A STUDY ON ATTITUDE TOWARDS MATHEMATICS AND ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AMONG HIGHER SECONDARY STUDENTS
September 30, 2025A STUDY ON ATTITUDE TOWARDS MATHEMATICS AND ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AMONG HIGHER SECONDARY STUDENTS
September 30, 2025Sparkling International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Studies
PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENT AND FAMILY ENVIRONMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT
*Anisha, J. S., & **Selvakumar, K. R.
*Ph.D. Scholar, (Reg. No. 23124011042004), Department of Education, Manonmaniam Sundararanar University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India.
**Assistant Professor in Mathematics, Department of Education, DD & CE. (B.Ed.) Manonmaniam Sundararanar University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India.
Abstract
The present study examined the relationship between Professional Commitment and Family Environment among secondary school teachers in Kanyakumari District. The objectives of the study were: (1) to determine the level of Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers, (2) to assess the level of Family Environment among secondary school teachers, and (3) to analyse the relationship between Professional Commitment and Family Environment. The study adopted the normative survey method, with a sample of 150 secondary school teachers from Kanyakumari District. The instruments used were the Professional Commitment Scale (developed by Anisha J.S. and Dr K.R. Selvakumar, 2024) and the Family Environment Scale (developed by Balamurugan and Prof. M. Govindan, 2019). Data were analysed using percentage analysis, mean, standard deviation, Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation, t-test, ANOVA, and Scheffé’s test. The findings revealed that: (1) the level of Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers was moderate, (2) the level of Family Environment among secondary school teachers was moderate, and (3) there existed a low positive correlation between Professional Commitment and Family Environment.
Keywords: professional commitment, family environment, and secondary school teachers.
Introduction
Teaching is a noble profession. A teacher is said to be professional if he is committed towards their profession. Professional commitment of teachers has become the basic requirement of modern society. Teaching is a complex as well as demanding profession. Teachers need to maintain a personal commitment to the job to sustain their energy and enthusiasm for the work. The concept of ‘commitment’ as investment of personal resources has long been associated with the professional characteristics of a teacher. At a time when education is in constant flux, teachers are expected to incorporate reforms on a number of levels into their daily practice. Professional commitment appears to be highly influential for not only a teacher’s success during a time of change but also for the system in seeking to bring about change.
The professional qualities of a teacher influence their professional efficiency. More competent and committed teachers are required in the classroom because the best curriculum and most perfect syllabus remain ineffective in the absence of a good teacher. A teacher’s job is not at all that easy, and unless a high degree of professional qualities and commitment is inculcated in the teacher’s personality, the training program would remain incomplete. Teachers’ work involves rigorous efforts in the classroom and outside, as well as frequent interaction with parents and community members. For this purpose, teachers need to be well-trained and competent to perform their jobs. If teachers acquire professional competencies and commitment, and if they are enabled and empowered to perform their multiple tasks in the classroom in a genuinely professional manner, then high-quality learning takes place among students.
Family plays an important role in the life of an individual. A family creates a sense of psychological identity for its members, fostering a sense of status and prestige. It makes an individual feel like an acceptable member. Family forms the lowest unit in social organisation. A family creates a sense of psychological identity for its members, fostering a sense of status and prestige. Socialisation begins at home, where an individual learns the acceptable patterns of communication and the types of relationships that they will repeat later in life. It is envisaged that home is the first school and the mother is the first teacher. It regulates and integrates human behaviour.
A family environment involves the circumstances and social climatic conditions that prevail within a family. A family environment plays a key role in the healthy development of an individual’s personality. Family environment is important where the family members are taught various types of transactions which are considered appropriate, learn to form relationships, handle power, maintain personal boundaries, communicate with others and feel that they are an important subset of the whole family system.
Need and Significance of the Study
The destiny of the country depends upon the efficiency and skills of the teachers. Teachers do influence the personality of students. Teachers and their work, particularly their commitment to the job and the quality of their performance in the teaching and learning processes, are no exception from this time-tested belief. Experiences increase one’s depth of spirituality, attention to thoughtful life and balance, authentic self, hopefulness and optimism.
Professional Commitment is a passion for the work involved in teaching or a specific aspect of teaching. Professional commitment is the willingness to engage with the school and the school community. It is a belief that teachers have a professional responsibility that reaches beyond the four walls of the classroom and perhaps even extends beyond the boundary of the school.
A family is the most important environment cluster of variables which influence the development of a child. A family environment is the first social setting in which an infant takes birth and starts learning, responding and acting. A family includes a group of individuals joined with the ties of marriage, blood and adoption relations, procreating and upbringing the children, where the family members play social roles towards each other in creating and maintaining social culture.
