School Satisfaction Research Articles

Influence of School Workplace Condition on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in Public Secondary Schools in Bukoba Rural District in Kagera Region, Tanzania

Influence of School Workplace Condition on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in Public Secondary Schools in Bukoba Rural District in Kagera Region, Tanzania

Parental Responses to Children’s Achievement Test Results

We use quasi-experimental variation in the timing of national standardized test-score reports to estimate the causal impact of giving parents objective information about children’s academic achievement. Releasing test scores leads to more modest perceptions of academic achievement and reduced school satisfaction. The use of private tutoring is increased, while extracurricular activities are reduced. Examining the underlying mechanisms, we show that is it public-school parents and parents of children receiving unexpectedly “bad” test scores who alter their perceptions. Learning that a child scores above the national average raises perceived academic achievement and time devoted to education, while reducing leisure time.

Parental Responses to Children's Achievement Test Results

We use quasi-experimental variation in the timing of national standardized test-score reports to estimate the causal impact of giving parents objective information about children’s academic achievement. Releasing test scores leads to more modest perceptions of academic achievement and reduced school satisfaction. The use of private tutoring is increased, while extracurricular activities are reduced. Examining the underlying mechanisms, we show that is it public-school parents and parents of children receiving unexpectedly “bad” test scores who alter their perceptions. Learning that a child scores above the national average raises perceived academic achievement and time devoted to education, while reducing leisure time.

과학고등학교 학부모와 학생의 학교만족도 및 학교 선택 요인에 관한 연구

본 연구는 특수목적고등학교이자 별도의 학생 선발 과정을 가지는 과학고 학생 및 학부모를 대상으로 고등학교 학교 선택요인을 살펴보고 학교에 대한 만족도를 살펴보고자 하였다. 이를 위해 과학고에 재학 중인 학생과 학부모를 대상으로 설문조사를 실시한 후 대응되는 총 59쌍의 설문결과를 분석하였다. 그 결과, 학부모가 학생들보다 진학 준비 활동에 더 많이 참여하고 있었으며, 진학에는 부모와 자녀의 의견이나 중학교 교사의 상담, 고등학교 직접 방문이 도움이 되는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 학부모는 학생보다 학교선택 시 학생선발방법, 연구 활동, 우수교육 프로그램, 학교위치, 학교의 역사와 명성, 장학금 및 경제적 지원을 더 중요하게 고려하는 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 과학고에 대한 학교 만족도는 학생과 학부모 모두 높은 것으로 나타났으며, 특히 학생은 학부모에 비해 수업에 대한 만족도가 더 높은 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구 결과를 바탕으로 과학고의 운영방안 개선을 위한 시사점을 제공해 줄 것으로 기대한다.

The Relationship between Job Stress and School Satisfaction of Primary School Teachers: The Mediation Effects of Self-resilience and Achievement need

The Relationship between Job Stress and School Satisfaction of Primary School Teachers: The Mediation Effects of Self-resilience and Achievement need

Influence of Financial Motivation on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in Public Secondary Schools in Kigoma District, Tanzania

There have been complains for many years among stakeholders about the status of secondary education in Tanzania. Teachers’ attrition, absenteeism and low teaching morale have attributed to the decline of educational quality in many countries including Tanzania. Inadequate financial motivation among educators has been the important agenda in provision of quality education in many parts of the world. Therefore, the study on the influence of financial motivation to job satisfaction among secondary school teachers was imperative. Specifically, this study intended to examine the extent of financial motivation to public secondary school teachers; find out levels of job satisfaction among secondary school teachers and establishing if there is a relationship between financial motivations and job satisfaction among public secondary school teachers in Kigoma district. The study was underpinned on scientific management theory and utilized descriptive survey design particularly cross-sectional survey. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 82 teachers while 10 Academic masters/mistresses and heads of schools were purposively included. Data were collected through questionnaires and interview schedules. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively (frequencies and percentages) and inferentially (Chi-square test and spearman rank correlation method at .05 and .01 significant levels) while qualitative data from interviews was managed through thematic techniques. Generally, it was found out that there is a significant difference in financial motivation among public secondary school teachers. It was also found out that there is a significant difference in teachers’ job satisfaction among public secondary school teachers in Kigoma district. Furthermore, the study revealed that there is a positive relationship between financial motivation and job satisfaction among public secondary school teachers in Kigoma district (r=.355, p=.003) The study therefore recommends that policymakers in educational sector should enforce school managers and administrators to provide compensational rewards to teachers which reflect teachers’ status.

