Job satisfaction of the occupational-technical faculty in the Virginia community college system: an analysis based on Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory

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1994
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Virginia Tech
Abstract

Job satisfaction and its related phenomena have been of considerable interest for many years. Review of the job satisfaction literature, however, revealed few studies which examined the job satisfaction of both full-time and parttime community college faculty. The purpose of the study was (1) to determine the level of job satisfaction among occupational-technical faculty in relation to ten factors based on Herzberg's et al. (1959) Motivation-Hygiene Theory and (2) to determine the relative difference of job satisfaction between full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty in the Virginia Community College System.

Specific research questions explored the level of job satisfaction, the level of job satisfaction among the ten factors of Herzberg's et al. (1959) Motivation-Hygiene Theory, and the proportion of variance in job satisfaction explained by selected demographic variables among full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty in the Virginia Community College System. A total of 255 occupational-technical faculty were selected to participate in the study, 127 full-time and 128 part-time. These faculty were mailed a packet of survey materials containing a Data Form and a modified version of the Wood's Faculty Satisfaction/ Dissatisfaction Scale. The overall usable response rate was 70.2% (n=177). The response rate for the full-time occupational-technical faculty was 78.6% (n=99) while the response rate for the part-time occupational-technical faculty was 62.4% (n=78).

Results of the study indicated that both the full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty were generally satisfied with their jobs, 76.7% and 89.7% respectively. Both full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty reported the highest level of satisfaction for the factor the work itself and the lowest level of satisfaction for the factor salary.

Although both full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty were generally satisfied with their jobs, the part-time faculty were more satisfied with their jobs than were their full-time counterparts. It should be noted, however, that the actual proportion of variance explained by status (i.e., full-time or part-time) was small and may not be of practical significance. Recommendations for local and state level administrators responsible for supervising full-time and part-time occupational-technical faculty were delineated. Recommendations for future research were described.

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