Job Satisfaction Among Turkish Teachers

Abstract

This study aimed to examine how variables from a social cognitive model of job satisfaction—goal progress, self-efficacy, perceived organizational support, and positive affect—predicted the job satisfaction of Turkish teachers. Additionally, the study investigated the extent to which these relations differed according to school level. Study participants comprised 500 teachers (73% women and 27% men) employed by state schools at various levels in Ankara, Turkey, with an average of 19 years of teaching experience. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed teacher job satisfaction to be significantly and positively predicted by perceived organizational support, goal progress, and positive affect. There was also a significant interaction between school type and goal progress and a significant interaction between school type and perceived organizational support. For elementary school teachers, perceived organizational support was more highly related to satisfaction than for high school teachers and especially secondary school teachers. For secondary school teachers, goal progress was more highly related to job satisfaction than for high school teachers, and especially elementary teachers. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Keywords

social cognitive model teacher job satisfaction positive affect goal progress perceived social support

Scholars have spent decades studying the various factors that predict satisfaction with work. Broadly speaking, people tend to be more satisfied at work when they experience greater person–environment fit, have more positive personality traits and affective dispositions, engage in goal-related behavior, are confident in their work tasks, and work in environments that are supportive and allow for independence (Brief & Weiss, 2002; Duffy & Lent, 2009; Judge, Heller, & Mount, 2002; Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005). As research in this area has grown, more attention has been placed on specific populations of workers, given the assumption that certain variables may more strongly relate to job satisfaction among specific occupations. One population that has received increased attention is teachers, especially given their high likelihood of drop out (Duffy & Lent, 2009). In the current study, we build on previous research on teacher job satisfaction by examining the degree to which (a) a variety of established social cognitive predictors relate to job satisfaction with a sample of Turkish teachers and (b) how these relations differ with teachers at the elementary, secondary, and high school levels.

Teacher Job Satisfaction

International problems of turnover and retention within the teaching profession have generated increased research on job satisfaction in teachers in recent years (Butt et al., 2005; Crossman & Harris, 2006; Duffy & Lent, 2009; Tuettemann, 1991). On a basic level, demographic factors that have been the subject of research studies include gender, age, and number of years spent teaching. The results of these studies are mixed and the literature does not reflect a general consensus. For example, several studies have indicated that female teachers experience greater satisfaction than male teachers (De Nobile & McCormick, 2008; Perie & Baker, 1997; Poppleton & Riseborough, 1990). Some, however, show the opposite (Menon & Reppa, 2011), and some results show no significant effects of gender on job satisfaction (Crossman & Harris, 2006; Klassen & Anderson, 2009; Scott, Cox, & Dinham, 1998). Similarly, the literature is inconclusive on the influence of age and length of service on work satisfaction in teachers. Perie and Baker (1997) found that age and experience were negatively associated with job satisfaction, with younger teachers being most likely to experience high satisfaction levels. In contrast, Griva and Joekes (2003) found older teachers to be the most satisfied.

Stronger predictors of job satisfaction have been found when assessing individual difference and school environment variables. For example, Dinham and Scott’s (1998) International Teachers 2000 Project found that intrinsic factors most heavily influence teacher satisfaction, which included teachers’ relationships with children, intellectual challenge, autonomy, and activities that relate directly to teaching, while extrinsic factors had a greater impact on dissatisfaction. Dinham and Scott expanded beyond the intrinsic–extrinsic dichotomy and also examined factors that are specific to individual schools (Dinham & Scott, 1998; Scott et al., 1998). These factors include school climate, reputation, leadership styles, and decision-making processes. The researchers found that there was more variability in the impact of these factors on individual teachers’ job satisfaction, and that these variables had a more neutral effect than both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

In a study that attempted to integrate findings on teacher job satisfaction with a theoretically based, social cognitive model of job satisfaction, Duffy and Lent (2009) surveyed a sample of American teachers at all school levels. They found that self-efficacy, positive affect (PA), and positive work conditions (as measured by person environment fit and organizational support) were all unique predictors of satisfaction. Similar findings have been found with a sample of Italian teachers using a social cognitive model (Lent et al., 2011). In sum, findings with populations of teachers indicate that demographic variables such as age, gender, and length of service have relatively little effect on teacher satisfaction, whereas individual variables such as self-efficacy and PA and environmental variables such as organizational support have been found to be significant predictors of satisfaction.

