Teachers' Sense of Calling, Organizational Commitment, and Physical and Mental Health Issues: The Mediating Role of Teachers' Self‐Sacrificing Behavior and Job Satisfaction

ABSTRACT This study explored the relationship between a sense of calling and the organizational commitment of elementary school teachers in Taiwan, as well as their physical and mental health issues. It also investigated the mediating roles of teachers' self‐sacrificing behavior and job satisfaction. This study employs a questionnaire survey method and includes 289 elementary school teachers in Taiwan as research participants. It utilizes indicators of teacher self‐sacrificing behavior, a sense of calling scale, a job satisfaction scale, an organizational commitment scale, and a physical and mental health issues scale for testing. The data are analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings reveal a positive correlation between elementary school teachers' sense of calling and organizational commitment; job satisfaction and self‐sacrificing behavior mediate this relationship positively. Still, job satisfaction mediates the negative indirect effect of a sense of calling on physical and mental health issues. In contrast, self‐sacrificing behavior mediates the positive indirect effect of a sense of calling. Finally, this study discusses the findings and offers relevant recommendations for educational leaders, teachers, and future research.