This study is concerned with the satisfactions
and dissatisfactions that primary teachers in the Australian
Capital Territory experience in their working lives. Its
aim is to identify those aspects of satisfaction and/or
dissatisfaction by considering relationships between the
independent variables.
A modified form of Holdaway's Satisfaction with
Teaching and Employment Conditions Questionnaire was
administered to three hundred and seventy-five teachers.
The Likert-type scale and open responses produced data
which was analysed in relation to personal variables.
Factor analysis was used to determine clustering
of items and to investigate relationships between the
variables. A number of hypotheses were tested to ascertain
the areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
The findings indicate that teacher satisfaction is
linked with intrinsic aspects of their work such as
relationships with students, advancement and personal
growth. Teachers are most dissatisfied with those aspects
of their lives over which they have little control and see
the present attitudes of society towards their function
and role as an area of serious concern.
Statistically significant differences in satisfaction
were found between open-space and traditional
schools, large and smaller schools, men and women teachers,
VII
and between teachers working in upper and lower primary
classes. The relative distribution of resources between
primary and secondary schools is a source of dissatisfaction
and the lack of parity in working conditions highlights
this inequity.
Teacher stress is discussed as an area of growing
concern in the ACT and some links with the system's degree
of autonomy and community involvement are suggested.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218764 |
| Date | January 1983 |
| Creators | Boyle, Maureen B., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Maureen B. Boyle |
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