Family environment, thus, is that in which an individual lives in interacts with the other family members in certain biological, physical, nutritional, cultural, social, moral, psychological, economic, emotional, structural, normative, formative and relative conditions. The individual’s character, behaviour, habits, interests, hobbies, social, physiological, psychological, moral, emotional and cultural development depends on the nature and type of family environment.
Professional commitment and family environment are interconnected, influencing each other significantly. Strong family support can enhance job satisfaction and work-life balance, leading to increased professional commitment. A supportive family environment can buffer the effects of work stress, while a challenging family situation can strain work performance and commitment. Hence, the investigator planned to study the professional commitment and family environment of secondary school teachers in Kanyakumari district.
Statement of the Problem
The statement of the study is “Professional Commitment and Family Environment of Secondary School Teachers in Kanyakumari District”.
Definitions of Key Terms
Conceptual Definition
Professional Commitment
Professional commitment is defined as “Professional commitment is defined as the extent to which one is committed to one’s profession, identified elements including dedication and social obligation” (Hall, 2005).
Family Environment
Family Environment is the quality and quantity of the cognitive, emotional and social support that has been available to the child within the family and connotes the psychological environment of the family as perceived by adolescents to be measured (Bhatia and Chadha, 2004).
Secondary School Teachers
Secondary school teachers are defined as teachers instructing students in the 6th to 10th grades.
Operational Definitions
Professional Commitment
Professional commitment refers to the strength of motivation to work in a chosen career role and to the attachment an individual has to his/her profession.
Family Environment
The family environment refers to “the quality and amount of the psychological, emotional and social support that has been accessible to the children at intervals the family.
Secondary School Teachers
In the present study, a secondary school teacher refers to a person who possesses the qualification of any UG/PG degree with a Bachelor of Education, who handles the classes from VI Std. to X Std. in Secondary/Hr. Sec. Schools.
Objectives
- To find out the level of Professional Commitment of secondary school teachers.
- To find out the level of the Family Environment of secondary school teachers.
- To find out the relationship between Professional Commitment and Family Environment of secondary school teachers.
- To find out whether there is any difference in the Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers with regard to demographic variables, viz., gender and marital status.
- To find out whether there is any difference in the Family Environment among secondary school teachers with regard to demographic variables, viz., gender and marital status.
- To find out whether there is any difference in the Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers with regard to their educational qualification and teaching experience.
- To find out whether there is any difference in the Family Environment among secondary school teachers with regard to their educational qualification and teaching experience.
Hypotheses
- The level of Professional Commitment of secondary school teachers is at a moderate level.
- The level of Family Environment of secondary school teachers is at a moderate level.
- There is no significant relationship between Professional Commitment and Family Environment of secondary school teachers.
- There is no significant difference in the Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers with regard to demographic variables, viz., gender and marital status.
- There is no significant difference in the Family Environment among secondary school teachers with regard to demographic variables, viz., gender and marital status.
- There is no significant difference in the Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers with regard to their educational qualification and teaching experience.
- There is no significant difference in the Family Environment among secondary school teachers with regard to their educational qualification and teaching experience.
Methodology in Brief
1) Method : The investigator has adopted the survey method of research to study the present topic.
2) Sample: The sample of the present investigation shall include 150 secondary school teachers from Kanyakumari district by using stratified sampling.
3) Tools: The major tools of the study are
- Personal Data Sheet
- Professional Commitment Scale (Developed by Anisha J. S and and Dr K. R. Selvakumar, 2024)
- Teachers Family Environment Scale (Developed by Balamurugan and Prof. M. Govindan, 2019)
4) Statistical Techniques: The data will be analysed by using the following statistical techniques. Percentage analysis, Mean, Standard Deviation, t test, ANOVA (F test), Pearson’s product-moment correlation, Scheffe’s test.
Results and Discussion
Hypothesis 1
The level of Professional Commitment of secondary school teachers is at a moderate level.
Table 1. Percentage analysis of Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers
| Variable | Total | Low | Moderate | High | |||
| N | N | % | N | % | N | % | |
| Professional Commitment | 150 | 24 | 16.0 | 106 | 70.7 | 20 | 13.3 |
Table 1 showed that 16.0 % of secondary school teachers have shown low, 70.7 % of secondary school teachers have shown moderate, and 13.3 % of secondary school teachers have a high level of Professional Commitment.
Hypothesis 2
The level of Family Environment of secondary school teachers is at moderate level is a moderate level.
Table 2. Percentage analysis of Family Environment among secondary school teachers
| Variable | Total | Low | Moderate | High | |||
| N | N | % | N | % | N | % | |
| Family Environment | 150 | 19 | 12.7 | 110 | 73.3 | 21 | 14.0 |
Table 2 showed that 12.7 % of secondary school teachers have shown low, 73.3 % of secondary school teachers have shown moderate, and 14.0 % of secondary school teachers have a high level of Family Environment.
