Teachers’ perspective on their school environment and job satisfaction in Nordic and other European countries

Abstract

ABSTRACT Of the teachers who leave the profession, about half of them are dissatisfied with the school they work at. Teachers’ school environment can have both supportive and adverse effects on their satisfaction with school and teaching in general. Yet this relationship might be different for the Nordic countries than for other European countries as the Nordic countries might share a similar education culture stressing social justice, equality and inclusiveness. Analyses of the TALIS 2018 teacher data of 24 European countries including Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden showed that schools with a participative, collaborative, and safe school climate were positively related to teachers’ school satisfaction. In contrast, schools with many teachers with feelings of distress were negatively related to teacher satisfaction. These relationships were similar for the Nordic countries and other European countries, which might call an alleged Nordic model of education into question.