Differences by School Level

Unfortunately, relatively few studies have addressed differences in job satisfaction of teachers at different school levels. Although many studies have focused on either primary or secondary schools, researchers have yet to thoroughly compare the two (Marston, 2010). In one of the few studies that specifically explore similarities and differences in job satisfaction at different school levels, Marston (2010) found that at every level of teaching, working with young people and watching student growth were powerful predictors of satisfaction. The results of this study also showed that teachers at different levels differed in the importance of the subject matter taught. Subject content was more important to high school teachers than to elementary school teachers, although in both groups the primary motivator for staying in the classroom was the satisfaction of working with students. Consistent with this finding, in a study by Brunetti (2001), interviews with high school teachers revealed that although passion for the subject matter was an important motivator, it did not outweigh the reward that teachers gained from their interaction with students.

This and subsequent research also revealed that elementary teachers perceived relationships with colleagues, parents, and principals to be of great importance, while high school teachers placed a greater value on acting as role models for their students (Brunetti, 2001; Brunetti, Courtney, & Marston, 2005). Research on overall satisfaction indicates that although primary and secondary school teachers both tend to experience high levels of satisfaction (Brunetti et al., 2005), elementary teachers tend to be more satisfied overall (Butt et al., 2005; Perie & Baker, 1997). These few studies offer some tentative conclusions for the role of school level in teacher satisfaction, but in order to fully understand this phenomenon, more thorough study of the interaction of teaching level and job satisfaction is needed.

Teacher Education in Turkey

In the current study, we use a sample of teachers in Turkey, which is a unique population. Since the establishment of Republic of Turkey in 1923, Turkish education system witnessed many reforms aimed to improve and renovate the system (Grossman & Sands, 2008). Compared to American education system, the Turkish education system has a very centralized structure in which all educational institutions are under the control of Ministry of National Education (MONE). Thus, appointments of administrators and teachers, selection of textbooks, and curricula have been made by MONE. In addition to that, since 1982, The Council of Higher Education (HEC) has been responsible for the planning, coordination, governance, and supervision of higher education within the provisions described in the Higher Education Law (Law No. 2547). Accordingly, HEC is responsible for the teacher education in Turkey.

Students attending teacher education programs are selected through a nationwide university entrance examination as in other university programs in Turkey. While a 4-year undergraduate degree from faculties of education is required to become a preschool or a primary school teacher, a master’s degree is necessary to become a high school teacher. A preservice training program includes courses on the teaching profession, general courses, and courses on the students’ teaching subjects. Theoretical courses are supported with observations and teaching practices at schools (Çakıroğlu & Çakıroğlu, 2003; Özer, 2004).

In contrast to the United States, there is a national Civil Service Personnel Exam in Turkey that teacher candidates or new graduates have to take to work in public schools. Teachers were appointed to schools all over the country by the MONE based on their exam scores. For teachers who plan to work in private schools or tutoring institutions, there is no such requirement. The major problems regarding teaching profession in Turkey can be summarized as crowded classes (Yaman, 2009), insufficient equipment and physical facilities, low salaries (Çakıroğlu & Çakıroğlu, 2003; Gürşimşek, Kaptan, & Erkan, 1997), unstandardized quality of education, and imbalanced distribution of teachers throughout branches, schools, and the country (Gürşimşek et al., 1997).

The Present Study

Drawing from previous research on teacher job satisfaction, the present study has two major aims. First, we seek to build on the findings from research of the social cognitive model of job satisfaction (Duffy & Lent, 2009; Lent & Brown, 2006a; Lent et al., 2011) and examine how well the model variables predict satisfaction for a sample of Turkish teachers, potentially lending credibility of these findings to a non-American population. This model proposes that individuals are satisfied with their jobs when they have a generally positive disposition (e.g., PA), and are making progress on their goals, are confident in their work-related tasks, and perceive their work environment to be supportive. Two previous studies have used this model with American teachers and Italian teachers (Duffy & Lent, 2009; Lent et al., 2011), each of these four variables to be significantly, positively correlated with job satisfaction. Additionally, in both studies, PA and organizational support were found to be unique predictors of satisfaction after accounting for other model variables, and in Duffy and Lent (2009) self-efficacy was also found to be a unique predictor.

