Job Satisfaction And Self-Esteem For Primary School And Kindergarten Teachers

Abstract

Nowadays, the social status and the social perceptions of the teaching profession are suffering a decline. Despite wage increases and small investments in the educational system, teachers do not seem to be happy at work. In the present study, we aimed to investigate different aspects of teachers’ job satisfaction. We wanted to see whether primary school teachers were more satisfied with their jobs that kindergarten teachers and whether the working conditions (working in a city or working in a rural area) influenced job satisfaction. Finally, we wanted to see whether there is a significant correlation between job satisfaction and self-esteem. We included in our study 250 primary school and kindergarten teachers (N=250), aged between 25 and 54, out of which 104 worked in primary schools and 145 worked as kindergarten teachers. 121 worked in rural areas and 129 worked in urban areas. According to our findings, kindergarten teachers are less satisfied with their jobs than primary school teachers (t = -6.550, p .001, d = 0.830) and they have lower levels of self-esteem (t = -2.350, p = 0.020). Teachers that work in the cities are more satisfied with their jobs than those working in rural areas (t = -38.359, p .001, d = -4.855) and have higher levels of self-esteem (t = -4.725, .001, d = -0.598). Finally, we found a positive correlation between the two variables of interest for our participants.