Page 1 of 10
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 11, No. 2
Publication Date: February 25, 2024
DOI:10.14738/assrj.112.16439.
Zemmel, H., Baaziz, M., Saii, B., & Jannet, Z. B. (2024). Socio-professional Antecedents of Conciliation between Work and Family
Role among Tunisian Physical Education Teachers. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(2). 191-200.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Socio-professional Antecedents of Conciliation between Work
and Family Role among Tunisian Physical Education Teachers
Hedi Zemmel
Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of
Manouba, Tunisia, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Gafsa,
University of Gafsa, Gafsa, Tunisia and Research laboratory: ECUMUS; State,
culture and mutations of society - Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences -
University of Sfax-Tunisia
Mohamed Baaziz
Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of
Manouba, Tunisia and Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Gafsa,
University of Gafsa, Gafsa, Tunisia
Badai Saii
Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Gafsa, University of Gafsa,
Gafsa, Tunisia and Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax, University
of Sfax, Tunisia
Zouheir Ben Jannet
Research laboratory: ECUMUS; State, culture and mutations of society, Faculty
of Letters and Human Sciences - University of Sfax-Tunisia and Faculty of Letters
and Human Sciences of Sfax, Tunisia
ABSTRACT
Background: Balancing work and family are an important issue these days, as
demands and commitments in both contexts have increased. Aims: The aim of this
study was to study the issue of family-work balance among Tunisian physical
education teachers, and to identify the differences between men and women as well
as the main factors influencing the relationship family-work. Method: 486 physical
education teachers (342 men, mean age = 42.35 ±5.554, and 144 women, mean age
= 42.80 ±7.708) belonging to three Tunisian governorates participated voluntarily
to our study. Results: The results obtained from the MANOVA analysis showed the
impact of gender and family status on reconciliation (Gender: [Lambda of Wilks =
,978 < 1, D = 3,551, p = 0,014 < p = 0,05]; Marital status: [Lambda de Wilks = ,906 <
1, d = 8,134, p = 0,000 < p = 0,05]), but work place had no effect: [Wilks' Lambda =
.990 < 1, D = .830, p = 0.546 > p = 0.05]. Conclusion: Our statement therefore
underlines the fact that the work-family conflict is very present among PE teachers
in the south-western of Tunisia, contrary to the image perceived by society which
provides that teachers have a working time that allows them to live comfortably.
Keywords: Conciliation, Work, Family life, Physical Education Teachers.
Page 2 of 10
192
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 11, Issue 2, February-2024
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
INTRODUCTION
Attention to the right balance has become a priority for all workers in the context of a busy daily
life and an accelerated pace. The development of modern societies where individuals are
confronted with infinity of social constraints, whether on the family or professional level,
generates a lack of synchronization between the times allocated to each activity of life. Most
workers are affected by this problem of management and the temporal balance of the two
spheres of life. The issue is of a social nature and the distribution of time devoted to each activity
has become crucial.
The existing literature testifies to a strong interference between the professional sphere and
the private one, that describes as a striking fact of modern society which affects all workers in
an overlap of different social times [1-9].
Between work requirements, family obligations and free time, the day is made up of a
succession of temporal axes devoted to various social activities which follow one another,
overlap, and converge in the quest for a balance that is sometimes difficult to achieve. It also
reveals that workers find it difficult to reconcile professional commitments with family ones.
This problem has arisen at a time when dual-career couples now constitute the structure of
most families, which is the case for a considerable number of citizens, thanks to the
emancipation of women and its presence in the labor market.
This situation can lead to a desynchronization or even a conflictual relationship that has been
defined by Greenhaus and Beutell [1] as "the incompatibility between the demands of the job
and the demands of the family, so that participation in a sphere makes it difficult to engage in
the other sphere". This imposes the obligation to find adequacy to facilitate the interaction
between the various activities of life within the framework of the reconciliation of the different
social times. The cohabitation and interaction of the two parts of family and professional life
are irrevocable, as illustrated by Barrère-Maurisson [10]. According to her, “these two parts of
life are constantly reflected in the home and in society. In the home, between man and woman,
between domestic and professional. In society, between employers and employees, between
work and family burdens. This is why any action affecting one of the poles affects the other and
vice versa. This then imposes a search for a balance and an interaction between these two
spheres of life which intersect and become confused because they are "time-consuming". In this
context and given the importance of the balance between the time devoted to work and that for
the family, we will try through this study, to identify the family-work balance among Tunisian
physical education teachers, and to explore the differences between men and women, as well
as the main factors influencing the family-work relationship.
