Approaches to operationalization of psychosocial work environment in education

Abstract

The article focuses on the operationalization of the concept ‘psychosocial work design’ in the education sector. The study aims to provide insights in how to measure and, most importantly, reasonably manage psychosocial characteristics of the educational environment. According to current research, psychosocial aspects impact student performance, adaptation and well-being. This makes the reported study relevant. The psychosocial work environment is most often scrutinized through its components that enhance performance and promote job satisfaction. Morgeson and Humphrey identified four main groups of job characteristics: task characteristics (e.g., autonomy, variety), knowledge characteristics (job complexity, variety of skills, etc.), social characteristics (social support, feedback, etc.), and work context (ergonomics, equipment). Psychosocial aspects of educational environment have become the focus of numerous studies involving different stakeholders in education (students, teachers). These studies produced an impressive range of tools to measure psychosocial characteristics of the educational environment that need further systematization and conceptualization. These studies view educational activity as an independent type of activity and, at the same time, as a transitional step to professional employment with the latter forming the necessary soft skills and personality traits (proactivity, self-efficacy, focus on subjective psychological success and self-realization). The studies of psychosocial educational environment differ in terms of the number of components. The psychosocial environment can sometimes be viewed narrowly only through the prism of students’ relationships with their social environment — fellow students and teachers (Anderson 2007). The widely used CCEI assesses three additional dimensions: autonomy (the ability to make decisions about one’s own learning), student engagement, and class organization. Walker (2020) adds two more characteristics of learning: authenticity (the opportunity for students to solve real-world problems) and student agency in constructing their learning. Trigwell and Prosser used ten items, all of which relate to the organization of learning (clear objectives, clear explanations, good preparation, assistance in understanding, creating interest, relevance of the topic, opportunity to ask questions, time for consultation, clear assessment criteria, adequacy). The article analyses various theoretical models of the psychosocial environment (including the demand-control model, work characteristics, effort-reward imbalance model) and draws a conclusion about their complementary character.