Transcript
1 Identifying Teachers’ Job Satisfaction Adlina Hj Ariffin International Islamic University Malaysia Hamimah Hashim Rosilawati Sueb Universiti Teknologi MARA ABSTRACT In this 21 st Century teachers are playing greater roles and given bigger commitments in the profession. These increased responsibilities and higher expectations do take its toll on them especially when they feel that they have not been fairly commensurate. Job satisfaction is indeed most crucial not only in determining the faithfulness of an employee to an organization but more importantly it is the main indicator of an individual’s level of commitment and productivity in his or her profession. This study aims to investigate the job satisfaction among private school teachers. The purposes of the study are to investigate the differences in job satisfaction among teachers with different years of teaching experience, to identify the relationship between years of teaching experience and job satisfaction, and to identify the differences between male and female teachers in job satisfaction. A quantitative approach which used a questionnaire, Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire’ (TJSQ) developed by Lester (1982), was used as as the main instrument to evaluate job satisfaction among teachers in a private school in Gombak district in Selangor. 32 teachers became the participant for this research. Overall, this research indicates that the teachers in the private school are generally satisfied with their work. KEYWORDS: teacher, job satisfaction, private school INTRODUCTION Teachers are the main backbone of the education system of any country. They shoulder the huge responsibilities in moulding the young minds to achieve the vision and mission of the country. And in this 21 st Century teachers are playing greater roles and given bigger commitments in the profession particularly due to some external factors such as the influence of globalization and intricate intercultural communication. Besides that, they also face challenges within the teaching profession itself which range from students’ discipline, school facilities, teachers’ own knowledge competency (Omar & Bing, 2005) and teacher’s own economic standing. More often than not, these increased responsibilities and higher expectations do take its toll on them especially when they feel that they have not been fairly commensurated. Hence, according to Parkaran (1994) as cited in Jabnoun and Chan (2001), the Malaysian Education Ministry has been instructed to carry out investigations to identify reasons for teachers opting for early retirement. Undoubtedly, there are also those who “...persist difficult times, cope with stressful situations, and often succeed despite trying environments” (Eklund, 2009, p. 25), nevertheless, their a bility to persist and cope may or may not be a clear indication of the true sense of satisfaction in their working profession. As indicated by Ololube (n.d.), “t he relevance of job satisfaction and motivation are very crucial to the long-term growth of an y educational system around the world…as the veritable determinants of educational success and performance”. In this respect, job satisfaction is indeed most crucial not only in determining the faithfulness of an employee to an organization but more impor tantly it is the main indicator of an individual’s 2 level of commitment and productivity in his or her profession. Among the factors that influence job satisfaction are salary, professional development, administrative relationship and rapport. Hence, if teachers have a high level of job satisfaction, it can be assured that a more enjoyable, energetic and effective school environment can be developed which indirectly will give positive effects on the students’ academic achievement. PROBLEM STATEMENT A study conducted in North Carolina which involved 42,000 educators revealed that teachers were dissatisfied with their working conditions. The teachers claimed that they did not have sufficient time to give their best performance (Keller, 2003) and this became one of the contributing factors that made them left their profession. However, a study carried out in 2009 by MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Past, Present and Future (Adams, 2010), which involved 1000 public school teachers nationwide, showed that majority of the teachers (62%) were satisfied with their job - that they had earned modest amount of salary and they also felt respected by the society. Similarly, studies conducted by Jabnoun and Chan (2001) and Muhammad Madi, Uli, and Parasuraman (2009) on Malaysian government secondary schools also revealed that teachers were generally satisfied with their teaching profession. These results were an opposition to the commonly held perception that teachers in the government schools are unhappy with their job. Currently, with the huge increase in the number of private schools in Malaysia, it is undeniable that they have become indispensable in the Malaysian education system. Furthermore, there are many differences between teachers teaching in the government schools and those in the private sector. Among those differences are in terms of the school facilities, salary and number of students per class. Hence, it is equally crucial that studies be conducted to identify job satisfaction among teachers in the private schools. PURPOSES OF THE STUDY In view of the increasing importance of private schools in the Malaysian education system, this study aims to investigate the job satisfaction among private school teachers. In general, the purposes of the study are: 1) to investigate the differences in job satisfaction among teachers with different years of teaching experience 2) to identify the relationship between years of teaching experience and job satisfaction 3) to identify the differences between male and female teachers in job satisfaction RESEARCH QUESTIONS Specifically, the study aims to find answers to the following research questions: 1) Is there a significant difference in job satisfaction among teachers with different years of teaching experience? 2) Is there a significant relationship between years of teaching experience and job satisfaction? 