The Job And Marital Satisfaction Of Secondary Agriculture Teachers And Their Spouses

Abstract

Research concerning work/family relationships have focused largely on the differentiation of the two roles. When job satisfaction and work performance are addressed, most writers tend to deal with variables other than and separate from family and personal life. However, it has been shown that the amount of time a vocational agriculture teacher spends in professional activities, especially after regular school day hours, has a direct effect on his or her spouse’s marital satisfaction and perception of problems associated with the teacher’s job (Coughlin, 1987; Straquadine, 1985). Studies dealing with teacher turnover have noted that the personal and family life of the vocational agriculture teacher can influence actions concerning the professional life. Teachers have indicated that “spouse’s reaction to job obligation” (Cooper and Nelson, 1981) and “wife not happy with vocational agriculture profession” (Mattox, 1974) were among the many reasons they leave the profession.