Hypothesis 3
There is no significant relationship between Professional Commitment and Family Environment of secondary school teachers.
Table 3. Correlation between Professional Commitment and Family Environment of Secondary School Teachers
| Variables correlated | N | r-value | Verbal interpretation | Remark |
| Professional Commitment and Family Environment | 150 | 0.368 | Low correlation | Significant |
Table 3 shows that there is a low correlation between Professional Commitment and Family Environment of secondary school teachers.
Hypothesis 4
There is no significant difference in the Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers with regard to demographic variables like gender and marital status.
Table 4. Comparison of Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers based on the variables like gender and marital status
| Variables | Group Compared | N | Mean | SD | t-value | Level of significance |
| Gender | Male | 28 | 135.25 | 17.362 | 0.173 | Not significant |
| Female | 122 | 134.61 | 17.897 | |||
| Marital Status | Single
| 46 | 133.46 | 16.300 | 0.582 | Not Significant |
| Married | 104 | 135.29 | 18.392 |
Table 4 showed that the obtained ‘t’ value of the Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers in terms of gender and marital status was less than the table value of 1.97 at the 0.05 level of significance. Hence, it can be inferred that the secondary school teachers do not differ significantly in their Professional Commitment with respect to gender and marital status. Therefore, null hypotheses are accepted.
Hypothesis 5
There is no significant difference in the Family Environment among secondary school teachers with regard to demographic variables like gender and marital status.
Table 5. Comparison of Family Environment among Secondary School Teachers based on variables like gender and marital status.
| Variables | Group Compared | N | Mean | SD | t-value | Level of significance |
| Gender | Male | 28 | 133.46 | 16.300 | 0.582 | Not Significant |
| Female | 122 | 135.29 | 18.392 | |||
| Marital Status | Single
| 46 | 139.64 | 17.105 | 0.510 | Not Significant |
Table 5 showed that the obtained ‘t’ value of the Family Environment among secondary school teachers in terms of gender and marital status was less than the table value of 1.97 at the 0.05 level of significance. Hence, it can be inferred that the secondary school teachers do not differ significantly in their Family Environment with respect to gender and marital status. Therefore, null hypotheses are accepted.
Hypothesis 6
There is no significant difference in the Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers with regard to demographic variables like educational qualification and teaching experience.
Table 6. Comparison of Professional Commitment among Secondary School Teachers based on the variables like educational qualification and teaching experience
| Variables | Source | Sum of scores | df | Mean Score | F-value | Level of significance |
| Educational Qualification | Between Groups | 467.521 | 2 | 233.760 | 0.740 | Not Significant
|
| Within groups | 46436.273 | 147 | 315.893 | |||
| Teaching Experience | Between Groups | 586.220 | 2 | 293.110 | 0.930
| Not Significant |
| Within groups | 46317.573 | 147 | 315.086 |
Table 6 showed that the obtained ‘F’ value of the Professional Commitment among secondary school teachers in terms of their educational qualification and teaching experience was less than the table value (3.03) at the 0.05 level of significance. Hence, it can be inferred that the secondary school teachers do not differ significantly in Professional Commitment with respect to educational qualification and teaching experience. Therefore, null hypotheses are accepted.
Hypothesis 7
There is no significant difference in the Family Environment among secondary school teachers with regard to demographic variables like educational qualification and teaching experience.
Table 7. Comparison of Family Environment among Secondary School Teachers based on the variables like educational qualification and teaching experience
| Variables | Source | Sum of scores | df | Mean Score | F-value | Level of significance |
| Educational Qualification | Between Groups | 1469.441 | 2 | 734.721 | 2.497 | Not Significant
|
| Within groups | 43257.899 | 147 | 294.27 | |||
| Teaching Experience | Between Groups | 31.863 | 2 | 15.931 | 0.520 | Not significant
|
| Within groups | 44695.477 | 147 | 304.051 |
Table 7 showed that the obtained ‘F’ value of the Family Environment among secondary school teachers in terms of their educational qualification and teaching experience was less than the table value (3.03) at the 0.05 level of significance. Hence, it can be inferred that the secondary school teachers do not differ significantly in the Family Environment with respect to educational qualification and teaching experience. Therefore, null hypotheses are accepted.
Findings
Findings based on the level of Professional Commitment and Family Environment
- The level of Professional Commitment of secondary teachers was at a moderate level (70.7 %).
- The level of Family Environment of secondary teachers was at a moderate level (73.3 %).
Findings based on Correlation
- There was a low correlation found between Professional Commitment and Family Environment of secondary teachers. (r = 0.368).
