Perceptions of Urban Teachers About Specific Characteristics in Their Work Environment That Relate to Need Deficiencies
Henderson, Robbe Lynn
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/68799
Description
Title
Perceptions of Urban Teachers About Specific Characteristics in Their Work Environment That Relate to Need Deficiencies
Author(s)
Henderson, Robbe Lynn
Issue Date
1982
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Administration
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of urban teachers about specific characteristics in their work environment that relate to the satisfaction of individual psychological needs. In order to accomplish this task, the following research questions were developed: (1) What are the perceived levels of aspirations (Ideal), the perceived levels of need fulfillment (Actual), and the perceived need deficiencies (Deficiency Score) that urban teachers have for each of the Maslow need categories (Security, Social, Esteem, Autonomy, and Self-Actualization)? (2) Do the ideal, actual, and deficiency levels reported differ on the basis of sex, age, employment status, ethnic designation, and teaching area?
The respondents were given a self-administered questionnaire composed of fourteen statements about characteristics or qualities connected with their present working conditions. Approximately six hundred questionnaires were delivered to the intended sample population, which consisted of teachers in six large urban high schools.
When responses to the general levels of satisfaction were combined, these urban teachers appeared to be generally positive about their need fulfillment levels. However, when the responses of these same urban teachers were analyzed on the basis of sex, age, employment status, ethnic designation, and teaching area (the variables for this study) with the deficiency scores as the unit for analysis, important and relevant differences did emerge. Female teachers tended to regard their working environment with much more positive feelings than their male counterparts. Teachers between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five expressed the highest levels of overall need fulfillment. Tenured teachers had more positive feelings about working conditions than non-tenured. Both similarities and differences in perceptions were reported by these teachers when race was the dominant variable.
Based upon the findings of this study, the following implications appeared to be the most important: (1) Administrators must be aware of the differences in perspectives that the several groups within the staff bring to the educational environment. (2) Administrators and educational planners must be aware of the nature and level of expectations of the staff. (3) Administrators should be aware that job satisfaction does not occur in a vacuum.
The study strongly suggested that more concentrated research be conducted on job satisfaction in educational settings, with particular emphasis on the perceptions of urban teaching staffs.
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