Date of Award

Spring 2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership

First Advisor

David Gullatt

Abstract

The purpose of this research endeavor was to explore possible statistical relationships between school districts with varying pay scales in regard to teacher job satisfaction within the district. An on-line satisfaction survey was set up, utilizing the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). Letters were distributed to teachers in three districts eliciting participation in the study. A total of 115 responses was recorded with the greatest participation occurring in the district with the highest teacher compensation. To explore possible differences in areas of job satisfaction between the districts, teachers were asked questions dealing with (a) working conditions, (b) supervisory support, (c) co-worker collegiality, (d) advancement potential, and (e) compensation. Results of the survey were processed through StatSoft software. The following null hypotheses were tested during this study: Null Hypothesis (1): There is no significant difference in teacher satisfaction with working conditions across three school districts with differing pay scales; Null Hypothesis (2): There is no significant difference in teacher satisfaction with supervisory support across three school districts with differing pay scales; Null Hypothesis (3): There is no significant difference in teacher satisfaction with advancement potential across three school districts with differing pay scales; Null Hypothesis (4): There is no significant difference in teacher satisfaction with co-worker collegiality across three school districts with differing pay scales; and Null Hypothesis (5): There is no significant difference in teacher satisfaction with compensation across three school districts with differing pay scales. The ANOVA results indicated that there were significant differences (p<.05) in the areas of supervisory support and compensation. By performing Scheffe' post-hoc tests, it was determined that the significant differences involved the highest paying district receiving higher job satisfaction scores on both variables than did its lower paying counterparts. The presence of these differences suggests that policymakers and stakeholders should further investigate these areas of teacher job satisfaction.

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