Based on the Lent and Brown (2006a) social cognitive framework of job satisfaction, and these previous studies, we hypothesize that PA, self-efficacy, goal progress, and perceived organizational support will each significantly predict job satisfaction. Second, we examine how the strength of these relations to job satisfaction differs for teachers at elementary, secondary, and high school levels. This will be accomplished by examining the moderating effect of school type on the relations of these predictor variables to job satisfaction and may potentially make an important contribution to the literature on teacher job satisfaction. To date no research has examined school level specifically as a moderator variable, and as such the degree to which it moderates the relation of predictors to job satisfaction remains a research question.

Method

Participants

The study sample consisted of 500 teachers working in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. Teachers were recruited from elementary (n = 101, 20.2%), secondary (n = 65, 13%), and high schools (n = 322, 64.4%); however, 12 (2.4%) teachers did not report any school level. Close to three quarters of participants (n = 365, 73%) were women and close to one quarter (n = 128, 25.6%) were men, although seven teachers (1.4%) did not indicate gender. Participants ranged in ages from 23 to 65, with an average of 42.92 (SD = 6.35). Teaching experience of the participants ranged between 1 and 42 years (M = 19.17, SD = 6.66).

Instruments

Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction was measured using the 5-item version of the Brayfield and Rothe (1951) Index of Job Satisfaction, which measures overall job satisfaction for any population (Judge, Locke, Durham, & Kluger, 1998), and is an extremely popular construct in the study of organizational behavior (Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012). Items (e.g., “I find real enjoyment in my work” and “Most days I am enthusiastic about my work”) were rated on a 7-point scale ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. Total scores were obtained by averaging the points for each question; higher scores indicate greater job satisfaction. Evidence of validity is provided by the high correlation (r = .89) between this scale and the Job Descriptive Index (Judge et al., 1998). Internal consistency reliability coefficients of previous studies using the scale range from .80 to .95 (Duffy & Lent, 2009; Ilies & Judge, 2003; Judge, Bono, Erez, Locke, 2005; Judge & Ilies, 2004; Judge et al., 1998; Lent et al., 2011), indicating good reliability. In particular, the two studies testing the social cognitive model with teachers found the internal consistency to be .86 and .80, respectively (Duffy & Lent, 2009; Lent et al., 2011). The scale was translated into Turkish by Bilgin (1995), and validity and reliability studies were performed by Keser (2005). Keser reported internal consistency reliability as .78. In the present study, the estimated internal consistency reliability of scale scores .83.

Positive Affect

Positive affect was measured using the Positive Affect (PA) scale of the Positive Negative Affect Schedule (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). The PA scale is composed of 10 positive mood-related adjectives (e.g., attentive, excited). Participants were asked to rate the extent to which they experienced each of these during the previous 2 weeks using a 5-point scale ranging from (1) very slightly or not at all to (5) extremely. Points from each item were summed to calculate total score, with higher scores representing higher levels of PA. In their original study, Watson, Clark, and Tellegen (1988) reported the scores on the PA scale to have an estimated internal consistency reliability of .88 and to be moderately correlated with depression (r = −.36), state anxiety (r = −.35), and job satisfaction (r = .34). Thoresen, Kaplan, Barsky, Warren, and de Chermont (2003) also found PA to correlate with depression, state anxiety, and job satisfaction. Validity and reliability studies of the Turkish translated version of the scale were carried out with university students by Gençöz (2000). For the Turkish version, the author reported an internal consistency as .83 for PA and test–retest reliability of .40. In the present study, the estimated internal consistency reliability of scale scores was .90.

Work-Related Goal Progress

Progress at work-related goals was measured with a 5-item adapted version of Lent et al.’s (2005) scale (Duffy & Lent, 2009). The original scale consisted of 14 items that were developed to assess progress at a particular goal. In the present study, identical to Duffy and Lent (2009), participants were first asked to indicate their most important work-related goal. The definition of a work goal and four examples of goals were placed in the scale before the items. Participants then responded to items concerning progress on this goal (e.g., “My pursuit of my work goal has been productive”) on a 5-point scale ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. Total scores are obtained by summing points from each item. Duffy and Lent found the scale score to be adequately reliable and to correlate with relevant criterion variables (e.g., domain-specific goal self-efficacy, life satisfaction).

