Abstract
The present study was aimed at identifying the job satisfaction of teachers working in the most difficult schools in the Puttalam Education Zone, Sri Lanka. The objectives were to examine whether there is any relationship between teachers’ job satisfaction and intrinsic and extrinsic factors. A survey was carried out to identify teachers’ attitudes towards their careers. Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study. Data was collected from 93 teachers working in the most difficult schools in the Puttalam Education Zone, through a self-developed, pre-tested questionnaire. The study sample was analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics. It was found that the majority of teachers were women and married. It is significant that more than 80% of teachers working in the most difficult schools have less than 10 years of teaching experience. There is a significant relationship between job satisfaction and intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Bi-variate analysis indicated that a sense of achievement of intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors, work conditions, pay and rewards have no significant relationship with teachers’ job satisfaction. Moreover, there is a multi-collinearity between the independent variables. The study recommends that the state should address teachers’ problems by providing them adequate teaching facilities, in-service training, promotions, accommodation and incentives, and revise transfer policies to motivate and retain teachers in the most difficult schools, to provide a long-term solution for teacher shortages in such schools in Sri Lanka.
Highlights
Job satisfaction is an important topic in teacher education research
The results indicate no significant differences in job satisfaction, self-efficacy, self-esteem and perceived stress between male and female primary school teachers
The findings indicated that there is a positive relationship between the level of teacher job satisfaction and student performance; the researcher suggests that the differences in teachers’ opinions regarding intrinsic and extrinsic factors of job satisfaction affect the overall level of satisfaction within a school
Summary
Job satisfaction is an important topic in teacher education research. It focuses on teachers’ occupational attitudes, zeal for teaching and work enthusiasm, all of which affect the quality of education (Fuming & Jiliang, 2014). Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne Study, conducted in the 1920s at the Western Electric Company, may be considered as the first research study on job satisfaction. It suggested that satisfied workers increase the productivity of an organisation (Jayathilake, 2014). Vroom defines job satisfaction as the affective orientations of individuals towards work roles which they are engaged in (as cited in Aziri, 2011). Employees’ job satisfaction becomes a central concern in research in organisational psychology because it is believed to have a relationship with job performance
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