An initial validation of a home–school partnership questionnaire related to teachers’ attitudes and actions: Predicting teachers’ burnout

Figures & data

Table 1. Study sample

	N	%
N	254
Gender
Males	126	50
Females	122	48
Not Specified	6	2.3
Ages
20s	38	15
30s	65	26
40s	58	23
50s	83	33
60s	4	1.5
Not Specified	6	2.3
School Type
Primary School	141	56
Middle School	94	37
High School	1	0.3
Special Education School	9	3.5
Other types of School	2	0.8
Not Specified	7	2.8

Table 2. Factor analysis of the partnership attitude scale (PAT) (promax rotation) (n= 242)

Items		I	II	III	IV	I-T correlation	M	SD	h^2
Factor 1: Appreciation (α = .83)
3	Collaboration with parents is essential to educate their children.	.75	−.11	.00	−.16	.43	3.88	.34	.47
12	It is important to empathetically listen to the parents.	.69	.11	−.10	.04	.57	3.73	.45	.50
7	It is important to communicate with parents and build a trustful relationship with them.	.68	−.20	.04	.05	.41	3.84	.39	.39
9	It is important that parents and schools understand each other and support children’s growth on their own way.	.55	−.02	.21	−.03	.53	3.66	.53	.45
11	All parents have at least some issues or concerns about their children’s education.	.54	.05	−.23	.10	.34	3.67	.51	.26
15	Even when parents have different opinions and standpoints, it is necessary to collaborate and cooperate with them for the children’s future.	.53	.11	.03	.03	.53	3.74	.46	.39
17	It is important to communicate with parents to have a better underanding of their children.	.53	.11	.18	.04	.63	3.68	.51	.52
2	It is important to build a relationship with parents to support children’s growth.	.52	−.05	.09	−.10	.40	3.87	.34	.29
8	I want to share both positive and negative things about the children with their parents.	.45	.02	.22	.03	.55	3.54	.58	.38
Factor 2: Positive Attitude (α =.76)
25	Class-wide parent-teacher meetings are meaningful.	−.07	.67	.12	−.11	.48	2.87	.68	.46
20	I learn various ways of thinking through communicating with parents.	.27	.58	−.10	−.09	.56	3.29	.63	.50
26	I feel that most parents want to communicate with teachers.	−.05	.57	−.19	.13	.32	2.76	.65	.29
24	As I got older, I became more comfortable with talking to parents and started enjoying it.	.04	.57	−.14	−.05	.33	2.78	.77	.30
21	I believe teachers and parents are in an equal partnership.	−.20	.48	.23	−.11	.37	3.06	.78	.25
28	Since few parents actually get involved in school activities, it is important to invite parents to more opportunities.	−.17	.48	.27	−.03	.41	2.45	.68	.29
14	When children often talk about their school to their parents, I feel it is easier to talk with their parents because there are common topics between us.	.11	.42	.08	.19	.54	3.33	.66	.34
10	I like to talk with parents to have an understanding of their children’s home environment.	.29	.38	−.01	.04	.51	3.02	.70	.35
Factor 3: Traditional Attitude (α = .68)
5	Parents need to understand school educational activities to fit children into the school goal.	.03	−.11	.75	.06	.46	3.59	.56	.56
4	It is essential to gain cooperation from parents to fit children into the school goal.	.31	−.01	.49	−.01	.58	3.75	.44	.49
16	I want parents to participate in school events.	.05	.13	.48	.08	.48	3.45	.58	.35
Factor 4: Difficulty (α =.69)
13	I experience difficulty when dealing with some parents.	−.07	.01	.05	.89	.22	3.50	.65	.79
6	It is difficult to accept various parents’ thoughts and wishes.	.02	−.09	.07	.57	.19	3.43	.61	.34
	Cumulative Proportion (%)	25.67	32.02	37.27	40.72
	Factor Correlations (r)		II	III	IV
		I	.54	.55	.19
		II		.36	.12
		III			.17

Factor loadings >.40 are in bold face.

Table 3. Factor analysis of the partnership action scale (PAC)

