Are Principal Background and School Processes Related to Teacher Job Satisfaction? A Multilevel Study Using Schools and Staffing Survey 2003-04

Abstract

Using nationally representative samples for public school teachers and principals, the authors inquired into whether principal background and school processes are related to teacher job satisfaction. Employing hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), the authors were able to control for background characteristics at both the teacher and school levels. They found that 17% of the total variance in teacher job satisfaction is between schools, a statistically significant amount that indicates schools can make a difference in teacher job satisfaction. The authors found that school processes—particularly career and working conditions, staff collegiality, administrative support, and to a lesser extent, positive student behavior and teacher empowerment—are positively associated with teacher job satisfaction. Although two principal background variables—the experience of being a department head or an athletic coach/director—are statistically significant, the authors found the block of school process variables explains far more variance than the block of principal background variables. Based on the findings, the authors discussed issues such as the complexity of the phenomenon of teacher job satisfaction, the role of school process versus principal background, and monetary versus cultural factors.

The Role of Personal Characteristics and School Characteristics in Explaining Teacher Job Satisfaction

“…Contrary to the findings of previous studies (Shen et al, 2012;Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2009), slightly higher job satisfaction is observed among teachers in larger schools. This finding suggests that deeper analysis of this variable is required to examine its behaviour when controlling for other factors and to explore its interactions with other variables.…”

“…In general, higher levels of teacher satisfaction are found at smaller schools that lack problems of resources (Shen, Leslie, Spybrook, & Ma, 2012;Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2009) or, for example, in schools that serve a low percentage of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged homes. Teachers at schools with students of lower socioeconomic status show lower rates of satisfaction (Matsuoka, 2015) and a greater predisposition to transferring to schools that serve families with higher socioeconomic status (Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 2004).…”

“…The attitudes and behaviour of school management has also been a source of interest (Griffith, 2004;Heller, 1993;Shen et al, 2012). Bogler (2001) analyses the relationship between teacher satisfaction and leadership styles, finding that teacher satisfaction is higher when school management acts democratically, establishes fluid channels for communication and makes teachers and other members of the educational community participants in decision making (distributed leadership) compared to schools in which leadership is exercised in an authoritarian and centralised manner.…”

La incidencia del liderazgo y el clima escolar en la satisfacción laboral de los docentes en América Latina

“…Las investigaciones más recientes abordan el estudio de la satisfacción laboral de los docentes desde una perspectiva holística identificando el efecto generado por las variables demográficas, personales del docente y del contexto escolar (Hanushek & Rivkin, 2007;Kyriacou, 2001;Sebastián, Allensworth & Huang, 2016;Shen et al, 2012;Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2009;Spillane & Lee, 2013). Entre sus resultados, todas ellas coinciden en destacar el rol del director (liderazgo escolar como lo denominan organismos como la OCDE o la UNESCO) y el clima de la escuela como factores que impactan en el grado de satisfacción laboral de los docentes (Hanushek & Rivkin, 2007).…”

“…Aunque otros trabajos han apuntado similares hallazgos, todos ellos se refieren al ámbito internacional (Shen et al, 2012), o aportan datos a escala nacional como es el caso del estudio de Ramírez y D'Aubeterre (2007) en Venezuela. Nuestro estudio subraya el papel fundamental que la escuela tiene para mejorar la satisfacción laboral de los docentes, mejorando el clima escolar.…”