MATERIALS AND METHOD
This is a field survey of physical education teachers working in the south-west of Tunisia. This
survey is based on a quantitative method by questionnaire which aims to reveal whether PE
teachers have difficulty reconciling work time and family time according to three variables:
gender, family situation and work area.
Study Population
486 physical education teachers (342 men, mean age = 42.35 ±5.5, and 144 women, mean age
= 42.37 ±6.3) belonging to three Tunisian governorates as follows: Gafsa 324 teachers with 66.7%
Page 3 of 10
193
Zemmel, H., Baaziz, M., Saii, B., & Jannet, Z. B. (2024). Socio-professional Antecedents of Conciliation between Work and Family Role among Tunisian
Physical Education Teachers. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(2). 191-200.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.112.16439
(219 men 105 women), Tozeur 67 teachers with 13.8% (51 men 16 women), and Kebelli 95
teachers with 19.5% (23 women and 72 men) participated voluntarily to our study. (Table 1).
Table 1. Socio-demographic characteristics of the population.
Variable Effective Mean Age SD Pourcentage
Gender Male 342 42.35 ± 5.5 70.4
Female 144 42.37 ± 6.3 29.6
Governorates Gafsa 324 42.51 ± 6.1 66.7
Tozeur 67 41.96 ± 6.0 13.8
Kébélli 95 42.78 ± 6.7 19.5
Measurement
The research data was collected using a questionnaire developed and validated in Arabic
according to the steps proposed in the literature and adapted to the cultural and social
particularities of the respondents. This scale contains 13 items divided into three components
(Solutions that facilitate conciliation (SFC) 4 items (α = .572); Factors influencing conciliation
(FIC) 5 items (α = .672); and Problems due to conciliation (PDC) 4 items (α = .709).
The first component with five items presents the factors influencing reconciliation (FIC)
corresponds to the elements that lead to difficulties in achieving a balance between family and
work. The five items are as follows: “children's school schedule makes work-family balance
difficult (HCD”), “the rhythm of your spouse's work schedule makes work-family balance
difficult (RCD)”, “my work schedule makes work-family balance difficult family (TCD)”, “the
people in charge in the family (Parent, grandparents...) makes the work-family balance difficult
(PCD)”, “in my current situation the work-family balance is difficult (SCD)”.
The second component that measures with four items the problems due to reconciliation (PDC)
corresponds to the repercussions of the difficulty of reconciliation. The first item “difficulty of
family-work balance is a source of family problems (divorce, argument, etc.) (DCPF)”, the
second one, “difficulty of family-work balance is a source of professional problems
(absenteeism, failure, abandonment, etc.) (DCPP)”, the third, difficulty of family-work balance
postpones marriage (DCM)”, and the fourth item “the difficulty of family-work balance does not
help me to take advantage of work opportunities” (DCOT).
The third component measures with four items the solutions that facilitate work-life balance
(SFC), corresponds to the measures taken to facilitate the interaction between family and work.
The first item is “Family support facilitates work-family balance” (FFC), the second one, “use of
day care services facilitates work-family balance” (GFC), the third, “recruitment of a person for
housework facilitates work-family balance” (RFC), and the last item “the sharing of family
responsibilities with my spouse facilitates work-family balance family” (PFC).
Procedures
The statistical processing of the data was carried out using the SPSS software (20). The method
for calculating the means and standard deviations and the sums of the scores for the items was
carried out by cross-referencing the independent variables (gender, family situation, persons
in charge, and geographical affiliation) with dependent variables such as factors influencing