In the current study, work-related goal progress was translated and adapted by Turkish by researchers. During this process, the following steps were followed. First, the scale was given to three experts (two advanced doctoral level counseling students and one English language expert who had a master’s degree in English language teaching) independently for translation into Turkish. Second, the translations made by the experts were compared and the best translation for each item was selected. Third, the Turkish and original English versions of the items were given to three professors of psychological counseling and guidance to evaluate the correctness, clarity, and cultural relevancy of the Turkish translated version of the scale. For the current study, the estimated internal consistency reliability of scale scores was .78.

Perceived Organizational Support

The degree to which participants feel supported within their school was measured using the Perceived Organizational Support scale–Short Form (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986). Participants were asked to indicate the extent of their agreement to each of the 8 items (e.g., “My school cares about my general satisfaction at work”) using a 7-point scale that ranged from (1) strongly disagree to (7) strongly agree. Participants’ scores were calculated by summing points from each item, with higher scores indicating higher levels of organizational support. Previous studies (Duffy & Lent, 2009; Eisenberger et al., 1986; Lent et al., 2011) reported adequate internal consistency reliability coefficients of scales scores ranging from .80 to .95. Perceived organizational support was found to correlate with related constructs, including absenteeism (Eisenberger et al., 1986), organizational commitment, job involvement (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002), and job satisfaction (Duffy & Lent, 2009). There are a number of studies (Demircan Çakar & Yıldız, 2009; Selçuk, 2003) indicating that the Turkish version of the scale has adequate reliability and validity. In the current study, the estimated internal consistency reliability of scales scores was .93.

Teacher Self-Efficacy

Teacher self-efficacy was measured using the Teacher Self-Efficacy scale–Short Form (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). The scale comprised three subscales: efficacy for instructional strategies (e.g., “To what extent can you use a variety of assessment strategies?”); efficacy for classroom management (e.g., “To what extent can you control disruptive behavior in the classroom?”); and efficacy for student engagement (e.g., “To what extent can you get students to believe they can do well in schoolwork?”). Participants rated the items according to how much confidence they had in their ability to perform each behavior using a 9-point scale ranging from (1) nothing to (9) a great deal. Scale scores were found to be sufficiently reliable, with an estimated internal consistency reliability coefficient of .81 for student engagement, .86 for classroom management, .86 for instructional strategies, and .90 for the total scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). Scale scores also correlated with a previously existing measure of teacher self-efficacy (r = .48) and other related constructs (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). Translation and adaptation studies of the Turkish version of the scale were conducted by Çapa, Çakıroğlu, and Sarıkaya (2005) in a group of 628 preservice teachers. Accordingly, internal consistency reliability estimate was reported as .93 for the whole scale. In the current study, the estimated internal consistency reliability of scale scores was .91.

Procedure

This study was conducted with teachers working at randomly selected primary, secondary, and high schools in the district of Çankaya in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Data were collected over a 2-month period during the 2010–2011 fall semester. Among all of the public primary and secondary schools in Çankaya distinct (256), 68 schools were randomly selected from the school list of MONE Çankaya district. As a first step, necessary permission was obtained from the Middle East Technical University Human Subjects Ethics Committee and then the Ankara Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of National Education. Afterward, appointments were arranged with the school principals of the 35 schools to set up a data collection schedule. Selected schools were visited by the first author and two graduate students to collect data. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous. Each participant was provided with an informed consent form and a description of the study along with the study instruments, which included the above-mentioned scales as well as a form collecting demographic information (age, gender, years of experience, school level). All measures were Turkish translated and adapted versions of the original measures. The measures were completed in paper–pencil format with optic forms that can be read by an optical scanner to facilitate data collection and data entry. The response rate was 67%.

Results

Preliminary Analyses

Prior to testing our formal analyses, we conducted a number of preliminary analyses on the data. First, data were screened to check for missing values. Both in demographic variables and in scale items, there were some missing values exceeding 5%. Accordingly, 34 cases with missing values were deleted from the data file. Second, we checked the skewness of all five variables, none of which had values over 1, and upon visual inception all appeared normally distributed. As such, we kept all variables in their original form. Third, we explored the correlations among job satisfaction and the four predictor variables. As seen in Table 1, job satisfaction was found to significantly correlate with all four predictor variables: teacher self-efficacy (.26), perceived organizational support (.36), goal progress (.44), and PA (.49).

Table 1.

Correlations of Job Satisfaction and Predictor Variables.

