Educational Studies / M.Ed (Educational Management)

Much research has been done on the job satisfaction of secondary school teachers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The aim of this research was to investigate factors that influence the job satisfaction of these teachers. A literature review of theories on job satisfaction was undertaken. In the empirical investigation, a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was used. In the quantitative phase, the data collection was done by means of a self-constructed structured questionnaire that focused on four work factors that were identified during the literature review, namely salary and benefits, management, work characteristics, and interpersonal relationships. The stratified, random sample consisted of 300 secondary school teachers in Addis Ababa. The data were statistically analysed using the Statistical package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software programme, and the results were appropriately interpreted. In the second, namely the qualitative phase, interviews were conducted with a sample of 10 teachers who were purposefully selected from a larger sample. The data were analysed by using the constant comparative method. The results make a significant contribution to new knowledge and understanding of current issues relating to the job satisfaction of teachers in selected secondary schools in Addis Ababa. The results indicated that the teachers were significantly dissatisfied with most aspects of their work. Salary and benefits emerged as the primary dissatisfying aspect of all the work factors. Other areas of dissatisfaction related to poor fringe benefits and opportunities for promotion, the management style of the principals, the lack of decision-making opportunities for the teachers, as well as the opportunity to develop personally, and the poor relationships teachers have with the principals and the parents. The data also indicated that teachers who were 50 years and older, were significantly more satisfied with their work than the younger teachers. Accordingly, teachers with 21 years and more experience were also significantly more satisfied with their work than the less experienced teachers. In addition, all four of the identified factors were found to have statistically significant correlations with job satisfaction. Qualitative data confirmed the quantitative results. Finally, recommendations were made in order to enhance the job satisfaction of secondary school teachers in Addis Ababa, and for further research. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This dissertation is a narrative account of a self-study undertaken with the primary aim of positively influencing the morale of colleagues in my school department. It addresses an area of personal and professional concern where my values were being denied in my practice. As a Head of Department, I was worried that the low morale of my colleagues would negatively impact on the quality of teaching and learning at school, and on their own mental health. Situated within self-efficacy theory, my study reflects the values I attach to human dignity, respect, fairness, honesty perseverance and caring. These values were applied as the living standard by which I judged the quality of my leadership practice. I describe how I used an Action Research methodology as a living transformational process to reflect on my own leadership in terms of how I could influence the development of positive morale in the department. My findings offer new conceptualisations about how teachers can take action to improve the emotional climate of the school. I am claiming that the significance of my research is grounded in my ability to facilitate an improvement in the low morale of myself and my colleagues in order for us to ultimately contribute to self and school improvement.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of bureaucratic structure to communication satisfaction of teachers in a suburban school district in north Texas. This study compared seven components of communication satisfaction of teachers in Authoritarian schools with those of teachers in Professional schools.

