And You Thought It Was the Apple: A Study of Job Satisfaction among Teachers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Teachers are an integral component in providing a strong foundation for enhancement of United States infrastructure. During past decade, an enormous amount of time and research have been dedicated to mission of No Child Left Behind initiatives. This paper attempts to explore, are our teachers being left behind? Using a nonparametric (distribution-free) rank statistic this study sought to examine relationship length of service, salary, and supervision have on job satisfaction of teachers. The population for this sample was selected through convenience sampling and included 81 certified teachers in Upstate South Carolina. The principal hypothesis provided no significant support for teacher length of service and six satisfaction scores. Teacher length of service was not positively correlated with job satisfaction. None of six related correlations provided support for hypothesis two which predicted teacher salary would be negatively correlated with job satisfaction. Hypothesis three was confirmed. Supervision was positively correlated with teacher job satisfaction. Implications of this study for teachers, administrators and human resource professionals in schools are discussed. INTRODUCTION Job satisfaction has been defined as the attitude of an employee toward a job, sometimes expressed as a hedonic response of liking or disliking work itself, rewards pay, promotions, recognition), or context (working conditions, benefits) (Corsini, 1999, p. 516). Job satisfaction and variables that impact it have been focus of researchers and management scholars for more than seven decades. The topic has captured interdisciplinary attention of people involved in areas of human resources, organizational behavior, and industrial psychology since days of Elton Mayo and Hawthorne studies of late 1920s. However, researchers are still struggling to make connection due to many variables associated with job satisfaction, individual and their circumstance (Mitchell, Ortiz & Mitchell, 1987). Job satisfaction remains a prominent topic among supervisors of profit, non-profit, and mutual benefit organizations because it has been linked to organizational effectiveness and bottom-line results. It is suggested that employees who experience greater levels of dissatisfaction at work are more likely to have increased incidents of absences or more likely to leave organization completely. Greenberg & Baron (1 995) states that organizations lose $247 to $537 per employee because of absenteeism. Employee turnover can cost organizations millions of dollars each year due to recruiting, relocation, and training. The United States is currently being challenged to recruit and retain high-quality teachers (Mobley, 1982; Perie, Baker, & Whitener 1997; Price, 1989; Rosenholtz, 1989). Researchers predict that to keep up with nations enormous demand for teachers, profession will need to hire over 2 million teachers within next two years (Darling-Hammond, Berry, Haselkorn, & Fideler, 1 999; Oakes, Franke, Quartz, & Rogers, 2002). The extreme need for teachers is due to an increased student enrollment, retirement, and high levels of attrition (Darling-Hammond, Berry, Haselkorn, & Fideler, 1999; Oakes, Franke, Quartz, & Rogers, 2002). Ingersoll (2001) conducted an analysis of National Schools and Staffing Survey and Teacher Follow Up Survey and found that during first 3 years, one third of new teachers leave profession and within 5 years at least one half leave. Teacher retention is an epidemic that researchers and schools are trying to control through understanding problem of job satisfaction. A teacher's satisfaction may influence whether or not teachers choose to stay or leave profession (Bacharach & Baumberger, 1990; Bluedorn, 1982; Chapman, 1983; Heyns, 1988; Mueller & Price, 1990). …