Job satisfaction in teaching profession

ABSTRACT

Significantly, job satisfaction and motivation are very essential to the continuing

growth of educational systems around the world and they rank alongside professional

knowledge and skills, centre competencies, educational resources as well as strategies, in

genuinely determining educational success and performance. This study‟s aim is to define the

differences and relationship between the level of teachers‟ job satisfaction, motivation and

their teaching performance and how to enhance professional development of teachers.

Researches which were executed about these subjects before are searched and taken into

consideration. Also articles which Professors have written are given importance. At the end of

the literature review, the results are evaluated and it is deduced that teacher related sources of

job satisfaction seem to have a greater impact on teaching performance, and teachers are also

dissatisfied with the educational policies and administration, pay and fringe benefits, material

rewards and advancement. To sum up, it is found that job satisfaction and motivation and

performance correlated significantly with responsibility levels, gender, subject, age, years of

teaching experience, activity, pay and fringe benefits

1

LITERATURE REVIEW

JOB SATISFACTION

Job satisfaction is simply defined as the affective orientation that an employee has

towards his or her work (Price, 2001 as cited by Andre Bishay, 1996 ). In other words, it is an

affective reaction to a job that results from the comparison of perceived outcomes with those

that are desired (Kam, 1998). Shortly, job satisfaction describes the feelings, attitudes or

preferences of individuals regarding work (Chen, 2008). Furthermore, it is the degree to

which employees enjoy their jobs (McCloskey and McCain, 1987 as cited by Andre

Bıshay,1996). And also, it is possible to see a number of theories developed to understand its

nature in literature. Vroom (1964), need/value fulfilment theory, states that job satisfaction is

negatively related to the discrepancy between individual needs and the extent to which the job

supplies these needs. On the other hand, Porter and Lawler (1968) collect the influences on

job satisfaction in two groups of internal and external satisfactory factors. According to them,

internal satisfactory factors are related the work itself (such as feeling of independence,

feeling of achievement, feeling of victory, self-esteem, feeling of control and other similar

feeling obtained from work), whereas external satisfactory factors are not directly related to

work itself (such as good relationships with colleagues, high salary, good welfare and

utilities). So, the influences on job satisfaction can be also divided into work-related and

employee-related factors (Glisson and Durick, 1988 as cited by Andre Bıshay,1996).

On the other hand, Arvey and Dewhirst (1976), took 271 scientists as a study sample,

and found that the degree of job-satisfaction of the workers with high achievement motivation

exceeded that of workers with low achievement motivation. Also autonomy is an important

concern for employees‟ job satisfaction. Additionally, administrative styles, professional

status and pay are known as important factors influencing job satisfaction. For example, Carr

and Kazanowsky (1994) successfully showed that inadequate salary was very lelated to

2

employees‟ dissatisfaction. And recent studies showed that a participative (democratic)

management style was mostly preferred by today‟s managers to increase their employees‟ job

satisfaction (Dogan and İbicioglu, 2004; Knoop, 1991). Consequently, numerous researches

have been going on job satisfaction for many years. And it is common thought that job

satisfaction influences organizational behaviour, namely it positively affects employee

working performance and organizational commitment, and negatively influences employee

turnover (Agarwal and Ferrat, 2001; Poulin, 1994; Chen, 2008).

JOB SATISFACTION IN TEACHING PROFESSION

Significantly, job satisfaction and motivation are very essential to the continuing

growth of educational systems around the world and they rank alongside professional

knowledge and skills, center competencies, educational resources as well as strategies, in

genuinely determining educational success and performance. Teachers are arguably the most

important group of professionals for our nation‟s future. Therefore, it is disturbing to find that

many of today‟s teachers are dissatisfied with their jobs. It is crucial that we determine what

increases teacher MOTİVATİON. An organization‟s liveliness, whether public or private,

comes from the motivation of its employees, although their abilities play just as crucial a role

in determining their work performance their motivation (Lewis, Goodman & Fandt 1995).

Golembiewski (1973,p. 597) refers to motivation as the degree of readiness of an organization

to pursue some designated goal and implies the determination of the nature and locus of the

forces inducing the degree of readiness. To Kelly (1974, p. 279), motivation has to do with

the forces that maintain and alter the direction, quality and intensity of behavior. According to

Hoy and Miskel (1987, p.176), employee motivation is the complex forces, drives, needs,

tension states, or other mechanisms that start and maintain voluntary activity directed towards

the achievement of personal goals. In short, Dessler (2001) defined motivation as the intensity

of a person‟s desire to engage in some activity. From the above definitions some issues are

3

brought to mind that deal with what starts and energizes human behaviour, how those forces

are directed and sustained as well as the outcomes they bring about (performance).It follows

therefore that there is a relationship between motivation and job satisfaction, which is

paramount in any organization‟s existence. Many factors have been examined in an attempt to

find which ones promote teacher motivation. Sylvia & Hutchinson (1985)

concluded:“Teacher motivation is based in the freedom to try new ideas, achievement of

appropriate responsibility levels, and intrinsic work elements…. Based upon our findings,

schemes such as merit pay were predicted to be counterproductive.” They explain that true job

satisfaction is derived from the gratification of higher-order needs, “social relations, esteem,

and actualization” rather than lower-order needs.