本研究旨在瞭解臺北市國民中學校長服務領導、教師情緒勞務與教師工作滿意度之關係。本研究採問卷調查法，共計抽樣47所學校，發出565份問卷，回收408份有效問卷，問卷可用率達72.2%。資料處理採用描述性統計分析、獨立樣本t檢定、單因子變異數分析(ANOVA)、Pearson積差相關及多元迴歸分析等統計方式進行統計分析。本研究分析結果分述如下： 一、臺北市國民中學校長服務領導為中高程度，以「楷模倡導」最高，「真誠感召」最低。 二、臺北市國民中學教師情緒勞務為中高程度，以「真情演出」最高，「深層演出」最低。 三、臺北市國民中學教師工作滿意度為中高程度，以「同僚關係」最高，「校長領導」最低。 四、不同「性別」、「職務」及「學校規模」之教師知覺校長服務領導之整體或分層面上有顯著差異。 五、不同「學校規模」之教師知覺情緒勞務之整體或分層面上有顯著差異。 六、不同「年齡」、「教育程度」、「服務年資」、「擔任職務」及「學校規模」之教師知覺教師工作滿意度之整體或分層面上有顯著差異。 七、臺北市國民中學校長服務領導、教師情緒勞務與教師工作滿意度呈現中度正相關。 八、臺北市國民中學校長服務領導、教師情緒勞務對教師工作滿意度具有預測作用。 / The purposes of this study was to investigate the relationships among the principals’ servant leadership, the emotional labor of teacher and the teachers’ job satisfaction in the junior high schools in Taipei City. The Questionnaire survey method was applied. The samples include 47 schools and 565 questionnaires were distributed. There were 408 valid questionnaires used finally in the statistic analysis and the usable rate was 72.2%. The data was analyzed by the methods of descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. The conclusions of this study are as follows: 1.Junior high schools teacher’s perception of principals’ servant leadership is above average, in which the item “model behavior persuasiveness” was the highest, and the “honesty” was the lowest. 2.Junior high schools teacher’s perception of teacher’ emotional labor is above average, in which the item “genuine acting” was the highest, and the “deep acting” was the lowest. 3.Junior high schools teacher’s perception of teacher’ job satisfation is above average, in which the item “colleague relationship” was the highest, and the “principal leadership” was the lowest. 4.There are significant differences in the junior high schools teachers’ perception of principals’ servant leadership in terms of gender, duty and the scale of the schools. 5.There are significant differences in the junior high schools teachers’ perception of teachers’ emotional labor in terms of the scale of the schools. 6.There are significant differences in the junior high schools teachers’ perception of teachers’ job satisfaction in terms of age, education, length of service of school, duty and the scale of the schools. 7.There is a positive correlation among the principals’ servant leadership, teachers’ emotional labor, and teachers’ job satisfaction. 8.Principals’ servant leadership and teachers’ emotional labor have a predictive effect on teachers’ job satisfaction.

The career choice process, which emphasises the term ‘choice’, is one which is characterised by an ever changing multi-layered progression (Ozbilgin, Kusku & Erdogmus, 2004). This is due to the choice being a result of the on-going interaction between an individual and their social and organisational contexts. It is then safe to assume that this career decision making process involves an awareness of an individual’s surrounding environment and an ability to acknowledge and understand what they regard as being important to them. In support of this understanding, this research project seeks to draw attention to the career influences of a specific group of professionals rather than researching career choices across a range of professionals within different contexts in efforts to broadly predict career choice behaviour. This study rather focuses on the factors that actively influenced the career choices of ten Rhodes University Academics across a range of disciplines and faculties and their individual career decision making processes. In drawing on “mainstream and heterodox” (Ozbilgin et al., 2004, p. 2) literature, this research aims to apply existing notions presented by past researchers to South African academics, now residing and working at Rhodes University, which is located in the small town of Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. The methods of qualitative inductive research are discussed and the results are explored within the settings and contexts unique to each individual who has been drawn to the specific University context. The purpose of the study is to therefore adopt an inductive thematic analysis approach in seeking to examine the internal and external factors that served to influence the sample of academics into their chosen discipline, their decision to become and academic and their employer of choice, in light of the increasing pressure on higher education institutions to contribute to social and economic transformation within the South Africa (Tettey, 2006).

M.Cur. (Nursing Education) / There is a shortage of nurses in the country and worldwide, and the problem is compounded by the resignation of nurse educators. These nurse educators leave with their expertise and skills, thus compromising the provision of quality teaching and learning. Despite the mandate by the Gauteng Department of Health to increase the student nurse intake by 25% each year, there are currently no retention strategies for nurse educators who may want to resign from a Johannesburg nursing college. It is thus imperative that a study to determine the factors leading to the resignation of nurse educators be conducted. The following research questions gave direction to the research study:  What are the factors that lead nurse educators to resign from a nursing college in Johannesburg?  What can be done to retain nurse educators at a nursing college in Johannesburg? The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the factors that led to the resignation of nurse educators at a Johannesburg nursing college and to describe strategies to retain them. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was used to provide an in-depth description of factors leading to nurse educators resigning from a Johannesburg nursing college. A purposive sampling method was used. When the sample was insufficient, snowball sampling was also used to identify other nurse educators who have resigned from the nursing college under study within the specified period between year 2000 to 2008. Fifteen (15) voluntarily agreed to take part in the study after they were invited. A pilot study was conducted with one (1) participant, who has resigned but was not involved in the actual research, and it assisted in determining the feasibility of the research question. Individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews were used to gather information from the nurse educators who resigned from the nursing college in question. The responses from the nurse educators were recorded on an audiotape recorder and field notes with the permission of the participants. An open coding, qualitative data analysis method was used. Trustworthiness was accomplished using the strategies as outlined by Lincoln & Guba (1985: 301–328). Ethical standards for nurse researchers were adhered to as outlined by DENOSA (in Brink et al., 2012: 48–51). The results of the data analysis that emerged were three (3) main categories, seven (7) subcategories and their related themes. The findings on factors leading to nurse educators resigning from a Johannesburg nursing college included factors related to management of the nursing college; emotional and attitudinal factors; and factors related to cultural diversity. Through conceptualisation, the themes identified from the research were supported or refuted by the relevant existing literature and interpreted by the researcher. Conclusions drawn from the conceptualization formed the basis for the description of strategies to retain nurse educators at a Johannesburg nursing college. The strategies identified through conceptualization were described in order to assist the nursing college under study to retain its nurse educators. It is recommended that the strategies be implemented in nursing education, management and research.

