SOURCES OF DISSATISFACTION AMONG A GROUP OF TEACHERS

Abstract

Summary. 590 teachers, forming about 72 per cent. of the total output of trained teachers in 1955, from eleven constituent colleges and departments of the University of Manchester School of Education, completed in 1960 a questionnaire reporting, inter alia, current levels of satisfaction and major sources of dissatisfaction in the profession. Results showed that the great majority of subjects, including many then out of teaching, had experienced in the profession a high measure of satisfaction. Those in infant and grammar schools (particularly men teachers in the latter type of school) appeared to derive more satisfaction from their work than did subjects in some other types of school. Some evidence is presented which suggests that head teachers may be very well satisfied with the levels of professional competence of these subjects; but full analysis of these data is not yet completed. Low positive correlations are reported between the ex‐student's practical teaching mark, degree of professional satisfaction and head teacher's rating. Sources of dissatisfaction appeared to be related more closely to factors in the teaching than to those in the training situation. Major areas of dissatisfaction included salaries, poor human relations among the staff, inadequate buildings and equipment, high teaching load, training inadequacies, large classes, expressions of personal inadequacy, lack of time for certain professional duties and low status of the profession in society. In listing items women teachers seemed to be more pre‐occupied with day‐to‐day classroom problems, whilst men found their frustrations in a wider context.