Factors associated with job satisfaction of the Adventist elementary school teachers in Metro Manila

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence job satisfaction of the Adventist elementary school teachers in Metro Manila. The study was also designed to find out the status of teachers' job satisfaction, to identify the extent of association of each independent variable with job satisfaction, and to deternine the extent to which the selected variables contributed to job satisfaction. Fifty-five teachers fron nine Adventist elementary schools in Metro Manila for the school year 1994-1995 were both the population and sample. All teachers in the nine schools were included in this study. The response rate was 100 percent. The tool used was constructed by the researcher with some adaptations from Hoy and Miskel (1987), Libato (1992), and Robbins (1991). The tool consisted of 72 items on a written tool containing demographic questions, 8 items; scale B, an agreenent scale of 37 items, and scale C, an adequacy scale of 27 items. Face validity was established by submitting the tool to five doctoral prepared professors for evaluation. Reliability was tested using cronbach's Alpha in SPSS for Windows, version 6.0, for microcomputer. The tool was piloted with 7 teachers. This study was descriptive and correlative in nature. The predictor independent variabres were various teacher-related factors and school-related factors. The dependent variable was teachers' job satisfaction that was defined as a score on a Likert scale. Proper permission was granted by the Central Luzon Conference education superintendent. A verbal consent from teachers was obtained prior to the administering of the tool. The teachers were assured of no known risks in participating in the study. They were also promised that data would be kept confidential. All data were collected by the researcher. The data were first analyzed using descriptive statistics of means, percentages, and frequencies. The statistical program used was SPSS for Windows, version 6.0. The hypotheses were tested using stepwise multiple regression, and Pearson's product-moment correlatLons. The probability level was set at p < 0.05. Three of the eight demographic items did not enter the statistical analysis. These were gender, civil status, and highest educational attainment, which were excluded because they owed little variance. The factors correlating positively and significantly with job satisfaction were age, total years of teaching experience, teachers' professional qualities, school climate, principal's leadership, physical plant, salary, and audiovisual equipment. The factors which were not correlated with job satisfaction were benefits for teachers, library, number of class preparations per week, and class size. The best overall predictor of teachers' job satisfaction was teachers' professional qualiities. Teachers' professional qualities correlated highly with school climate, and principal's leadership. Despite some inadequacies in the schools, the teachers were generally well satisfied with their jobs and roles. Measures should be in place in the schools that will promote and reward teachers for their interpersonal relationship skills, their professional development, their stress-handling capability, and their values with respect, to teaching. One way to promote these qualities is by in-service, mentoring, and recognition. A replication of the study should be done in Adventist schools in other parts of the Philippines and Asia to see if results are similar. A further study should be done with quality of performance as the dependant variable, and levels of satisfaction as one of the predictor variables.