Academic Qualification and Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in Secondary Schools in Nakuru County-Kenya

Teacher job satisfaction is one of the critical determinants of the rate of progress in students learning outcomes. The teaching profession in Kenya has in the recent past experienced industrial disharmony by way of teachers’ strikes, which could be a pointer to dissatisfaction among teachers. Teacher dissatisfaction is typically rooted in failure by entities responsible for teacher management to meet teachers’ needs. Research-based evidence demonstrates that employees have different needs and that these needs are influenced by factors such as employee’s level of training or education for that matter. Drawing on these observations, the study sought to determine whether an academic qualification has any bearing on teachers’ job satisfaction in secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. Data was collected using a self-delivered questionnaire from 341 teachers who were randomly selected from 3,092 teachers in the study locale. The instrument’s validity and reliability as estimated through split-half and Cronbach’s alpha stood at r=.945 and r=.905 respectively. Collected data was analyzed using ANOVA statistic at .05 alpha level. A major finding of the study was that teacher satisfaction decreased with an increase in the level of academic qualification. Qualification–differentiated satisfaction was also statistically significant (p<.05). The study offers useful insights to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and school managers on how to enhance teachers’ job satisfaction by way of addressing the needs of teachers in different levels of academic qualification.

Academic Qualification and Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in Secondary Schools in Nakuru County-Kenya

Teacher job satisfaction is one of the critical determinants of the rate of progress in students learning outcomes. The teaching profession in Kenya has in the recent past experienced industrial disharmony by way of teachers’ strikes, which could be a pointer to dissatisfaction among teachers. Teacher dissatisfaction is typically rooted in failure by entities responsible for teacher management to meet teachers’ needs. Research-based evidence demonstrates that employees have different needs and that these needs are influenced by factors such as employee’s level of training or education for that matter. Drawing on these observations, the study sought to determine whether an academic qualification has any bearing on teachers’ job satisfaction in secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. Data was collected using a self-delivered questionnaire from 341 teachers who were randomly selected from 3,092 teachers in the study locale. The instrument’s validity and reliability as estimated through split-half and Cronbach’s alpha stood at r=.945 and r=.905 respectively. Collected data was analyzed using ANOVA statistic at .05 alpha level. A major finding of the study was that teacher satisfaction decreased with an increase in the level of academic qualification. Qualification–differentiated satisfaction was also statistically significant (p<.05). The study offers useful insights to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and school managers on how to enhance teachers’ job satisfaction by way of addressing the needs of teachers in different levels of academic qualification.

Understanding Ecological Factors Associated With Bullying Across the Elementary to Middle School Transition in the United States

This study examines sociodemographic characteristics and social-environmental factors associated with bullying during the elementary to middle school transition from a sample of 5th-grade students (n = 300) in 3 elementary schools at Time 1. Of these, 237 participated at Time 2 as 6th-grade students. Using cluster analyses, we found groups of students who reported no increase in bullying, some decrease in bullying, and some increase in bullying. Students who reported increases in bullying also reported decreases in school belongingness and teacher affiliation and increases in teacher dissatisfaction. Students who reported decreases in bullying also reported decreases in victimization. These findings suggest that changes across the transition in students’ relations to school and their teachers are predictive of changes in bullying.

The Role of School Environment in Teacher Dissatisfaction Among U.S. Public School Teachers

This article discusses the relationship between the school environment and teacher dissatisfaction utilizing the 2007-2008 School and Staffing Survey. The school environment is defined through a social-ecological perspective which takes into account the hierarchical nature of schools. Teacher dissatisfaction was quantified through a composite of variables that asked teachers about their overall feelings regarding the profession. A logistic regression was performed with teacher dissatisfaction as the criterion variable, and school environment variables and teacher background variables as predictors. School environment played a statistically significant role in the dissatisfaction of teachers. Specifically, teacher autonomy and principal leadership decreased the odds of teacher dissatisfaction, while student and community problems increased the odds of teacher dissatisfaction. Once school environment was taken into account, the log odds of teacher race, middle school status, and rural school locale increased while remaining statistically significant.

The Subject Coordinator: Significance of the Role

Responses from teachers, subject coordinators and school administrators in twenty-three Queensland state high schools were analyzed to ascertain the perceived importance of subject coordinators to teacher satisfaction, teacher dissatisfaction and the learning of students in classrooms. Subject coordinators were seen by respondents to make a more significant contribution to these outputs than occupants of any other hierarchical position in the schools.