Moreover teacher motivation is determined by both pecuniary and non-pecuniary

factors. Pay levels and other material benefits must be sufficient to meet basic human needs

(food, housing, clothing, transport, healthcare, education and training). However, overall job

satisfaction among teachers is also strongly determined by higher order emotional and social

needs, most notably professional self-esteem, job security, interpersonal relations at work

(between teachers, education managers, pupils and parents/communities), opportunities for

career progression, the working environment, the workload and productivity/learning

outcomes. Another key related issue is the level of accountability of teachers to their school

managers, pupils, parents and wider community.

ENHANCING EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH TEACHERS’

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Professional development is defined as activities that develop an individual‟s skills,

knowledge, expertise and other characteristics as a teacher So it is important to see teachers‟

professional development as a means of attaining the basic goals of the educational

4

endeavour. It also acknowledges the relevance of intermediary goals, such as enhancing

teachers‟ job satisfaction.

Job satisfaction is a multi-faceted construct. Three central components thought to

affect teacher satisfaction including the nature of the work (e.g. teaching responsibilities,

students/parents, working conditions), the context of the job (e.g. physical environment), and

the consequences associated with teaching (e.g. remuneration, union, career development)

(Black-Branch, 1996).

Job satisfaction - performance linkage: Researchers have had difficulty determining the

relationship between job satisfaction and performance. From the 1930s to the mid-1950s, the

views on the job satisfaction – performance relationship can be summarized in the statement

“a happy worker is a productive worker”. As a result of the Hawthorne studies, managers

generalized that if their employees were satisfied with their jobs, that satisfaction would be

translated into high productivity (Robbins & Coulter, 1999). However, by the mid-1950s, a

number of studies had failed to establish a clear link between job satisfaction and

performance. Researchers have started to assume an alternative view – performance leads to

job satisfaction. If employees do a good job, they intrinsically feel good about it (Lussier,

1996). Some other researchers have suggested that the reason for the apparently uncertain

relationship between job satisfaction and performance is that other variables intervene, of

which rewards are the most prominent. Whether job satisfaction is going to be improved

depends on whether the rewards match the expectations, needs and desires of the employees

(Werther, & Davis, 1996).

Commitment: It has been a subject of interest for some time. The past decades have seen a

broadening of the domain within which commitment is studied. Becker (1992) suggested that

there are different foci of commitment. Individuals can feel committed to the organization, top

management, supervisors, or the work group. Some of the earliest work within the

5

organizational behaviour literature (Porter et al.,1974; Mowday, Steers, & Porter, 1979)

examined employees‟ commitment to their employers, commonly referred to as

organizational commitment. Then, there has been an increase in research examining

commitment to unions (Fullagar & Barling, 1989), employment (Morrow & Wirth, 1989),

careers (Blau, 1989).

Organizational commitment has also been viewed as an attitude with three components: (a)

Belief in and acceptance of organization‟s goals and values, (b) Willingness to exert effort on

behalf of the organization and (c) Strong desire to maintain organizational membership

(Porter et al., 1974; Mowday, Steers, & Porter, 1979, 1982; Johnston & Snizek, 1991;

Gregson, 1992). More recently, Meyer & Allen (1991) described three forms of

organizational commitment: commitment as an affective attachment to the organization;

commitment as a perceived cost associated with leaving the organization; and commitment as

an obligation to remain in the organization. These three forms are termed as affective (i.e.

individuals stay in the organization because they want to), continuance (i.e. individuals stay in

the organization because they need to), and normative commitment (i.e. individuals stay in the

organization because they feel they should), respectively.

Job Performance is defined as a worker‟s effective execution of tasks or job and useful

contribution to the social work environment (Abramis, 1994). There are three primary

theories of the mechanisms by which job stress may affect job performance, motivator theory,

interference theory, and combination theory, each predicting a different type of relationship

(Abramis, 1994).

HYPOTHESES ACCORDING TO A RESEARCH ON TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE

Relationship between Psychological Contract and Organizational Justice

Teachers enter a school with certain expectations about the way things work. For example,

they have certain perceptions of how their bosses treat them, how much is their salary, how

decisions are being made and how conflicts are being resolved. The school administrators may
6

explicitly or implicitly promise certain outcomes. These promises or the perceived promise would

form the basis of a psychological contact. When these teachers start working in that school, they

get to see and feel the way things are done. They are exposed to the way their supervisors deal

with them; the ways decision-making and conflict-resolution take place. They also receive a

certain amount of salary. If, for example, their supervisors practise favouritism to some

colleagues, or decisions are made in favour of certain people, or conflicts are being settled to the

advantage of certain people, or teachers receive a lower amount of salary compared to colleagues

who do the same work, or two teachers receive the same amount of salary but one does more

work than the other, the individuals concerned may perceive that they are being treated unfairly.

