The Ownership Perception Gap: Exploring Teacher Job Satisfaction and Its Relationship to Engagement and Collaboration

• In Event: Higher Education and Professional Practice in International Contexts

Abstract

Satisfied teachers provide a myriad of benefits for educational system (Caprara et al., 2003). Research has shown that teachers who feel a sense of ownership via school decision-making and who collaborate with others are more satisfied in their jobs (Hargreaves, 1994), however, little research examines how teacher collaboration relates with their decision-making and job satisfaction. This study cross-nationally explores how teacher decision-making and collaboration may interact with their job satisfaction. Using the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey of 2013, it highlights the differences in perceptions between teachers and principals and lends empirical support to scholars who have called for policies targeting teacher working conditions and school leadership as critical policy levers to affect teaching workforce (Borman & Dowling, 2008).

Authors

• Sakiko Ikoma, American Institutes for Research

• Kristina Brezicha, Georgia State University

• Hyowon Park, Pennsylvania State University

• Gerald K. LeTendre, The Pennsylvania State University