POST-TRANSFER FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF THE PHETCHABURI SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AREA OFFICE

Abstract

The transfer of teaching personnel involves significant changes in workload, organizational relationships, and career development. This study examined post-transfer factors, professionalism, and career advancement, including their relationships and predictive factors among transferred civil servant teachers. A quantitative survey was conducted with 205 teachers transferred between 2020 and 2024 under the Phetchaburi Secondary Educational Service Area Office, selected from 438 teachers through stratified random sampling by school size. Data were collected using a five-point rating scale questionnaire with reliability coefficients ranging from 0.897 to 0.915 and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression. The results indicated high levels across all four post-transfer factors, with adaptation scoring highest (M = 4.14, SD = 0.58). Among professionalism dimensions, ethics, morality, and responsibility toward learners and society scored highest (M = 4.71, SD = 0.42), while opportunities for professional development ranked highest in career advancement (M = 4.18, SD = 0.55). Adaptation had the strongest correlation with professionalism (r = 0.72, p < .001), whereas organizational environment and support systems showed the strongest correlation with career advancement (r = 0.68, p < .001). The four factors jointly explained 58% of the variance in professionalism (R² = 0.58), with adaptation as the strongest predictor (B = 0.46, p < .001). They also explained 55% of the variance in career advancement (R² = 0.55), with organizational environment and support systems as the strongest predictor (B = 0.36, p < .001). These findings highlight the importance of managing teacher transfers as a professional transition through orientation, mentoring, expertise-aligned workload assignments, and individualized career planning.

Keywords: Teacher Transfer, Professionalism, Career Advancement, Adaptation, Organizational Support