies in teaching processes) and finally the interest in using technologies in teaching.

To this aim, two-tailed correlations and a multiple linear regression model were conducted including TFA experience as the independent variable and Work engagement, Coping (Sinclair, 2004), Work satisfaction and the ITIS’s dimensions as dependent variables.

Digital literacy training was found to have a positive effect specifically on Coping, Work Engagement, and Self-efficacy confirming that training and support for implementing new teaching strategies has positive impacts on individual resources and attitudes toward work. Findings highlight how training is a protective element for the teaching profession to promote well-being and increased professional effectiveness.

Keywords:

Formazione, ICT, autoefficacia, coping, impegno nel lavoro.