Does Teacher Job Satisfaction Influence Student Classroom Productivity - Research Proposal Example

Topic: Research Proposal Questions to be answered Qualitative: Does teacher job satisfaction influence room productivity? 2. Quantitative: What are the reasons behind teachers’ dissatisfaction? What are the statistics of the teachers’ job turn-over? Statement of Research Problem A significant decline in the number of qualified educators pursing teaching careers has been observed in this decade. Several causative factors have been identified in this considerable decline. One factor identified is teachers’ satisfaction (i.e. safety, salaries, administrative and parental support). Like the students, educators would also want to feel safe, secured, respected, and well-supported. Weissbourd (2003) suggests that "schools can best support students moral development by helping teachers manage the stresses of their profession by increasing teachers capacity for reflection and empathy.” The concern for teachers’ satisfaction oftentimes requires immediate attention from the state and from the local government as well. Otherwise, federal mandates can not achieve its intended purposes. Theoretical or Conceptual Framework Related to the Problem Teacher’s job satisfaction is a relative concept which varies from one individual to the other. Job satisfaction motivates an individual to do the work extraordinarily. Teaching is considered as the noblest profession in the world, but sad to say, qualified teachers are gone, and are seldom found. In the United States, attrition of the teachers became a serious problem. These are the teachers who express dissatisfaction in their work. The following are the theoretical framework formulated relating to teachers’ dissatisfaction: (1) Teachers’ safety – massacres in the school campuses is a notorious problem in the United States. This made teachers vulnerable to danger while inside a school campus; (2) Lack of respect among students – these resulted from decline of moral values among the students; (3) Low salaries – increasing workload versus the risk factors made the teachers dissatisfied on their job; (4) Lack of parental support – parents lack of time to support the educational needs of their children in school. Leaving those needs to the hands of the teachers; and (5) Administrative support – increasing workload, and lack of administrative support leaving teachers on their own. As a result, teachers are burned out from their professions. According to Lent, Brown, and Hacket, a conceptual framework by constructivist perspective of career development, based the assumptions of social cognitive career theory (as cited by Harms and Knobloch, 2005, page 2), and this was grounded on the following theories: (1) Maslow’s (1954) needs theory, indicated that this theory influence the choice of career. The need theory relates to a person’s satisfaction to his job, and the absence of three higher-order needs (self-esteem, autonomy, and self-actualization) was shown to be the major contributor to low teacher satisfaction. (2) Bandura’s self-efficacy theory suggests that self-efficacy, or people’s beliefs in their own abilities to complete a specific task will influence performance, behavioral choices, and persistence. (3) Bass’s (1985) transformational leadership theory. According to Bass, this theory is a leadership behavior that motivates followers and leaders to do more than they thought are possible, by: “(a) raising followers’ level of consciousness about the importance and value of specified and idealized goals, (b) getting followers to transcend their own self-interest for the sake of the team or organization, and (c) moving followers to address higher-level needs” (cited by Harms and Knobloch, 2005, page 5). The above-mentioned theory is reviewed in the context of choosing a career for the theoretical framework. Moreover, the choice of career is reviewed for those who are engaged in helping careers, such as teaching. Current Research Related to the Problem Research addressing student academic performance suggests that the need to hire and retain qualified educators with effective instructional practices require drastic attention. A WestEd (2000) publication proposes that the impact teacher effectiveness has on student learning substantiates the need for constructive professional development. Teachers’ job growth and development, allows professionals to discover talents that already exist and establish new ones. The lack of emphasis on educational support from school leaders and the additional work responsibilities linked to the position that keeps qualified educators from entering the profession. As a result, schools are forced to hire substitutes without professional credentials to fill permanent positions. Goals, Purpose, and Significance to the Research My proposed study focuses on the influence of teachers’ job satisfaction has on student academic achievement. My proposal derives from literature that highlights the decline of qualified educators entering the field. The purpose of this research is to develop pathways that schools can explore to increase teachers’ job satisfaction in anticipation of enhancing the productivity of the students. This study will provide the groundwork for community intervention and the creation of developmental models that promote teacher incentives. In addition to examining the construct of teachers’ job satisfaction, my proposed study will investigate whether this would have any effect on student academic achievement. Research Design and Methodology Qualitative and Quantitative Method of Inquiry My proposed dissertation research has a mixed method design, with one dominant and the other one secondary, with component of data collection: (a) a qualitative survey to administer to a sample of 100 K-12 teachers, and (b) structured formal personality test to be conducted to 25 educators purposefully selected from among those who responded to the survey. In this concurrent design, the proposed quantitative method will allow me to test the specific hypothesis that fortify my research questions in a moderate sample size of educators while the proposed quantitative research will enable me to explore how students academic performance coincide with the teachers’ job satisfaction. Research Population and How is It Drawn A sample will be drawn from the K-12 educators, out of the six schools, within the rural town (pop. 31,000 ). I selected this district purposely to highlight racial and socioencomic concerns in the sample, reflecting the demographics of the school district. The names of the participants will be left confidential and will be identified by numbers known only by the researcher. A simple random sample of approximately 100 teachers will be used to ensure a 95% percent confidence rating and unbiased sampling. The simple random sample will be drawn from the population using a list of numbers generated by the researcher. Examples of Data to be Collected A 15-item self-designed qualitative survey and the Myers-Briggs Personality Test will be given to participating evaluators. Additional data that maybe collected with this design are internal district records (i.e., demographic material, and district history). Quantitative data will include district standardized test scores and teacher job turn-over statistics. Other Information about the Proposal This research study will be conducted and managed by the researcher himself, and the information gathered and collected will be recorded by him as well. Since this research is a type of survey and data collection, this study is considered as practical, inexpensive, and cost-saving. Moreover, this type of study will only involve effort on the part of the researcher who will do the survey, and record the information extracted from the participants as well as from records collected from the district. Reference Cited Harms, B. and Knobloch N. (2005). Preservice Teachers’ Motivation and Leadership Behaviors Related to Career Choice. Retrieved January 4, 2008 from http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:3_batVVsQygJ:scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/CTER/v30n2/pdf/harms.pdf+Harms+and+Knobloch&hl=tl&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=ph Read More