Job satisfaction, being a nebulous and multidimensional concept, is considered to be the most important and frequently studied social construct in organisational behaviour literature. This study investigated the level of job satisfaction among urban schools principals in the Free State. In order to attain the desired goals of the study, the congruence between principalsâ needs or values and the work environment reinforcers was examined. Two methods of investigation that complement each other, namely, the quantitative and qualitative methods, were used to collect the data. Furthermore, a literature review on job satisfaction and what job satisfaction of principals entails was explored. The literature review revealed the relationship between employee motivation and job satisfaction. It also revealed how motivational theories can be used to improve employeesâ job satisfaction. A further examination of the literature on job satisfaction revealed that there is a relationship between job satisfaction and the following organisational behaviours: organisational citizenship behaviours, withdrawal from work, absenteeism, turnover, union activity, counter-productive behaviours, physical and psychological health, burnout, productivity, occupational level, life satisfaction and achievement. It is clear from the literature review that increasing principalsâ job satisfaction may either increase or reduce some of the above-mentioned organisational behaviours.
The results from both the quantitative and qualitative data evidently indicated that there was no correspondence between principalsâ needs and the reinforcers of the work environment. The results revealed further that the opportunities provided by the work environment were very few and inadequate to satisfy principalsâ important needs. Additionally, the results showed that the following needs or work aspects of principals need urgent attention: compensation, recognition, advancement, security, working conditions, departmental policies and practices, and relationships with other stakeholders.
The following recommendations were among those that emanated from the literature review and the empirical data: principals should realise that their job satisfaction may be significantly improved if they first ensure that they effectively motivate and increase the level of job satisfaction of their subordinates in their institutions; they should also empower themselves by familiarising themselves and implementing the policies of the Department of Basic Education correctly. It is also recommended that the Department of Basic Education should revisit some of the policies that frustrate principals and impact negatively on their overall performance in the school. These policies include the learner pregnancy policy, the policy regarding the allocation of funds to Section 21 schools, and the Post Provisioning Model used for educator recruitment and redeployment. The limitations of this study and recommendations for further research are also mentioned.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-07182013-110358 |
| Date | 18 July 2013 |
| Creators | Mosikidi, Amos Maitse |
| Contributors | Prof RR Brazelle, Prof JG van Staden |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-07182013-110358/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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