Commitment and entrenchment in a career: a study of their influences on the institutional effort of higher education teachers

The present study analyzes the dimensions of the links of commitment and entrenchment with the career development of higher education teachers in the private and public contexts of Brazilian universities. More specifically, an attempt is made to identify their relations with the institutional effort' construct, defined as persistent improvement of quality in their performance and the positive results of the educational process. The extensive and cross-sectional study involved a sample of 635 higher education teachers from different states through an applied questionnaire and on-line data collection. The data underwent descriptive analysis as well as multivariate analysis, using the Statistical Package Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15.0. After the exploratory analysis (evaluation of normality, outliers, analysis of linearity and analysis of multicolinearity), a quality analysis was conducted of the quality of the measurement of scales (dimensionality, trustworthiness and validity of the measures), followed by the modeling of structural equations to identify the impacts of the links with the career on the institutional effort. The model, with better adjustment, revealed that identity (dimension of commitment to career) makes an impact on the institutional effort in all its dimensions. Significant differences between public and private institutions of higher education were also found.