Abstracts

The Predictive Relationship Between Teaching Experience and Work Absorption, Work Enjoyment, and Intrinsic Work Motivation

by Jin Kim Chang

The purpose of this bivariate linear research design study was to discover if there was a predictive relationship between the experience of teachers working in General Education Development (GED) programs and the presence of work absorption, work enjoyment, and intrinsic work motivation. A teacher shortage was on the rise and a different perspective using the theoretical frameworks of flow and growth mindset brought about further dialogue in addressing the situation. The preeminent theory used in this dissertation was flow theory, which was comprised of nine components. This dissertation focused on the three components of flow theory emphasized in the Work-Related Flow (WOLF) inventory that embodied work satisfaction and work motivation in: (1) work absorption, (2) work enjoyment, and (3) intrinsic work motivation. The WOLF inventory and participant demographics were administered and collected virtually to a convenience sample of 112 teachers of GED programs in Virginia and North Carolina. This research was a quantitative bivariate linear regression design, and the information was evaluated to see if there was a predictive relationship between years of teaching and the three criterion variables of flow in the WOLF inventory. The predictor variable was the number of years teaching, and the three criterion variables of flow were: work absorption, work enjoyment, and intrinsic work motivation. There were three research questions. The researcher failed to reject null hypotheses one, two, and three indicating there was no significant predictive relationship between the experience of teachers working in GED programs and the presence of absorption, work enjoyment, and intrinsic work motivation. Recommendations for future research included conducting qualitative research among the participants and expanding the research to mainstream schoolteachers.