3 3) Is there a significant difference between male and female teachers in job satisfaction? SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY A teacher who is happy and satisfied with his or her profession will emanate positive energy that will give positive influence on those around him or her particularly the students. As such, teachers who possess high level of satisfaction in their job will be a source of motivation to the students to succeed in their studies. This concurs with a study done by Ostroff (1992 in Jabnoun & Chan, 2001), who found that “most measures of school performance were significantly linked to employee satisfaction”. Thus, this study is conducted to uncover t he realities or issues in the teaching profession pertaining to job satisfaction among teachers particularly in the private schools. The result of this study will assist the respective school administration to make some innovative plans in order to improve and enhance the morale and motivation of the teaching staff. This is because “An effective motivational program and an interesting reward system relevant to the needs of the teachers would bring forth effective, dedicated, and committed teachers” (Jabnoun & Chan, 2001, p. 75). Furthermore, the result may also provide some insights to the Ministry of Education regarding job satisfaction from the perspective of the private schools. SUBSTANTIVE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK There are a few theories related to job satisfaction. Among the most widely cited are the Herzberg theory and Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, where both form the content theories. According to Gawel (1997), Herzberg (1959) introduced two-factor theory in explaining people’s attitudes towards work. The first part of the two-factor theories known as hygiene comprises of company policy, supervision, interpersonal relations, working conditions, and salary. Meanwhile, the second part of the theory known as motivators incorporates elements such as responsibil ity, recognition, promotion, achievement, and the work itself. “These motivators (satisfiers) were associated with long-term positive effects in job performance while the hygiene factors (dissatisfiers) consistently produced only short-term changes in job attitudes and performance, which quickly fall back to its previous level” (Gawel, 1997, n.p). The next theory is depicted by the Hierarchy of Needs introduced by Maslow in 1954 (Gawel, 1997). The theory usually is presented as a pyramid with the survival needs at the most bottom and self-actualization is located at the peak. According to Maslow, the fulfillment of the need at the lower level of the hierarchy will motivate individuals to work towards the fulfillment of the needs at the next level up the hierarchy. METHODOLOGY Research Design A quantitative approach which used a questionnaire as the main instrument was employed to evaluate job satisfaction among teachers in a private school in Gombak district in Selangor. 4 Data Collection Method A total of 50 questionnaires were distributed; 25 questionnaires were given to the primary level and another 25 to the secondary level. Prior to this, consent letters were given to the principals of both schools (Appendix I & II) to inform them of the study and gain their permission. 32 questionnaires were returned a week later – 14 from the primary level and 18 from the secondary level. The researchers employed simple random sampling in selecting the respondents for this research. Instrumentation The instrument used in this study titled ‘Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire’ (TJSQ) was developed by Lester (1982) (Appendix III). This survey was chosen because it is suitable to be used in any academic setting. It encompassed 66 items in 9 subscales. The subscales are: supervision, colleagues, working conditions, pay, responsibility, work itself, advancement, security, and recognition. In order to avoid biases, 50% of the items use positive statements while the other 50% used negative statements. The instrument is divided into two sections. Section A is on the demographic information of the respondents. Section B contains responses which are presented in the form of a 5- point Likert scale where a rating of 1 denotes ‘strong disagreement’ and a rating of 5 denotes ‘strong agreement’. Theories of Maslow (1 954) and Herzberg (1972) were used as the foundation in developing this questionnaire. The concepts presented in these theories were appropriate in defining the educational setting. Data Analysis Procedure Data for the study were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics were use to describe the demographic data of the respondents and mean was used to elaborate each item of the questionnaires. Inferential statistics which used factors of job satisfaction as the dependant variables and certain demographic variables as the independent variables were run using t-test for independent samples. In order to find the relationship between the factors of job satisfaction, Pearson correlation analysis was also conducted. One-way ANOVA was utilised to determine the differences between job satisfaction and selected independent variables in this research. 5 Data Analysis Independent variable Frequency % Gender Years of teaching Teaching level Educational background Male Female Below 5 years 5 – 10 years Above 10 years Primary 1-6 Secondary 1-6 Master/PhD First degree Diploma 12 20 15 13 4 14 18 4 26 2 35.48 64.52 46.5 40.6 12.9 43.8 56.2 12.5 81.3 6.3 Table 1: Participants’ Demographic Characteristics The table above shows that a total of 32 teachers participated in this study where 12 of them were males (35.48%) and 20 females (64.52%). It also indicates that majority of the teachers possess below 5 years teaching experience (46.5%), followed by 5-10 years of experience (40.6%) and only a few have teaching experience more than 10 years (12.9). Out of the 32 respondents, 14 of them are teaching in the primary level and the other 18 teachers are from the secondary level. 4 of them possess postgraduate qualification while 2 are with diploma. Majority of them (26) have completed their first degree. Table 2 (Appendix IV) shows the computation of the mean and standard deviation for each of the 66 items of Job satisfaction. Item 38 (I do have responsibility for my teaching) received the highest mean (M=4.55) indicating that the level of job satisfaction is very high for this item. Item 52 (I am not responsible for my action) had the lowest mean score (M=2.00). This indicated that most of the teachers disagree with the statement and it also shows that they are accountable for every action they make. Means for all items ranged from 2.00 to 4.55. Some degree of variability (SD>1.00) was indicated for 9 items. 57 of the items had standard deviations of less than 1.00, indicating a lesser degree of variability.