Items		I	II	III	IV	V	I-T correlation	M	SD	h^2
Factor 1: Respect Parents (α = .86)
13	I respect parents’ wishes that their children will be successful and well-received at school.	.76	.01	.02	.12	−.10	.66	3.54	.57	.65
14	I invite parents to talk to the teachers if something comes up.	.71	.05	−.10	.09	−.03	.60	3.57	.62	.56
5	I listen to the parents.	.67	.13	.05	−.19	.00	.57	3.47	.64	.47
4	When I meet parents at school, I exchange greetings with them.	.67	−.10	.09	−.23	.09	.45	3.79	.42	.35
29	I try to think from the parents point of view.	.62	.04	−.12	.16	.03	.59	3.48	.60	.52
10	I value relationships with children because parents feel at ease when their children are lively.	.62	−.22	.03	.08	.07	.48	3.66	.51	.37
30	I inform parents that collaboration between the school and the parents is important.	.62	−.16	.03	.08	.13	.54	3.53	.65	.43
11	When talking to parents, I try to create a friendly atmosphere.	.61	.10	−.13	−.05	.05	.52	3.46	.56	.39
34	I try to obtain trust from the parents through children’s everyday behaviors and positive changes.	.34	−.04	.06	.19	.22	.56	3.49	.57	.38
Factor 2: Individual Contact (α = .83)
19	I try to share even minor things about children with their parents.	−.15	.82	−.11	.03	.04	.49	2.59	.78	.53
1	I often communicate with parents about their children through a correpondence notebook or by phone.	−.01	.76	.05	−.25	.08	.50	2.98	.82	.55
36	When the children perform good behaviors, I contact their parents and praise them in a concrete way.	−.19	.65	−.05	.11	.21	.51	2.98	.81	.46
17	I share information with parents about my students’ behaviors at home and at school on a regular basis.	.01	.56	.23	−.03	−.01	.54	2.75	.83	.45
15	I emphasize taking time to communicate with parents by having frequent meetings and taking extra time to perform such activities.	.15	.54	−.02	.13	−.31	.48	2.92	.80	.40
18	I contact parents by phone, through e-mail, or make a home visit according to the topics in need of talking.	.11	.44	−.02	.22	.00	.60	3.09	.77	.41
3	I inform parents about the positive aspects of children as well as about their efforts.	.25	.41	.19	−.14	.14	.63	3.28	.68	.51
Factor 3: Classroom Information Sharing (α = .80)
2	I issue classroom newsletters about school events and children’s everyday lives.	−.02	.01	.91	−.03	.04	.47	2.60	1.09	.84
16	I share information through classroom newsletters or websites.	−.09	−.02	.86	.11	−.02	.44	2.86	1.00	.73
35	I inform parents on the classroom policies and goals through the classroom newsletter.	.12	.06	.49	.19	−.13	.51	3.10	.82	.41
Factor 4: Being Proactive (α = .59)
24	I emphasize parent-involved school events.	−.02	−.11	.11	.61	.17	.48	3.27	.65	.44
23	When a student gets in trouble, I visit his/her home and talk to his/her parents in person.	−.05	−.07	.05	.57	.09	.38	2.98	.90	.31
8	I participate in events held by parental organizations and other PTA (parent-teacher association) activities.	.04	.13	.03	.51	−.16	.41	2.91	.78	.33
Factor 5: Facilitating Conversation (α = .67)
27	When I talk to parents, I try to have some chats and make jokes so that we can enjoy the conversation.	.12	.01	−.02	.01	.50	.37	3.04	.83	.32
25	I let parents talk as much as possible during parent meetings.	.04	.25	−.05	.25	.45	.61	3.27	.65	.53
37	I try to begin with positive comments about the children when communicating with their parents.	.28	.16	−.03	−.04	.43	.56	3.43	.66	.46
	Cumulative Proportion (%)	30.15	36.59	41.82	44.75	47.23
	Factor Correlations (r)		II	III	IV	V
		I	.59	.38	.60	.43
		II		.43	.41	.39
		III			.33	.34
		IV				.26

Factor loadings >.40 are in bold face.

Table 4. Correlations between the partnership scales and the other scales

		Attitude Toward Cooperation
		Individual Orientation	Usefulness of Cooperation
Partnership Attitude Scale (PAT)
	Appreciation	−.22***	.41***
	Positive Attitude	−.13*	.20**
	Traditional Attitude	−.12+	.30***
	Difficulty	.20***	.08
		Social Skills
		Relationship Initiation Relationship	Assertiveness	Relationship Maintenance
Partnership Action Scale (PAC)
	Respect Parents	.24***	.08	.39***
	Individual Contact	.20**	.15*	.19**
	Classroom Information Sharing	.18**	.14*	.22***
	Being Proactive	.12+	.14*	.14*
	Facilitating Conversation	.37***	.06	.24***

^†p< .10, * p< .05, ** p< .01, *** p< .001.

Table 5. Correlation and regression analysis for teachers’ burnout

		Burnout
		Personal Accomplishment (PA)		Depersonalization (DP)		Emotional Exhaustion (EE)
		r	B	r	B	r	B
Partnership Attitude (PAT)
	Appreciation	−.12+	−.02	−.12†	−.06	.04	.06
	Positive Attitude	−.19**	−.10	−.17*	−.04	−.11†	−.11
	Traditional Attitude	.02	.25**	−.02	.06	.16*	.16*
	Difficulty	.04	.05	.28***	.32***	.36***	.41***
Partnership Action (PAC)
	Respect Parents	−.27***	−.21+	−.20**	−.04	−.07	.01
	Individual Contact	−.17**	.03	−.08	.02	−.07	−.01
	Classroom Information Sharing	−.19**	−.11	−.10	.03	−.12†	−.03
	Being Proactive	−.20**	−.08	−.24***	−.21**	−.14*	−.16*
	Facilitating Conversation	−.24***	−.08	−.17**	−.14†	−.14*	−.17*
	Total variance explained (R2)		.14***		.17***		.25***

^†p < .10, * p< .05, ** p < .01, *** p<.001.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, (IJ).