The relationship between school calendar and teacher job satisfaction

Abstract

This research is the first study on a nationwide basis to investigate the relationship between type or school calendar and job satisfaction of teachers. It was undertaken to provide information for school and community leaders who have a responsibility for or an interest in planning, implementing, and evaluating year-round educational programs and to add to the growing body or knowledge on YRE. Many school divisions have implemented year-round education in the last decade causing more school boards and administrators to study the feasibility of operating on a year-round calendar. Various studies have been made to support or negate the value of YRE, but one important aspect needed investigation: job satisfaction of teachers in YRE as compared to teachers in the traditional 9-3 calendar. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire was selected to measure job satisfaction of teachers, and a Personal/Situational Data Form was designed to determine the relationship between job satisfaction and type of school calendar and other demographic variables. School principals submitted a faculty list ancl named a contact teacher in the school to receive, distribute, collect, and return the research materials. Of these lists 50 percent or 759 teachers were included in the sample. Teachers in 61 schools from across the country, which included 380 teachers in YRE and 228 teachers in the traditional 9-3 calendar, participated in the research. Returns were received from 100 percent of the schools and 85.8 percent of the teachers who agreed to participate. Data were punched into cards and analyzed using programs--Correlation Matrix with Pairwise Deletion Options and with a Maximum of 150 Variables; BMD08M, Factor Analysis; and SPSSH, Version 5.01, for Chi-square test of association-- on the IBM 370/158 computer at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. No significant relationship was found between type of school calendar and job satisfaction of teachers, but a bias factor was identified and analyzed showing that teachers engaged in YRE or preferring YRE felt that the quality of education was enhanced by the year-round calendar, while teachers in or preferring 9-3 programs did not feel that the quality of education was enhanced by YRE. Since this bias could very well have accounted for the no difference in the responses on the MSQ, further research is needed to control this bias. Another conclusion of this study is that job satisfaction of teachers doos not depend on extrinsic factors from the personal/situational variables. This supports the theories of Maslow, Porter, and Herzberg and also the research done by the Minnesota Work Adjustment Project which produced the MSQ.