Individual characteristics, identity styles, identity commitment, and teacher's academic optimism

Abstract

The academic optimism construct is an individual belief in teachers consisting of three components: sense of efficacy, teacher trust in parents and students and academic emphasis which through creating an active and positive learning environment leads to the academic progress and success of the students. The aim of this study was to determine the relation between individual characteristics, identity styles, and identity commitment and the teacher's academic optimism. A sample consisting of 303 primary and middle school teachers (172 female and 131 male) were selected by stratified sampling and completed the revised version of Identity Styles Inventory (ISI-4) (Smits et al., Unpublished) and Teacher's Academic Optimism Questionnaire (Woolfolk Hoy, Hoy & Kurz, 2008). The data were analyzed by a stepwise regression analysis and the results indicated that the informational identity style was the main predictor of the teacher's academic optimism.