	1	2	3	4	5
1. Job satisfaction	—
2. Positive affect	.49	—
3. Goal progress	.44	.44	—
4. Perceived organizational support	.36	.30	.34	—
5. Teacher self-efficacy	.26	.43	.40	.19	—
M	26.54	35.53	15.37	69.48	83.76
SD	6.24	6.53	3.02	21.50	11.86

Note. All correlations significant at the p < .05 level.

Multiple Regression

We conducted a hierarchical multiple regression to explore (a) the degree to which the four variables served to predict job satisfaction and (b) the degree to which these relations differed according to school level (elementary school, secondary school, high school). We entered the predictor variables into the model based on the strength of the correlations between the predictor variables and job satisfaction, followed by dummy-coded variables for elementary and secondary school type. As seen in Table 2, our first step of the regression equation showed PA (β = .33), goal progress (β = .25), and perceived organizational support (β = .18) to each be significant predictors of job satisfaction. These results indicate that teachers more likely to experience a generally positive state who are making progress on their goals and feel supported by their school are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. Additionally, the dummy-coded variable of elementary school (vs. secondary and high school) was negatively related to job satisfaction. Together, these variables accounted for 33% of the variance in job satisfaction.

Table 2.

Hierarchical Regression Analysis Predicting Job Satisfaction.

	β	B	SE B	R	R ²	R ²Δ	F
Step 1: Predictors
Positive affect**	.33	2.05	.28
Goal progress**	.25	1.58	.28
Perceived organizational support**	.18	1.13	.25
Teacher self-efficacy	−.02	−.14	.27
Elementary school*	−.09	−1.01	.46
Secondary school	.00	.04	.59	.58	.33		39.52**
Step 2: Interactions
Elementary × Positive Affect	.01	.08	.56
Elementary × Goal Progress**	−.13	−1.59	.57
Elementary × Perceived Organizational Support**	.12	1.40	.49
Elementary × Teacher Self-Efficacy	.01	.10	.55
Secondary × Positive Affect	−.07	−1.01	.66
Secondary × Goal Progress**	.11	1.76	.66
Secondary × Perceived Organizational Support	−.08	−1.15	.59
Secondary × Teacher Self-Efficacy	.03	.50	.62	.60	.36	.03	19.12**

*p < .05. **p < .01.

In the second step of the regression analysis, we examined the interaction of school type with each of the four predictor variables. Both elementary school and secondary school types were dummy coded according to sample size and multiplied by each of the predictor variables. As seen in Table 2, there was a significant interaction between school type and goal progress and a significant interaction between school type and perceived organizational support. The slopes of each of these relations are depicted in Figures 1 and 2 for all the three school types. For elementary school teachers, perceived organizational support was more highly related to satisfaction than for high school teachers and especially secondary school teachers (here there is effectively no relation at all). Feeling supported by one’s school was especially important in elementary school teachers feeling satisfied with their jobs. For secondary school teachers, goal progress was more highly related to job satisfaction than for high school teachers, and especially elementary teachers (here again there is effectively no relation). Making progress on work goals was especially important in secondary school teachers feeling satisfied with their jobs. Together these interactions added 3% of the variance in the prediction of job satisfaction. Teacher self-efficacy and PA did not interact with school level.

Figure 1.

School type as a moderator in the relation of perceived organizational support and job satisfaction.

Figure 2.

School type as a moderator in the relation of goal progress and job satisfaction.

Discussion

This study aimed to provide further cross-cultural validity of social cognitive predictors of job satisfaction and also examine how these variables differentially related to satisfaction by school type. Consistent with previous studies (Duffy & Lent, 2009; Lent et al., 2011), the present study found positive associations between PA, organizational support, goal progress, and work satisfaction. Teachers who had a positive outlook on life, were making progress on important work goals, and felt supported by their school were more likely to be happy with their jobs.

The current study also examined the interaction between school level and the predictor variables. As stated by Klassen and Chiu (2010), school level may affect teacher satisfaction as well as stress level through differences in student characteristics and organizational structures found at various school levels. The results showed that organizational support was most positively associated with job satisfaction at the elementary level, was less correlated at high school levels and not at all correlated at the secondary school level. This is consistent with Brunetti, Courtney, and Marston’s (2005) findings that elementary school teachers value the support of parents, coworkers, and administrators, whereas high school teachers place more value on acting as role models for students, and suggests that a positive and supportive organizational structure may be imperative for optimal satisfaction in elementary school teachers. This might be linked to differences in “emotional geographies of elementary and secondary school teaching” (Hargreaves, 2000, p. 811). Hargreaves concluded that elementary teachers gain great satisfaction from the emotional relationship with students and that emotional ties decrease as school level increases. For elementary school teachers, it is possible that this emphasis on relationships as a source of satisfaction translates to the broader organizational structure and that secondary and high school teachers draw less from relationships for satisfaction at work.

