The Influencing Factors and Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Job Performance of Primary and Junior Secondary School Teachers: Empirical Study Based on Mali’s Bamako and Kita Regions

Abstract

Over decades, Malian primary and junior secondary school teachers have gone through work stoppages, strikes, and demonstrations claiming better living and working conditions. These incessant claims have caused the loss of much learning and teaching time and are charged being one of the causes of students' failure. This study examines the factors influencing Malian primary and junior secondary school teachers' job satisfaction and establishes the correlations between their job satisfaction and job performance. We used a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design to examine the factors influencing Malian primary and junior secondary school teachers' job satisfaction. The quantitative phase consisted of five hundred and twenty (n=520) teachers selected using stratified random sampling techniques. In contrast, the qualitative phase consisted of twenty (n=20) participants purposively selected from the quantitative phase based on their level of dissatisfaction. SPSS software was used to analyze the data. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the interviews. Overall, the findings showed that most of the teachers (51 %) were not satisfied with their job. The study showed that urban teachers are more satisfied with their job than rural teachers. A significant correlation was found between teachers' general level of satisfaction and their job performance. It showed that the more satisfied teachers are, the better students' academic performance in Mali.