The significance of the project was to answer the call of California schools in their plight to stop attrition and retain teachers. This project alone or in conjunction with other programs offered by schools/school districts gives them another tool to reach their goal of 100% teacher retention. It is the belief of this project that the problems with retention could be diminished if not eliminated, by giving beginning teachers a handbook.

Thesis (Ph.D. Education (Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The genesis of this study was the lack of comprehensive teacher socialisation programmes for Zimbabwean immigrant teachers in public schools in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. To better understand the theoretical foundations of teacher socialisation as the phenomenon under review, the principles of expanded Activity Theory (AT) (Engeström, 1987) fused with elements of the theory of Symbolic Interactionism (SI) were used as a conceptual framework to ground and structure the study. The study sought to answer the following main research question: How are Zimbabwean immigrant teachers socialised in their host schools amid the inadequacy of existing teacher socialisation programmes for new teachers in public schools? The study followed the qualitative approach to research, based on the interpretive paradigm executed through a multiple instrumental case study design in two public secondary schools in the Sekhukhune South District of the Limpopo Province. The researcher used purposeful sampling so select five participants and two schools, which provided answers to the research questions posed. The study reveals that the teacher socialisation programmes offered in public schools are inadequate and not tailored according to the real needs of Zimbabwean immigrant teachers. The situation is entrenched by the lack of shared understanding amongst principals about the structure and implementation of an effective teacher socialisation programme, especially for immigrants. The study further revealed that Zimbabwean immigrant teachers, owing to their temporary job status, feel only partly valued and appreciated in the South African schooling system. This was evident in their perception that the employment policies for immigrants had been tightened to ensure that they do not attain any permanent employment. In addition, the study revealed that owing to the uncertainty of their job status in schools, Zimbabwean immigrant teachers prefer private schools as their employment of choice rather than public schools. Lastly, the study generally reveals that the challenges Zimbabwean immigrant teachers experience with their socialisation are more systemic than in their host schools.

<p dir="ltr">Gen Z public school teachers in Indiana were surveyed concerning their perceptions of power used by their principal and their satisfaction with their principal’s supervision. One hundred and forty-five teachers responded to survey items regarding whether they have worked under one or more principals, the community type (rural, urban, suburban) where they teach, the Rahim Leader Power Inventory (RLPI) to measure perceptions of principal’s use of six different available power bases (coercive, reward, legitimate, information, expert, referent) and the abridged Job Descriptive Index (aJDI) to measure satisfaction. Reward power was the most perceived power base and referent power the least. Two statistically significant findings were revealed. First, the more participants perceived their principal using expert (F(6,138) = 55.12, p < .001) and referent power (t(6) = -5.32, p < .001) bases, the less satisfied with supervision they were. Secondly, Gen Z teachers who had one principal perceived their principal to access more legitimate power than Gen Z teachers who have had more than principal (t(143) = 2.16, p =.032). To effectively influence this influential generation, educational leaders should consider autonomy, personalized growth, tactful integrity, and aligned expectations. Gen Z teachers value trust and transparency, and clashes with traditional leadership methods can lead to dissatisfaction. Meeting their expectations for integrity and authenticity is key to enhancing their satisfaction with supervision.</p>