Another finding of the current study was the strong positive association between goal progress and job satisfaction at the secondary school level, compared to no association at the elementary school level. This is consistent with previous research indicating the importance of specific subject matter being taught as much higher for secondary and high school teachers than for elementary school teachers. It is likely that the subject-specific focus in secondary and high schools lends well to an emphasis on goal progress. It is interesting that goal progress was correlated so much more strongly at the secondary level than at the high school level, considering that both are heavily focused on subject specificity. Perhaps, as students mature, the previously discussed emotional landscape changes in a way that shifts the source of job satisfaction back onto relational variables, decreasing the importance of goal progress. This finding should be further explored in future studies.

No interaction was found in the relation of PA and job satisfaction or self-efficacy and job satisfaction by school level. PA has been shown to predict job satisfaction across dozens of studies (Thoresen, Kaplan, Barsky, Warren, & de Chermont, 2003), and this finding may indicate that regardless of teacher level PA is important for being satisfied at work. Additionally, even though previous research has found that teacher self-efficacy differed with respect to school level, with teachers at lower grade levels reporting higher self-efficacy and teachers at higher grade levels reporting lower self-efficacy (Klassen & Chiu, 2010), how self-efficacy relates to satisfaction may be equal across school level.

This study examined job satisfaction among Turkish teachers with measures similar to the ones used in earlier studies (Lent et al., 2011). Except the goal progress scale (Duffy & Lent, 2009), other measures in the study were already adapted to Turkish by other researchers. The goal progress scales was adapted to Turkish by researchers and yielded acceptable internal consistency reliability estimate, providing evidence that it might be used in the future studies with Turkish teachers. All other study measures had also reliability estimates that were in acceptable range. However, taking into account the amount of variance in teacher satisfaction scores the current model explained, adding other scales to measure core constructs such as self-efficacy, or developing new ones to assess cultural–contextual barriers or supports of Turkish teachers might be suggested for the future studies. This would also contribute to global efforts to test the social cognitive model, which is regarded as a model, “more concerned with relatively dynamic and the situation-specific aspects of people (e.g., self-views, future expectations) and their environments” (Lent & Brown, 2006b, p. 13).

In conclusion, the findings of the present study provide further evidence of the cross-cultural validity of the predictive variables of job satisfaction, namely, organizational support, PA, and goal progress. Moreover, school level is also a factor that interacts with goal progress and perceived social support in predicting work satisfaction among Turkish teachers. Overall, the findings support the view that the social cognitive model can be taken as a framework in planning potential interventions to enhance job satisfaction (Lent & Brown, 2006a) among teachers. Even though it had a small variance, the emergence of school level as a moderating variable for two of the predictor variables in the current study suggests that school level may be a variable that needs to be taken into account while designing interventions to increase teacher satisfaction. From a practice and organizational perspective, when working with elementary school teachers it may be especially important to attempt to boost their sense support felt at work, whereas for secondary and high school teachers it may be especially important that they have goals and are making progress toward those goals.

Limitations and Future Directions

Although results of the current study provide insight into the work satisfaction in teachers, several limitations need to be taken into consideration and improved upon in future research. This study utilized cross-sectional methods, thus conclusions regarding causality cannot be drawn. In the future, longitudinal and experimental methods should be utilized if causality is to be inferred. Also, it should be noted that the findings of the study can only be generalized to experienced teachers teaching at state schools in Ankara. In order to permit findings to be more generalizable to teachers in Turkey at large, future studies may be conducted with a nationally representative sample of teachers from different regions, school types, and experience levels. In addition, future studies should address the complexities of the interactions of goal progress and organizational support with school level. Particularly, differences in links between these variables at the secondary and high school level should be identified and further investigated. Finally, future research should focus on teasing out the mediators between the predictors of job satisfaction in the current study and overall job satisfaction at different school levels.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research has been supported by Middle East Technical University, Office of Scientific Research Projects and Coordination. Project Number: BAP-05-02-2010-02.

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