[Relationship between occupational commitment and teaching practices among healthcare teachers]

Area of Science:

• Education
• Psychology
• Higher Education

Background:

• Occupational commitment is key to professional identity, influencing motivation and well-being in healthcare.
• The relationship between occupational commitment and university teaching practices remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt and apply the Occupational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) to university educators.
• To investigate the correlation between occupational commitment and teaching practices.

Main Methods:

• 319 university teachers across 13 Chilean regions participated.
• Exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's Alpha assessed the OCQ's structure and reliability.
• Spearman correlations examined the relationship between OCQ factors and teaching practices.

Main Results:

• The OCQ yielded two factors: Teacher Commitment and Ethical-Professional Commitment.
• Both factors exhibited strong internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.85).
• A moderate, direct correlation was found between both commitment factors and teaching practices.

Conclusions:

• The OCQ is a reliable tool for assessing occupational commitment in university teachers.
• Higher occupational commitment, encompassing teacher and ethical-professional aspects, is associated with enhanced teaching practices.
• Teachers' values and perceptions significantly impact their professional performance.