A Study on the Relationship Between Burnout and Job Satisfaction of Iranian EFL Teachers Working in Universities and Schools

A teacher plays an important role in the development of the students’ potential and helps to form their future. This research intends to study the degree of burnout and job satisfaction in English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers of universities and Schools in Iran, as well as their association with demographic characteristics. To measure teachers’ burnout, Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire was applied, which has also been validated by experienced teachers for the Iranian population and the Employee Satisfaction Inventory questionnaire, prepared for the Iranian population, was applied to estimate job satisfaction. Questionnaires were answered completely by 159 teachers, who work at universities and schools in Iran. After data analysis, the findings showed a negative correlation between teachers’ burnout and their job satisfaction; their experience relatively moderate burnout levels, and their job satisfaction level is high. The findings also represented that the type of workplace influences satisfaction regarding the factor “job conditions”. The study was for the first time that Iranian EFL teachers’ burnout and job satisfaction in universities and schools were investigated and the findings showed that by increasing the level of job satisfaction, the perceived burnout decreases, where burnout and job satisfaction presented medium to high negative correlation.

A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Background. The modern medical community considers the quality of life assessment as the main and reliable tool for population-based health surveys, which are extremely relevant in the context of the persistence of the negative trend of its deterioration among school children. Most of the questionnaires are designed for children with pathological conditions, and studies of relatively healthy children are few and relate mainly to aspects of the level of physical activity and sports, and do not take into account the impact of the educational process.
 Aim: to determine the dynamics of changes in the quality of life associated with the health of primary school children in the learning process by quantitative and qualitative characteristics
 Material and methods. A prospective study was conducted over four school years through a survey using an adapted Ukrainian-language questionnaire for primary school students (624 children aged 7-11) and their parents (616 people). T-test, multiple correlations and one-way analysis of variance in the licensed software package IBM SPSS Statistics v.20.0, graph-models of correlation structures and their system analysis were used for statistical data processing.
 Results. The influence of gender, age, and year of study on the scale of relationships with peers, the probable increase in the 4th grade of school activity according to children, and vice versa, its decrease according to the parental version were revealed. The highest level of quality of life is set on the scale "Emotional activity", and the lowest - on school activities and relationships with adults. During the first two years of study, the main system-forming structures were emotional and physical activities, and in old age, school activity became more important. The largest qualitative differences like the links between the second and third year of the study indicated that this period of study was critical for children, and the reduction in the labilization rate indicated sufficient compensation.
 Conclusions. According to the study of the quality of life associated with health in the 4-year dynamics of learning, the most critical period was the transition from the second to the third grade with the preservation of a synchronized system of self-assessment of their condition. The level of physical, emotional and social functioning had certain gender and age characteristics and depended to a greater extent on the period of the educational process. The scales of school activity and socialization in their age group were especially influenced. The study found inconsistency in the perception of school life and satisfaction with communication between children and adults.

Silencing bicultural parental voices through educational satisfaction: What do we need to know?

ABSTRACT Parental satisfaction is often used “as one indicator of school success or one outcome of school effectiveness”. However, the notion that it is possible to gauge minoritized parental satisfaction in schools without first understanding their educational beliefs and values about education and their knowledge about the US school system is problematic. This article examines how the concept of “parental satisfaction” may actually silence Latinx parents’ voices (concerns, opinions, input, etc.) in US schools. Latinx parents tend to express high levels of “satisfaction” with US schools irrespective of how well they understand their educational programs or how well their children are doing in school. The dual-language immersion (DLI) setting is used as an example. The author argues that uncritically attributing high levels of educational satisfaction to Latinx parents potentially silences their concerns in school settings, particularly in educational programs that serve parental populations that are asymmetrically positioned in US society.

Students’ Mediator Variables in the Relationship between Family Involvement and Academic Performance: Effects of the Styles of Involvement

The present study is aimed at observing the degree to which family support and control determine academic performance in Mathematics and Language, and at understanding how this relationship is mediated by a series of factors related to students’ motivation (self-efficacy), their study habits, the learning environment perceived at school, their school satisfaction, and a history of school retention. On this premise, a study was proposed in 44 Compulsory Secondary Education (CSE) schools, selecting 1,316 students (938 enrolled in the first, and 378 in the second year). Data confirm that both parental support and control directly influence academic performance in both subjects, but also indirectly through the mediator variables, which in the case of support are environment, satisfaction, study habits and self-efficacy, whereas in the case of control they are habits and retention.

