Factors influencing teacher job satisfaction and their alignment with current district practices in a rural school district

Abstract

School districts’ decisions across the country are influencing the satisfaction level of teachers, in both positive and negative ways. With statistics reporting as high as fifty percent of teachers leaving the profession in the first five years of experience (Ingersoll, 2003), determining the reasons for teacher dissatisfaction are important in correcting district practices to be more supportive and satisfying to teachers.

The purpose of this research study was to (a) determine the satisfaction level of teachers in a specific school district, (b) determine the practices building-level administrators have put into place and how they relate to the factors identified in the research as being contributive to teacher satisfaction levels, (c) determine the alignment of administrator practices and perceptions with those perceived by teachers in the same district, and (d) compare the results of the rural school district in this study with the results of a suburban school district to determine if demographics influenced the results of this research.

The results of this study showed that teachers in the rural school district were satisfied in their position and profession, as shown by their responses on a majority of questions asked in the Factors Influencing Teacher Satisfaction Survey. The majority of responses in the highly satisfied to moderately satisfied categories in this survey supported alignment between district practices and practices identified through the research as being supportive of positive teacher job satisfaction. In a comparison of the administrator follow up interview questions and teacher follow up interview questions, a strong alignment was present between the two groups’ perceptions and practices perceived to be in place within the rural school district. The results of this study when compared with the results of the suburban school district proved that demographics had no impact on teacher job satisfaction.