The Impact of Work Environment and Teacher Attributes on Teacher Job Satisfaction

Background/purpose – Teachers play a critical role in student learning processes and in their academic success, and as such their job satisfaction directly impacts upon their teaching efficacy and lecture quality. In light of the importance of job satisfaction in educational practice, this study investigates the impact of work environment factors and personal attributes on teachers’ job satisfaction.

Materials/methods – This study utilizes data from the 2019 TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) for eighth-grade science teachers from the United States.

Results – Teacher job satisfaction showed a strong association with the majority of work environment factors and professional development factors, whilst no significant relationship was found with teacher background.

Conclusion – Teachers’ job satisfaction significantly impacts on their performance, retention, and teaching efficacy. Through analysis of the TIMSS 2019 dataset, it was seen that teacher job satisfaction is primarily affected by the environment in which they work and also their professional development. These results concur with other findings reported in the literature. However, contrary to prior works, this study revealed no association between job satisfaction and teachers’ background. As a result, schools should prioritize creating a congenial work environment in order to improve teaching quality. The limitations of this research and suggestions for future work are also discussed.

Keywords: Teacher job satisfaction, work environment, teacher characteristics, TIMSS.

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