The Relation between Happiness, School Satisfaction, and Positive Experiences at School in Secondary School Students

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between secondary school students’ happiness and school satisfaction and positive experiences at school. The study group consisted of 328 secondary school students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades in the provincial center of Canakkale. Among the students, 153 (47%) were male and 175 (53%) were female, 114 (34.8%) were sixth-graders, 130 (39.6%) were seventh-graders, and 84 (25.6%) were eighth-graders. The data were collected using the School Children’s Happiness Inventory, Positive Experiences at School Scale, and Comprehensive School Satisfaction Scale for Children. A significant positive relationship between school satisfaction, positive experiences at school, and happiness was observed. The results of the regression analysis indicated that school satisfaction, persistence, and optimism were significant predictors of the happiness of secondary school students. The findings are discussed in accordance with the literature, and practical suggestions are made.

School Satisfaction in Immigrant and Chilean Students: The Role of Prejudice and Cultural Self-Efficacy.

Latin-American immigration has transformed Chilean schools into new multicultural scenarios. Studies about intergroup dynamics among students from different cultural backgrounds and their psychological consequences are still limited in south–south migration contexts. Literature has suggested that intergroup relations influence students’ satisfaction with school, and they could be improved by the development of competences to cope with cultural differences. This study aims to verify if cultural self-efficacy and its dimensions mediated the influence of prejudice on satisfaction with school, in a sample composed by N = 690 Chilean and Latin-American immigrant secondary students. Results showed that cultural self-efficacy reduced the effect of prejudice in satisfaction with school, in the cases of both immigrant and Chilean students. The dimensions of cultural self-efficacy in processing information from other cultures and mixing with different others make the difference. Findings’ contributions for the understanding of adolescents’ intergroup relations and psychosocial interventions at school are discussed.

Do gifts of roses have a lingering fragrance? Evidence from altruistic interventions into adolescents’ subjective well-being

IntroductionStudies have found that adolescents' subjective well-being (SWB) shows a downward trend with age. The improvement of adolescents' SWB is therefore an urgent problem. According to previous studies, altruism may be an effective way to improve adolescents' SWB. We conducted an Integrative Educational Intervention of Altruism (IEIA) for the first time to determine whether altruism intervention can effectively improve adolescents’ SWB. MethodsWe conducted an IEIA on adolescents in an experimental group for 14 weeks using pre- and post-test experimental designs with peer groups. The participants were randomly recruited from a junior high school in East China and included 280 Grade 8 students (138 boys and 142 girls; mean age: 14.53 years). Before and after the experiment, the adolescents completed measures of SWB using the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale and Happiness Scale. ResultsFrom the pretest, we found no significant differences in friendship, academic, freedom, school and social satisfaction or positive emotions between the control and experimental groups. However, in the post-test, the life satisfaction and positive emotions of the experimental group were rated significantly higher than those of the control group. These results show that experimental intervention can effectively improve adolescents’ life satisfaction and positive emotions. ConclusionsAltruistic intervention was identified as an effective way to improve adolescents’ SWB. It is thus necessary to cultivate altruistic environments, to enrich altruistic education programs, and to carry out voluntary services for the benefit of the public. Altruistic adolescents themselves may benefit when helping others.

The relationship between mentor support experiences and STEM graduate student career optimism

PurposeUsing social cognitive career theory in tandem with gender role theory, the current research examines how instrumental and socioemotional mentor support experiences are linked to mentee career optimism among a sample of STEM graduate students. More specifically, this study examines how self-efficacy and school satisfaction mediate the relationship dependent on the gender of the student as well as the gender of the mentor.Design/methodology/approachA total of N = 828 (n = 408 women, n = 420 men) graduate students enrolled in one of 119 public STEM graduate programs in the USA participated in an online survey.FindingsResults suggest that student gender did not moderate the proposed mediation model. However, the instrumental support experiences → self-efficacy → career optimism mediation relationship was moderated by mentor gender with female mentors strengthening the relationship between mentor support experiences and optimism. Finally, same-gender mentor–student dyads experience consistency of school satisfaction regardless of instrumental mentor support experiences compared to the heterogeneous gender mentor–student dyads where school satisfaction is positively associated with mentor instrumental support.Originality/valueThis study expands Lent et al.'s (2015) social cognitive career model by providing an analysis of independent parallel mediation paths to examine the direct link between mentor support experiences and career optimism through self-efficacy and school satisfaction. Based on the findings, graduate programs should emphasize the importance of mentor support experiences and help graduate faculty explore how they can best provide mentor experiences to their mentees.

