the level of the job satisfaction of teachers in botswana pedzani ...

European Journal of Educational Studies 4(2), 2012
Education Policy in 1994 with the resultant adoption of levels of operation, the Secondary Schools Management
Development Project of 1993, Parallel Progression Policy of 1994 with its legal entanglements, the decentralization
of the Ministry of Education, Performance Management System, and most recently the introduction of double shift
in the schools in 2006. All these should have had some effects and impact on the way teachers in the schools feel
about their jobs. It is also pertinent to gain understanding of the level of satisfaction of the teachers as employees as
an indication of the health of the education system as a whole in meeting its mandate of providing educated and
informed future citizens in line with the national vision, which one of its pillars says: A prosperous, productive and
innovative nation (Republic of Botswana, 1997a:6). Literature abounds of studies conducted on the job satisfaction
of teachers as employees in schools (Bishay, 1996; US Department of Education, 1997).
UNDERSTANDING JOB SATISFACTION
Employee satisfaction has taken centre stage especially in the corporate world in recent years as it has been realized
that organizations cannot reach competitive levels of quality; either at a product level or a customer service level if
their human resources do not feel satisfied or do not identify with the company (Garcia-Bernal, Gargallo-Castel,
Marzo-Navarro & Rivera-Torres, 2005). The crucial role played by employee job satisfaction in the efficiency and
productivity of organizations was also identified by Fitzgerald, Johnston, Brignall, Silverstro & Voss, (1994) and
Crossman & Abou-Zaki, (2003) who are of the view that job satisfaction is one of the criteria for establishing the
health of the organization as rendering effective services.
Although there is no universal definition of the concept job satisfaction, some researchers have come to the
conclusion that it should be conceived as a multi-dimensional concept that includes a set of favourable or
unfavourable feelings by which employees perceive their jobs (Mumford, 1991; & Garcia-Bernal, et al., 2005). Job
satisfaction has been defined by Locke (1976) and Spector (1997) as a positive emotional state resulting from the
pleasure a worker derives from the job. According to Spector (1997), job satisfaction is simply how people feel
about their jobs and different aspects of their jobs. It is the extent to which people like (satisfaction) or dislike
(dissatisfaction) their jobs. This is echoed by Moorhead and Griffin (2004:99) who say that: Job satisfaction is the
extent to which a person is gratified or fulfilled by his or her work. As a result, a satisfied employee tends to be
absent less often, to make positive contributions, and to stay with the organization longer; whereas a dissatisfied
employee may be absent more often, may experience stress that disrupts other co-workers, and maybe continually
looking for a job. Furthermore, Abu-Saad and Hendrix (1995:141) define job satisfaction as: the pleasurable
emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job as achieving or facilitating the achievement of one’s
values. It should be noted however that according to some job satisfaction theorists, it is a function of a combination
of situational characteristics and situational occurrences (Quarstein, McAfee & Glassman, 1992). Churchill, Ford
and Walker (1974) define job satisfaction in the context of all the characteristics of the job itself and of the work
environment in which the workers may find rewards, fulfillment and satisfaction; or conversely sentiments of
frustration and/or dissatisfaction.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Various authors have dealt with the subject of job satisfaction in different organizations using various variables such
as demographic characteristics, work, pay, relations with co-workers, promotion and others (Mok and Finlev, 1998;
Murray & Atkinson, 1981; Sloane & Williams, 1996; Clark, 1997; and Ward & Sloane, 1998). Some research has
also shown that gender played a part in determining job satisfaction and some studies have shown that males were
more satisfied than females (Weaver 1974; Forgionne & Peeters 1982; Smith & Plant 1982). Other factors such as
education, experience, supervision, work and relations with co-workers may be responsible for the observed
differences in job satisfaction (Swanepoel, Erasmus, van Wyk & Schenk, 2005; Cole, 2004; Moorhead & Griffin,
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