Teachers Perception of Leadership - Essay Example

d be to understand and subsequently work on factors that satisfy teachers-those who have been in the profession for a long period of time as well as those who are now about to board on this particular journey in life. What then are the factors, which satisfy teachers? Researchers have discovered many issues, which influence teachers’ job satisfaction in a significant way. However, they all agree that measuring job satisfaction is challenging because teachers are not in harmony with what satisfies them throughout their career.

In spite of its difficulty to measure, investigators note that the degree of teacher satisfaction directly affects the school’s stability, the quality of instructions and hence the overall climate of the school (Bogler, 2000; Richards, 2003; Woods & Weasmer, 2004). Researchers examined the various qualities in a principal that are desired by teachers (Haser & Nasse, 2003; Nir & Kranot 2006; Jorissen, 2002; Richards, 2003). Richards (2003) compared the needs in terms of principal’s behavior of three groups of teachers - those with 1-5years experience, those with 6 - 10 years and those with 11 years or more of teaching experience.

Richards utilized a phenomenological study and discovered that the beginning teachers cited “emotional support and safety” as their main need. Teachers with 6-10 years valued “respect as professionals” as the key element in their job satisfaction while those with more than 10 years regarded “respect for their knowledge and experience” as their chief need (2003, p.12). However, support for the teacher was the main factor in influencing teacher’s satisfaction for the entire range of teachers.

Richards (2003), like Woods and Weasmer (2004),