Effects of Achievement Goal Orientation Types on Subjective Well-being

In the midst of increasing academic pressure, the subjective well-being of high school students tends to decline as they undergo the school years. In this regard, measuring subjective well-being in specific contexts is necessary to ensure thorough and accurate information that better represents their situation. For this purpose, the study uses subjective well-being in school, which consists of school satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. Out of the variables that correlate to subjective well-being in school, achievement goal orientation needs more attention. Thus, the study examines the effects of each type of goal orientation on subjective well-being in school using a 2 × 2 framework. Based on linear regression analysis, mastery-approach goal, performance-approach goal, and performance-avoidance goal have a significant effect on the subjective well-being of 11th-grade high school students in school. However, the opposite is true for the mastery-avoidance goal. The research supports previous research and provides broad information about achievement goal orientation as described by the 2 × 2 framework.

A New Measure for the Assessment of Student–Teacher Connectedness in Adolescence

Abstract. Student–teacher relationships have received a lot of attention in the social sciences. It is well-known that relationships with teachers tend to become more distant during adolescence, but most adolescents single out specific teachers they feel connected to. To better capture this latter phenomenon, the aim of this paper is to propose and evaluate the psychometric properties of a new measure for the assessment of student–teacher connectedness in adolescent samples from two countries. Samples consisted of 2,323 adolescents from England and 8,000 adolescents from Spain, who had answered a specific package of questions for the assessment of student–teacher connectedness included in the 17/18 edition of the WHO-collaborative survey Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) in the aforementioned two countries. After analyses of item performance and factorial structure, we obtained a 12-item scale with high internal consistency and a factorial structure consistent with the definition of student–teacher connectedness used for scale development in both datasets. Some evidence of validity was also obtained (the scale correlated positively with teacher support, school satisfaction and life satisfaction and negatively with school-related stress). Finally, invariance analysis (configural, metric, and scalar invariance) supported an equivalent functioning of the scale in England and Spain.

Relationship of Principal Leadership Style, Teacher Work Culture, Teacher Competency, Teacher Job Satisfaction and Performance of Special School Teachers in Banjarbaru City

Performance is any process that can benefit organizations that produce quantity and quality, copyright, ease, and speed in self-adjustment. The principal's leadership style, work culture, teacher competency, job satisfaction allegedly affect the teacher's performance. This research aims to describe the influence of the principal's leadership style, work culture, teacher competency, and job satisfaction on teacher performance in special schools in Banjarbaru City. This research is a quantitative study using regression techniques with five variables, namely principal leadership style (X1), work culture (X2) as a free variable, teacher competency (Z1), job satisfaction (Z2) as an intervening variable (between variables), and teacher performance (Y) as bound variables. The data were collected through a questionnaire from 86 samples. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS 24 for windows. The results showed a significant influence between the principal's leadership style, work culture, teacher competency, and job satisfaction in Banjar Baru special schools. This research recommends that teachers be more active and creative to improve their performance and create a great organizational culture.

An Exploration of Variables Influencing on School Satisfaction and Academic Achievement of Middle School Students Using Penalized Regression Model

An Exploration of Variables Influencing on School Satisfaction and Academic Achievement of Middle School Students Using Penalized Regression Model

A Longitudinal Analysis of Parents' School Satisfaction from Elementary to Middle school

A Longitudinal Analysis of Parents' School Satisfaction from Elementary to Middle school

Severity of Chronic Pain in German Adolescent School Students: A Cross-sectional Study.

Prevalence estimates of severe chronic pain in pediatric community samples are rare and inconclusive. This study aimed to (1) examine the prevalence of chronic pain severity grades in school children and (2) investigate differences between pain severity grades for pain-related characteristics, including pain locations, sociodemographic characteristics, emotional functioning, insomnia, school factors, and health care utilization. This cross-sectional observational study was conducted with 2220 school students in Germany (52% female individuals, age: M=13.0; SD=1.8; range, 10 to 18 y). Pain severity was assessed using the validated Chronic Pain Grades for adolescents. Comparisons between Chronic Pain Grade subgroups of adolescent characteristics were conducted using χ2 tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and 1-way analysis of variance. In school students, 31.0% had chronic pain with 8.2% categorized as severe. Individuals with higher pain severity tended to be girls and have multisite pain, more symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety, and a higher emotional burden of pain. Individuals with higher pain severity also reported less school satisfaction, lower perceived school performance, and more insomnia. Pain medication intake and physician visits because of pain were more common in those with more severe pain. Severe chronic pain affects nearly 1 in 10 adolescent school students and is associated with several negative health outcomes and increased health care utilization. It is important to ensure that specialized pain treatment programs are available to these students and that they are aware of the different negative health outcomes associated with the pain condition.