Findings based on the t-test
- Male and female secondary teachers did not significantly differed in their Professional Commitment.
- Male and female secondary teachers did not significantly differed in their Family Environment.
- Single and Married secondary teachers did not significantly differed in their Professional Commitment.
- Single and Married secondary teachers did not significantly differed in their Family Environment.
Findings based on ANOVA
- There were no significant differences among the three groups of secondary teachers based on their educational qualification, D.T.Ed. / UG. B.Ed./ PG.B.Ed. in their Professional Commitment.
- There were no significant differences among the three groups of three groups of secondary teachers based on their educational qualification, namely D.T.Ed. / UG. B.Ed./ PG.B.Ed in their Family Environment.
- There were no significant differences among the three groups of three groups of secondary teachers based on their teaching experience, namely, Below 5 years, Between 6 -14 years and Above 15 years, in their Professional Commitment..
- There were no significant differences among the f three groups of three groups of secondary teachers based on their teaching experience, namely, Below 5 years, Between 6 -14 years and Above 15 years, in their Family Environment.
Conclusion
The study investigated the relationship between Professional commitment and Family environment among secondary teachers. It helped the investigator to bring the following conclusion. From the result of the level of analysis, it was found that there is the Professional commitment of secondary teachers is at a moderate level, and the Family Environment of secondary teachers is at a moderate level. From the result of Pearson product-moment correlation, there is a low correlation between Professional commitment and Family Environment. From this, it is inferred that Professional commitment influenced the Family Environment of secondary teachers.
From the analysis of the t-test, it was found that there was no significant difference between the secondary teachers in their Professional Commitment and Family Environment with respect to the background variables like gender and marital status. This showed that both male and female (gender) and single and married (marital status) secondary teachers have the same level Professional Commitment and Family Environment.
From the results of ANOVA, it was found that there was no significant difference among the secondary teachers in their Professional commitment and Family Environment with respect to the background variables like educational qualification and teaching experience. From the results of ANOVA, it is inferred that Professional Commitment and Family Environment are not influenced by secondary teachers depending upon their educational qualification (D.T.Ed. / U.G.B.Ed. / P.G.B.Ed.), teaching experience (Below 5 years, Between 6 -14 years and Above 15 years).
References
Alam, M. (2018). Study of Professional Commitment of Secondary School Teachers across Certain Demographic Variables.International Journal of Indian Psychology, 6(4), 48-56.
Garg, D., & Dwivedi, S. (2023). Study of Professional Commitment of Secondary School Teachers in Relation to Their Academic Qualifications. Library Progress International, 43(2), 384-392.
Khan, T. & Kaur, J. (2021). Job Satisfaction of Teacher Educators in Relation to Professional Commitment. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 9(4), 1444-1450.
Klassen, R. M., & Chiu, M. M. (2011). The Occupational Commitment and Intention to Quit of Practising and Pre-Service Teachers: Influence of Self-Efficacy, Job Stress and Teaching Context. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36(2), 114- 129.
Kumar, A., & Popli, A. (2023). Mental Health of Teachers in Relation to Self-Esteem and Family Environment. Humanities and Social Science Studies, 12(2), 77-84.
Magdalena, S. M. (2009). Professional Commitment in Teachers: Comparative Study. Stan Maria Magdalena Abstract: Professional Commitment, 6(2), 148 – 155.
Mahajan, P., & Kauts, A. (2022). Study of Professional Commitment Among Secondary School Teachers of Punjab With Respect to Type of Schools. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(6), 9587 – 9597.
Mowday, R. T., Steers, R. T. & Porter, L. W. (1979). The measurement of organisational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 14, 224-247.
Ramzan, A. (2020). Professional Commitment of Teacher Educators in Colleges of Education in Jammu District (J&K). Palarch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 17(6), 13730-13742.
Shukla, A. K., & Waris, A. (2016). Professional Commitment of Secondary School Teachers in Relation to Their Gender and Area: A Comparative Study. Global Journal for Research Analysis (GJRA), 7(5), 264-265.
Topcu, I., & Dogan, S. (2020). Principals’ and teachers’ views on home visits in Turkey. Educational Policy Analysis and Strategic Research, 15(2), 205-221.
Ulker Mehmet., & Baris Terzioğlu Emel. (2020). Relationship between school, family and environment, according to school principals’ views. Educational Research and Reviews, 15(3), 115-123.
Wani, U. I. & Jan, T. (2022). Professional Commitment of Government and Private Polytechnic College Teachers. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 10(3), 884-893.
To cite this article
Anisha, J. S., & Selvakumar, K. R. (2025). Professional Commitment and Family Environment of Secondary School Teachers in Kanyakumari District. Sparkling International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Studies, 8(3), 37-47.