Facing education reform: Change-related self-efficacy is linked to job insecurity via appraisal

Abstract

Structural education reforms may pose a threat to teachers’ employment, leading to anxiety about the future of their jobs. This study examined the antecedents of job insecurity among Polish teachers ( N = 860) who had been subjected to rapid and major structural education reform in 2017. While previous studies have focused on self-efficacy as a buffer against the negative consequences of job insecurity, here the authors hypothesize that a higher change-related self-efficacy is linked to lower job insecurity via stress appraisal. The results show that self-efficacy is more strongly linked to lower hindrance appraisal than to higher challenge appraisal. Strengthening change-related self-efficacy as a personal resource and attenuating perceptions of change as a hindrance are vital steps in minimizing job insecurity and its effects.