Organizational climate and teachers' job satisfaction in a multi-cultural milieu: The case of the Bedouin Arab schools in Israel

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational climate in the elementary schools of the Bedouin Arab community in southern Israel. The school represents a relatively new organization, of Western origin, in this very traditional Arab community, which is now a part of the modern, western-oriented state of Israel. The job satisfaction questionnaire used in this study was based upon Wanous and Lawler's [Wanous, J. P. and Lawler, E. E. III (1972) Measurement and meaning of job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology 56, 95–105] questionnaire, and the organizational climate questionnaire was based upon Horowitz and Zak's [Horowitz, T. and Zak, I. (1979) Recruiting Patterns, Attrition and Persistence in Teaching. The Szold Institute, Publication No. 585, Jerusalem, Israel (in Hebrew)] questionnaire. All Negev Bedouin elementary schools were included in the study. Based on the factor analysis, two job satisfaction factors and five organizational climate factors emerged. The results revealed teachers' satisfaction with work itself as the dominant job satisfaction factor, and principal leadership as the dominant organizational climate factor. The findings of the multiple regression further revealed that: (1) the organizational climate factors of principal leadership and autonomy on the job were significantly related to teachers' satisfaction with work itself; and (2) the interaction between principal leadership and teachers' intimacy was significantly related to both job satisfaction factors (work itself and social needs).