Research Question:

 Main question:

What is the schoolteachers’ understanding of job commitment and what factors influence their commitment to the profession at secondary schools of Zhambyl region?

Subsidiary questions: 

How do secondary school teachers understand and define their professional commitment in Zhambyl region?

What factors influence their commitment to the profession?

Objective: The purpose of this mixed-method study is to explore schoolteachers’ understanding of professional commitment and what factors influence job commitment in secondary schools in the Zhambyl region, Kazakhstan.

Theoretical framework

There are several theories concerning professional commitment that guide the study. One of them is Meyer and Allen’s Multidimensional Theory (1997). This theory emphasizes three components of teaching commitment: affective professional commitment (APC), continuance professional commitment (CPC), and normative professional commitment (NPC). According to the affective component, intrinsic factors such as emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the profession impact an individual’s decision to stay in the profession. Continuance Professional Commitment (CPC) is when an individual stays in the job because of recognition of the costs associated with leaving the job (Meyer et al., 1997). Thus, extrinsic factors are more valuable for an individual to retain. Normative professional commitment (NPC) includes elements of intrinsic and extrinsic factors (Meyer et al., 1997). Unfortunately, there is a lack of further research on that theory (Bagraim, 2003).

The second theory exploring the factors influencing the professional commitment of teachers is the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, as cited in Sylvester, 2011). This theory (1985) stated that teachers were mostly willing to stay at their job when they met their needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. SDT suggests that leaders of the organization should foster workplace conditions where employees can feel support for their autonomy (Deci et al., 2017). Thus, it will lead to job satisfaction for employees, and increase work effectiveness (Deci et al., 2017). 

The behavior of workers and their attitude towards their jobs are known to be defined by several factors, the exploration of which allows us to understand reactions displayed by individuals. Additionally, individuals' motives are derived from needs. Secondary school teachers like other workers have their unique motives based on necessities, longings, and expectations which power their behavior towards their job and everything it involves (Adiele & Abraham, 2013).

To explore teachers' commitment to the profession and the factors influencing it. The Maslow Hierarchy of Needs (1943) was used as a theoretical framework. This theory can be applied in the context of schools to understand individuals' behavior at the workplace and the reasons leading to it. The theory is based on the belief that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy, with basic physiological needs at the bottom and more complex needs at the top (Kaur, 2013).

This information can help understand the factors influencing the enhancement of the professional commitment of teachers because it provides a framework for understanding human behavior and motivation. In addition, Maslow's hierarchy of needs applies to individuals of different cultures, backgrounds, ages, and genders (Wahba & Bridwell, 1976).

The hierarchy theory (1943) is illustrated as a pyramid consisting of five levels ordered in terms of their significance: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. In the school context, psychological needs may be referred to earnings and work conditions; safety needs can be referred to job security; affiliation needs to involve a sense of recognition; respect, autonomy, and accountability can be related to esteem; and realization of teachers' professional potential may be seen as self-actualization needs (Ololube, 2006).

Methodology This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. This type of design is suitable because the initial quantitative data method allows involving a wide range of participants while a qualitative interview-based study helps to interpret and describe quantitative data as well as hear the voice of participants and gain firsthand, in-depth information (Creswell, 2012). This design allows a more comprehensive understanding of the research question. Another reason for using this research design is that the use of both quantitative and qualitative data allows triangulation of findings (Creswell, 2012). This means that the researcher can compare and contrast the findings to identify commonalities and discrepancies which can validate the results (Creswell, 2012). Research Sample According to Cohen et al., (2007), the quality of the study depends not only on the appropriately chosen methodology and accurate use of instrumentation but also on the sampling strategy that is to be utilized. For this reason, the current mixed-methods study simple random sampling for a quantitative phase and purposeful sampling for a qualitative one (Creswell, 2012). Since the study explores the commitment to profession among the secondary school teachers of Zhambyl region, they served as the population for the current research. Data Collection Tools This study adopted the questionnaire by Meyer and Allen about employee commitment to the organization (Meyer et al., 2004) and the questionnaire about the teachers’ motivation by Kassabgy, Boraie, and Schmidt (2001). Overall, the survey included 38 Likert scale survey questions that helped to identify the teachers’ attitudes towards their commitment to the profession as well as what intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence their professional commitment. The survey was provided in three languages: Russian, Kazakh, and English. The second phase (qualitative) employed a one-on-one semi-structured type of interview protocol as an instrument for the study as it allows the researcher to extract additional information from the interviewee by asking probe questions. Each interview included 34 questions. The interview schedules were prepared in three languages (Russian, Kazakh, and English), so the participants could choose one of the languages that is the most comfortable for them to speak.

Students' well-being and academic success were prioritized above all else. Committed teachers understand the role which reflects in their thorough lesson preparation and use of the most effective approaches and methodologies. They establish a trustworthy relationship with students and demonstrate genuine concern for students’ academic performance and engagement. Satisfaction was the most powerful intrinsic factor enhancing teacher commitment. Other personal factors were a sense of achievement, a sense of involvement, job competence, and work experience. Social status, sense of achievement, and involvement are also crucial factors. Factors such as job competence, work experience, and the status of the teaching profession are considered less influential. These suggest that efforts should be made to improve job satisfaction and enhance the social status of the teaching profession to promote commitment. The extrinsic factor as having good relationships and support from school administrators is one of the vital factors in raising the level of professional commitment. The participants expressed dissatisfaction with the managerial style of leadership of their principals and vice principals. From the participants’ perspective reformations in education have many benefits, yet they admit that the policymakers cannot control the implementation of these reforms at the place in every school, where local authorities and school leaders are in charge. Also, the school environment plays a crucial role in promoting job commitment. Such extrinsic factors as salary emerged not to be the leading factor influencing the job commitment of participants. Other extrinsic factors also such as good relationships with students, good relationships with colleagues, fair treatment, adequate workload, flexible working hours, ability to professional development, participation in the school decision-making process, recognition, autonomy, clear rules and procedures along with bonus payments have not deemed a priority among secondary school teachers in the region, it is significant to recognize their role in promoting occupational commitment.

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