They experience dissonance because what they initially expect and what they encounter in reality

is different. From the above reasoning, for our sample of teachers, we would like to test for a

relationship between psychological contract and organisational justice.

Hypothesis 1: Perceived fulfilment of psychological contract would lead to

perceived distributive justice.

Relationship between Organizational Justice and Organizational Commitment. When

teachers perceive that they are being treated unfairly, for example, their supervisors practise

favouritism to some colleagues, or two teachers doing the same amount of work but receiving

different salaries, the teachers at a disadvantage are likely to be frustrated. They begin to

wonder why the school is treating them in this way. Did they do anything wrong to warrant

such a treatment? These teachers tend to reduce their level of commitment to the school. They

see no point in putting in so much effort for the school and strongly believing in the school

and accepting its goals, when the school does not appreciate their effort, commitment and

loyalty. With reference to the above discussion, for our sample of teachers, we would like to

test for a relationship between organisational justice and organisational commitment.

Hypothesis2 : Perceived distributive justice would lead to higher levels of

organisational commitment.

7

Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment.

Teachers who experience satisfaction in the different facets of their work environment, for

example, their work itself, their colleagues and supervisors, their compensation and

promotion. As their work environment is contained in the larger context of the school, it is

likely that the satisfaction employees get from their jobs and the work environment is

extended to the school. Therefore, satisfied employees may feel committed to the school.

Hypothesis 3: Higher levels of job satisfaction would lead to higher levels of

organisational commitment.

Teachers who are committed demonstrate a strong acceptance of the school‟s values,

tasks, and working manner. Teachers who firmly believe in these values are likely to manifest

them in the performance. They keep these values in mind when preparing their lesson plans,

when giving students projects, when thinking of examination questions. These teachers are

also more conscious of their conduct and work attitudes, as they want to set good examples

for their students. The above reasoning would support the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 4: Higher level of organizational commitment would lead to better

performance.

So To Enhance Teacher Performance

Administrators in education sector should pay more attention to strengthen teachers‟

commitment to their schools. Findings from this research suggested a few factors to start with.

These include the following.First, to improve perceived distributive justice. This will help to

improve both job satisfaction and organizational commitment. This suggests schools to look

into their reward-related evaluation and administrative systems and practices. Secondly, since

justice is a subjectively perceived factor, good impression management helps.Thirdly, good

communication with teachers, particularly on what is to be expected by both schools and

teachers. Good communication and mutual understanding will help to form an accurate and

8

realistic psychological contact. Forth, if, for unforeseeable reasons, the pre-established

psychological contract cannot be fulfilled, a candid explanation will help teachers to

understand the situation, and to appreciate the admonitions effort to minimize or to have

minimized the gap and delivered the best it can. Built on a sound understanding of the causal

relationship among various factors leading to good teaching performance, the school

administration will be able to forester a trust culture and build a committed teaching staff.

(Aidong Zhang, and Yongqing FANG, no date)

9

REFERENCES

1. Nazim Ali , Factors Affecting Overall Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention,

Journal of Managerial Sciences,VOL.2,NO 2, ( pp239-252)

2. Prakash Khanale, and Anil Vaingankar, 2006, Analyzing „Job Satisfaction‟ of a

Teacher In an Institution, The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology

VOL.5

3. Tanya Khan,(no date) Teacher Job Satisfaction and Incentive (no publication)

4. Andre Bıshay,1996, Teacher Motivation and Job Satisfaction: A Study

Employing the Experience Sampling Method, J. Undergrad. Sci. (pp 147-154)

5. Prof. Dr. Hulusi DOGAN, 2009, A Comparative Study for Employee Job

Satisfaction in Aydın Municipality and Nazilli Municipality,Ege Academic

Review (pp 423-433)

6. (no name),(no date),Enhancing Educational Effectiveness Through Teachers‟

Professional Development (pp19-41)

7. Karen S. Myers Giacometti,2005, Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction and

Retention of Beginning Teachers

8. Nwachukwu Prince Ololube,(no date) Teachers Job Satisfaction and Motivation

for School Effectiveness: An Assessment

9. Tanja Sargent and Emily Hannum,2003, Keeping Teachers Happy: Job

Satisfaction among Primary School Teachers in Rural China

10. Telef Bülent Baki, 2011,The Study of Teachers‟ Self-Efficacy, Job Satisfaction,

Life Satisfaction and Burnout

10

Job satisfaction in teaching profession

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Job satisfaction in teaching profession

More from buket77

Recently uploaded

Job satisfaction in teaching profession