The purpose of this study was to develop and test a conceptual model of teacher job satisfaction based on prominent job satisfaction theories in business and industry, but focused primarily on the theory of Frederick Herzberg. The variables selected for inclusion in the model were identified from a review of teacher job satisfaction literature and represented both the professional environment of the teacher and the potential for professional development. The Schools and Staffing Survey, an extant database from a national sample, provided the data for the path analysis procedures used in this study. Separate models were analyzed for general and special educators and for elementary and non-elementary general educators. The path analysis results suggested that the administrative climate (i.e. leadership, teacher participation in decision-making, teacher autonomy) had the greatest effect on perceptions of job satisfaction for both general and special education teachers. Peer support (perceived support from parents and colleagues) also appeared to have a significant direct effect on job satisfaction for general educators. An increase in teaching experience was associated with a decrease in both desire for professional development incentives and job satisfaction. In addition, the descriptive results indicated that very few respondents were currently receiving any type of career incentives. The results of the study also indicated a lack of substantive evidence that salary, teaching assignment, and education level of teachers have an impact on job satisfaction. The study concluded with the suggestion to school policy makers that the development of a working environment that includes teachers in decision-making, increases teacher autonomy, provides leadership and support, and promotes an atmosphere of collegiality may lead to increased levels of job satisfaction. / Ed. D.

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The attrition rate of hypothetically able teachers has caused much concern. Job incentives, if valued by teachers, may aid in solving this problem. Teacher-identified incentives might lead to the development of more productive incentive programs than those offered by school districts. The purpose of this research study was to identify incentives valued by elementary teachers. Characteristics of teachers and values placed on incentives were examined to discover whether relationships exist between them. The literature revealed that many variables influence the retention of motivated teachers. It is fundamental to an organization's existence to find positive incentives and reduce or eliminate disincentives. Teachers receive their major rewards from classroom accomplishments. intrinsically motivated. A fixed-response survey was administered to elementary teachers in three schools in different school districts in Virginia. Frequency analysis was used to determine which incentives were most valued. Incentive ranking and demographic characteristics were cross-tabulated to determine if there were any relationship between them. In addition, analysis of variance was used to determine if values placed on incentives vary with pay scales. The study identified 17 incentives considered very important by a select sample of teachers. Teaching experience was found as a correlate in the selection of incentives. Teaching in a particular school district was found related to the value placed on 25% of the incentives. / Ed. D.

A three-phase study was conducted. In the first phase, individual interviews were conducted with 15 secondary school teachers to develop indigenous items for assessing teacher burnout and lack of reciprocity. In the second phase, 187 secondary school teachers were included to determine the items of newly-developed instruments and to examine their psychometric properties. In the third phase, the aims were to examine the validity and reliability of each measurement, to analysis the relations between teacher burnout and demographic variables, and to explore the relationship among lack of reciprocity, ERI, meaning of life and teacher burnout in a sample of 509 teachers from 25 secondary schools in Changchun, China. / According to the relationship between teacher burnout and demographic variables, results indicated that younger teachers reported more EE and DP. Teachers of junior rank reported more burnout. Teachers who taught Chinese, mathematics and English reported more experience of EE than teachers who taught other subjects. / Based on the social exchange theory of burnout, the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model, and the existential theory of burnout, the purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship among investment-reward imbalance, meaning of life, and burnout among Chinese secondary school teachers. As one of the key variables in this study, investment-reward imbalance included two operational definitions which were named lack of reciprocity and ERI. / Limitations, theoretical and practical implications of the findings were also discussed. / Results showed that, based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the newly-modified Burnout Measurement consisted of three subscales: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (RPA). The self-developed Reciprocity Scale included three dimensions, namely, reciprocity in the relationship with students, intangible reciprocity in the relationship with the school, and tangible reciprocity in the relationship with the school. All measurements in this study were found to possess good validity and reliability. / Structural equation modeling was used to test a set of hypothetic models of the relationship among lack of reciprocity, ERI, meaning of life and teacher burnout. Results showed that, lack of reciprocity in the relationship with students positively influenced FE and RPA. Lack of intangible reciprocity in the relationship with the school was positively associated with RPA. Lack of tangible reciprocity in the relationship with the school was positively associated with EE. Among the three dimensions of lack of reciprocity, lack of reciprocity in the relationship with students is a more important predictor to teacher burnout than other components. ERI was positively associated with EE. Considering the two operational definitions of investment-reward imbalance in the prediction of teacher burnout, lack of reciprocity predicted RPA better than ERI, while ERI predicted EE better than lack of reciprocity. Meaning of life was negatively associated with EE, DP and RPA. In addition, results supported the hypothesis that EE influenced DP on the structure of teacher burnout. / 李歆瑤. / Advisers: Patrick S. Y. Lau; Alvin S. M. Leung. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-03, Section: A, page: 0875. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-153). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Li Xinyao.

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The study examined perceptions of female educators at a primary school in Durban, with regard to issues of gender equality. The literature review revealed that women educators have faced great injustices regarding past educational policies (before 1994) and the nature of gender biased practices both in society and within the school systems. The study highlights some of the main barriers, both intrinsic and extrinsic, faced by women teachers which prevented their upward mobility in the profession, thus determining their perceptions of their present career status. It also focuses on strategies that women educators perceived in helping to advance in their career as a teacher thereby achieving satisfaction. The research consisted of a quantitative phase which included the use of self-completion questionnaires to determine the perceptions of the female educators to their present career status. The data collected was used to develop strategies women teachers can use to advance their careers. The findings revealed that there were two groups of teachers each with different set of perceptions. The younger generation of teachers did not experience intrinsic barriers and displayed more satisfied perceptions of their career. The older generation of teachers seemed less satisfied with their present career status. Both, however agreed that organizational constraints (extrinsic barriers) affected their advancement in the profession. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

This study sought to discover job satisfaction factors of African American faculty at a historically black university and a predominantly white institution. Data were gathered through the use of semi-structured interviews of 6 faculty members from a historically black university and 5 faculty from a predominantly white institution. Several themes emerged from the study. The most salient was that African American faculty at the historically black university were satisfied by their work with students, satisfied with the flexibility of their schedules, and dissatisfied with their pay, workload, and the lack of recognition that they receive from their institution. African American faculty at the predominantly white institution were satisfied by the impact the programs and courses they developed had upon students, satisfied with their job's freedom and flexibility, and dissatisfied with the ideas of being micromanaged or working with people who are not open and honest. The findings of this study showed that service is an important factor to job satisfaction of African American faculty and that there is a distinction between factors faculty are dissatisfied with but willing to endure and those that would cause them to leave an institution.