Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

12-2007

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph. D.

Department (Legacy)

Department of Leadership, Foundations, and Human Resource Education

Committee Chair

Winter, Paul A.

Author's Keywords

Job satisfaction; New teacher turnover; Teacher job satisfaction; New teacher retention; New teacher satisfaction; Teacher retention; Turnover; New teacher

Subject

Teachers--Job satisfaction--Kentucky--Louisville; Teacher turnover--Kentucky--Louisville; First year teachers--Kentucky--Louisville

Abstract

This study addressed the job satisfaction of new teachers in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The JCPS district is the 29th largest in the United Sates and serves over 98,000 students. Understanding what contributes to the satisfaction and retention of new teachers in a large urban school district has implications for cost effective human resource management and student achievement. The researcher mailed a district-wide survey questionnaire about new teacher job satisfaction using procedures developed by Dillman (2000). The survey mailing yielded a sample of 630 participants. The researcher computed: (a) descriptive statistics, (b) principal components factor analysis, (c) correlation analysis, and (d) hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The components identified by the factor analysis included: (a) Preparedness/Ability (a = .95), (b) School Leadership (a = .87), (c) Independence/Principal Recognition (a = .84), (d) Time/Salary (a = .77), (e) Co-workers (a = .84), (f) Benefits (a = .73), (f) Variety (a = .61), and Support Equipment/Materials (a = .65). The study addressed personal characteristics of new teacher (e.g., age, ethnicity, gender), cast as control variables and both general job facets (e.g., salary, retirement benefits) and job-specific facets (teacher preparedness/ability, and school leadership) as predictor variables of interest. The dependent variable was a global measure of overall new teacher job satisfaction measured by a two-item additive composite score. From largest to smallest effect size, the significant predictors were: Preparedness/Ability (ß = .59), Independence/Principal Recognition (ß = .19), Time/Salary (ß =.18), Benefits ß = -.08), School Leadership (ß = -.08). The linear combination of significant predictor variables explained 71% of the variance in overall job satisfaction. The results of this study inform K-12 administrators relative to improving the job satisfaction and working conditions of new teachers. Implications for administrative practice and future research are discussed.

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