Predictors of Elementary STEM Teachers' Perceptions of Instructional Preparedness, Instructional Objectives, and Instructional Practices

• In Event: STEM Teacher Perceptions and Knowledge

Abstract

Links between school climate and teachers’ job satisfaction are well-established, but what is less well-understood is the extent to which teacher job satisfaction impacts actual teaching practices. The present study used multiple linear regression and qualitative coding of teachers’ responses to open-ended survey items to examine teachers’ job satisfaction and STEM instructional practices. The study’s major findings indicate that job satisfaction influences teachers’ feelings of instructional preparedness and teaching practices. In addition, both satisfaction and dissatisfaction were evident in teachers’ responses to open-ended survey items focused on effective STEM teaching practices and barriers to effective STEM teaching.

Authors

• Kim Boddie Wright, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Manjari Banerjee, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Hersh C. Waxman, Texas A&M University - College Station